While I was in Montreal, I was able to attend a screening of this film. This movie was awesome!
I found this article from the website of the Shanghai film festival which I thought might be interesting to all.
On June 13th, Mr. Kyung-jung Ju, the director of the competition film A Little Monk, as well as the film's two leading actors attended the press conference held at Shanghai Film Art Center. Journalists were so interested in this Korean film that at the press conference, which lasted for an hour, the questions came so thick and fast that the interpreter barely had time to sip his water.
A Little Monk is a story of Do-nyeom, a child monk who has grown up in a Korean Buddhist temple. With the unlimited energy of the young, he finds it difficult to obey the monastic rules set by the stern temple master. He longs to leave, living with his mother just like the village children do. When the woman who had intended to adopt him changes her mind, he makes up his mind to look for his real mother. On a cold snowy, morning, the little boy sets out.
This film is filled with sorrow, which the director uses to show people's courage in pursuing their beliefs. Do-nyeom is looking for his mother, but in our lives, isn't everyone looking for a dream? The mother in this film is therefore an image and a symbol. Using the viewpoint and mentality of a child, the director tries to capture people's persistence in the pursuit of their dreams.
A Little Monk is director Kyung-jung Ju's first film. Originally a play, it immediately aroused Kyung-Jung Ju's interest in turning the script into a film. The director has high expectations for this film because he believes that the Korean audience's taste has changed, now preferring artistic films to commercial Hollywood pieces. Although not yet released in Korea, he expects A Little Monk to be a box office hit. Nevertheless, the director curiously asked reporters about the Chinese audience's reaction to his film. An enthusiastic audience liked the film very much and found Tae-Jin Kim, the actor playing the little monk, delightful as he sat on the stage solemnly.
According to the director, Tae-Jin Kim is a very famous child star in Korea. When casting the role, Tae-Jin Kim's perspicacity and talent stood out from about 1500 other child actors that were also auditioned. Tae-Jin Kim had a profound understanding of the many complexities of this little monk and was best able to capture them in his performance. When asked if he would act in the future, this "little monk" scratched his head and said, "I'm still too young. School and studying is still most important. In fact, my final exams are coming up. I'm having fun here in Shanghai, but I'm a little worried about what my test scores will be! Yet if I get the chance, I would like to be an actor in the future very much." Upon this the director joked, "When you become a famous star in the future, please don't forget me, the little director!"
The movie has an official website available at
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)If you ever have the chance to see this, I highly recommend it.
(Edited by Zabladowski at 5:45 pm on May 11, 2003)
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Little Monk, A (2002) (Read 2,341 times)
