Kim Ki-Duk, RIP
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The great Korean film maker has died of COVID-19, at the age of only 59. At this point, any discussion of Kim has to note that he was heavily implicated in the #MeToo movement in South Korea and it sounds like he was a pretty bad dude. So there is that.
There is also the fact that Kim has an argument as the greatest Korean filmmaker in its history and is certainly true for the first decade of this century. Films such as 3-Iron, Samaritan Girl, The Coast Guard, The Bow, Bad Guy, and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring are all between very good and absolutely outstanding. I am not so familiar with his work from the past decade, likely suggesting a drop off in quality, though I wouldn’t want to say without seeing it. And then of course there’s the credible allegations against him. But from an artistic standpoint, Kim is a really important figure and it’s sad that he will not have the chance to make more films.