Left Flank

Christmas has arrived early in the form of the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) in Busan (branding ignores proper transliteration). Seriously, this is a big deal for me (see my PIFF reviews from 2007), and my wife understands I could divorce her if she doesn't accompany me to every movie I want to see. Over the years, I've seen an early Kim Ki-duk film, Zhang Ziyi as an anti-Japanese terrorist, and a Russian take on the Afghan-Soviet War and a Chinese take on the Anti-Japanese War, but also some duds. I own DVDs based on festival appearances. I always try to watch a trifecta of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese films, with a Taiwanese flick just for balance. I've watched three films in a row in one day in three different languages, and nearly had to amputate my aching knees because they couldn't move. Since 2001 (with a break in 2002), we have attended the festival every year, including 2003 when we soldiered through the opening and closing ceremonies. The first years were ugly, when companies could buy swathes of tickets with a tap of the keyboard, or lowly non-VIPs had to stand in a bank line to buy one ticket! So, it's very disquieting to report that we couldn't watch a single film today.

In 2008, after watching precisely the eight films I wanted when and where I wanted in 2007, changes in regulations affecting ticket purchases have reduced my wife and I to waiting in line. Not only did the geniuses at PIFF capitulate to the rich by allowing group purchases, but 30%, increased from 10%, of tickets were allotted for last-minute purchase. Additionally, at the bank where my wife patiently waiting for 30 minutes in line, the computers crashed for 30 minutes right after the opening of sales. And, as if VIPs needed any other assistance, entire performance were marked forbidden for non-VIPs. It was 2001 redux! My wife and I have a system for selecting and buying PIFF tickets, based on separate selection and careful discussion criteria, where we hammer out a roster of choices and a schedule, including alternates three choices deep. This year, we will see four films starting Monday, but on the weekends when we can take most advantage of the schedule we are forced to take slim pickings.

In ROK, the perennial problem is administration, whether it's work or buying online. I'm sure there were many movie-goers in the past three years angered that they couldn't just walk out of their houses half-asleep and buy a ticket to their first choice. Feedback works very well in ROK, and the first and loudest whiners get their way. I'm sure they had to knock down the rich folk in Seoul awaiting another festival's worth of schmoozing clients and slumming on the beach in Busan. But, real movie fans who plan for this event, who responsibly buy only two tickets with no intention of reselling them or just blowing off a performance, and who think ahead so they don't have to waste time in lines or scramble for the shows, get screwed.

As many South Koreans say, the people in charge are corrupt jackasses.

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