Korea is all the rage. From Parasite winning the Oscar to Squid Game being a game changer for streaming and Netflix – the world is Korean now. One of their most promising directors ist without a doubt Hong Sung-eun. He just delivered a master class in great studio cinema with his oeuvre Aloners
Synopsis: Aloners follows Ji-na (Gong Seung-yeon), a credit card call centre employee who lives alone and has no interest in befriending her colleagues. Following the unexpected death of her neighbor, which goes unnoticed for days, and exasperated with being forced to train a super-friendly new employee at work, Ji-na begins to confront the reasons behind her behaviour.
Living alone as a choice is something people not only in Korea do more and more. But is it a choice and is it the better way to live? Do we need interaction with other people with friends and family? Or is a wold of soap operas and no interaction the better world.
Aloners finds answers to this questions. Shown at the Zurich Film Festival this was for sure one of the highlights and a movie everyone should watch.
This should be an easy choice for Koreas Oscar entry 2022.
The Kings are back. How lucky are we. Kommode and Erlend Øye ore a dram on its own; but reunited as the Kings Of Convenience this is a gift to humanity. So much joy in just over 3 minutes. Rocky Trail is what we need right now at this very second.
Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen are two of the most beautiful and important voices of this generation. This collaboration is just beautiful . A solid rock song made sublime by these amazing women. Like I Used to in the live version fresh off the Tonight Show.
Cold Cave are around for a while now but are still rocking – is it rocking? Not really sure. They are a cross between Sisters of Mercy and Depeche Mode for lack of a better comparison. Be your own judge and listen to Prayer From Nowhere.
This couldn’t be more French even if they throw some fois gras into the mix…Klon is one of France’s coolest bands and West is just a cart topper in the making…if you ask me and I know you do.
Darkside is one of these cool bands you don’t know too much about. A bit of Jungle mixed in with some Ticky in case you remember them. The Limit is a great tune with an even better base line.
Dry Cleaning is one of the coolest post punk band coming out of South London since….probably forever. Vocalist Florence Shaw has this beautiful narrative voice. Combined with the guitar play courtesy of Tom Dowse we got this magical sound that will top many year end lists. Scratchcard Lanyard is a perfect example of this:
These chaps from Denmark still have their nosiy and difficult to access style – but they have become a bit more mainstream – and I have to admit: this is not a bad thing. The Holding Hand is just the proof.
