by SARAH ROWLAND

"Today, locally made film is at the centre of Korean culture. This is thanks to the collaboration of moviegoers who support good domestic movies and the devoted efforts of filmmakers and their staff - I don't think there are filmmakers in other countries who can even come close to our kind of dedication, and I think they'd also be very surprised by how much labour the average Korean production team endures to complete a film."

So says one of Seoul's hottest young directors, Ryu Seung-wan. Considering how many impoverished countries pump out films on shoestring budgets, it's a pretty cocky statement to make, but he has the historical facts to support his cinematic patriotism.

"In the mid to late '80s, the American distribution companies came to Korea and started distributing their own films," says Ryu. "And the Korean film industry collapsed emotionally with defeatism and fear that the Hollywood empire would totally invade Korea."

Which it did for more than a decade. However, for the last five years, a new wave of Korean filmmakers (taking full advantage of looser censorship laws) have not only put Korean films on the map at international festivals - with films like Park Chan-wook's ultra-violent revenge tale Oldboy, Kim Ki-duk's nearly silent celluloid poem 3-Iron and Chang Dong-lee's humanitarian love story Oasis - they have revived interest in Korean film on the home front as well.

In fact, in 2001, domestic films raked in more ticket sales at the Korean box-office than American films, making South Korea the first country ever to win back its audience after losing it to foreign intruders. According to Ryu, the turning point was in 1999 when Kang Jae-kyu's hit Shiri made a killing in Korean theatres.

"Everybody was so encouraged [by his success] that people started to explode with all the creativity which had been suppressed by censorship and the poor environment of the film industry."

Oh brother

Among those exploding with creativity is Ryu himself. He's made four feature films since 2000 and he'll be here to present his latest two at this year's Fantasia Festival. While Crying Fist is a gritty, hand-held-style boxing drama, Arahan is a sweet, CGI-enhanced, martial arts comedy in the same vein of Kung-fu Hustle - only with a really hot chi chick (Yun So-yi). Though completely opposite in almost every way, the Crying Fist and Arahan do have one thing in common: they both star Ryu's kid brother Seung-beom, something that Ryu makes no apologies for.

"Subsequent to being my little brother, he is a great actor who possesses all the talent needed for those roles," says the 31-year-old director. "He's also my film buddy and has been with me ever since I started making films. So I cast him in my movies not simply because we are family but because we share the same sensibility in films."

But Ryu admits that he stumbled upon his brother's gift by accident. It was during the making of his micro-budgeted debut feature Die Bad that Ryu was forced to cash in on some favours from his friends and family because he simply couldn't afford to cast any professionals.

"I asked him if he was interested in participating and he said yes right away," says Ryu. "At first, no one really expected much. We were only trying to have fun making the film."

However it wasn't long before Ryu realized that his brother had more to offer than just cheap labour.

"At some point the environment on the set changed," Ryu recalls. "Everyone suddenly became full of artistic integrity. That's when Ryu Seung-beom's real talent emerged. He expressed himself naturally without any attempt to act or try to perform well. And from this raw sensibility, he learned to emote freely."

Adding punch

In Crying Fist, Seung-beom gives a flawless performance as Sang-hwan, an illiterate young thug who cultivates his left hook during one of many stints behind bars. Without boxing he will no doubt be back in prison. In essence, he's punching his way out of the ghetto. It's a familiar story. But the twist is so is his opponent, an aging brain-damaged former national champ, Tae-sik (Choi Min-sik). He's fighting to win back his family. There is no villainous Russian (Rocky), scabby German hooker (Million Dollar Baby) or filthy rich dirtbag (Cinderella Man). By following their parallel stories, Ryu puts viewers in the impossible position of having to rout for both street-entrenched underdogs.

Another way that Crying Fist is different than most boxing fare is the choreography. There is nothing Hollywood, or conversely impressionistic, about the matches - just roughly shot rounds of gruelling bloodied beatings. In fact, Ryu's style is so uncut that Choi cracked a rib while shooting the last scene.

"I would never try to repeat those excellent boxing scenes from American movies like Raging Bull," says Ryu. "It would be nearly impossible to do anyway. So, what I chose instead was an approach that was different, not better, just different."

As for Choi, being a human punching bag is nothing new. Just like in Oldboy, Choi's character gets emotionally and physically thrashed in Crying Fist - something the seasoned vet seems to do so well.

"He's the best actor ever in Korea," says Ryu. "Min-sik possess all the characteristics of the classical tough guy: Even when he's ruined, he still has dignity, and even though he swaggers a lot, he never loses his naturalism. He just has style."

Canadian connection

Interestingly, there are a couple of unexpected Canadian references in Crying Fist. The first is really a fashion statement. Sang-hwan sports a '76 Montreal Olympics track jacket during one of his crime sprees - which includes mugging an old man and beating him to the brink of death. And then there's the scene where the young punk's grandma is on her deathbed in the throes of a post-stroke dementia. The semi-comatose senior starts hallucinating that her beloved grandson is living a respectable life in the Great White North.

"Canada is a symbol of peace for Koreans," says Ryu. "And the characters in Crying Fist have had such hard lives that living peacefully is only a fantasy. So for them, Canada is a dreamland."

Where ever did he get an idea like that?

"I was invited to the Vancouver film festival to present Die Bad," he recalls. "That was my first trip abroad and my first impression of Canada was that it was a very peaceful country. I remember that I was even a little embarrassed about presenting such a violent film to the peaceful people of Vancouver."

Spoken like a man who's never taken the scenic route through East Hastings.

Ryu Seung-wan will present Crying Fist Thursday, July 7, 9 p.m., at the Hall Theatre. For more info and showtimes for Arahan, visit www.fantasiafestival.com

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