Majestic Korean Film at MoMa, and Some Barbecue
A rebel Korean filmmaker of sorts, Kim Ki-duk became interested in cinema after working a string of unrelated jobs: Mr. Kim was a factory employee, a soldier, a priest-in-training in South Korea, and a street artist for three years in France, to name a few. While living in Europe, he was exposed to the work of directors such as Jonathan Demme and Leos Carax. It was then that he began thinking seriously about making films, and in 1996, he produced his first work without any formal training. He's been trailblazing ever since. The Museum of Modern Art presents the first American retrospective of his work. Dinner and a Movie takes it in, along with eats at TriBeCa's newest Korean restaurant, J. Marc.
DINNER
Lower Manhattan is sadly low on Korean fare, but the owners of J. Marc have brought traditional Korean barbecue to the neighborhood. Instead of using grills installed in the tables, J. Marc offers portable gas grills for customers to cook kalbi, beef ribs, or bulgogi, beef or pork tenderloin, into ssam, rolls made with lettuce leaves and various sauces. The restaurant also serves up bo ssam — a dish made popular by chef David Chang at his Momofuku restaurants — which is grilled pork belly with cabbage leaves (the grilling for this dish is done in the kitchen). Another must-have is the soon-du-bu: This spicy, red soup comes with either seafood or beef, and is full of chunks of tofu so soft and silky, they melt like chocolate.
(225 W. Broadway, between White and Franklin streets, 212-334-7960)
MOVIE
The title of Mr. Kim's best-known film in America, "Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom," "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring" (2003), is a reference to the cyclical focus of the film. A Buddhist monk living in a temple in the middle of a lake raises a school-age boy through adolescence and into adulthood. The film never leaves the lake, but the characters' experiences reflect the breadth of life's emotions. When, for instance, the young charge ties heavy rocks to the bodies of wild animals, the movie examines a boy's impulse for violence. Until this point in his career, Mr. Kim's films were marked by brutal violence. In this movie, however, he approaches humanity with far more subtlety.
(Friday, 6:15 p.m., Sunday, 4:30 p.m., MoMA, 11 W. 53rd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-708-9400, $10 general, $8 seniors, $6 students, free for members and children)
