Visitors to Greece's capital these days cannot escape the fact that a general election is on he way.  But it is not just the constant discussion on television and the excited newspaper headlines about a U.S.-style debate between front runners that lets you know.

Peppered across the city are political stalls, open for the public to come in and be persuaded to vote on Oct. 4 for whichever party is hosting them. The style ranges from a bench and chairs manned by two ageing communists in the northern suburbs to a rather slick structure in Athen's central Syndagma Square touting the worth  of the ruling conservative New Democracy party. For some reason the latter was blaring out The Clash's "Rocking the Casbah" on a recent sunny morning.

It is all very frothy and something of a celebration of democracy in the city which, after all, invented it.

Which is why a quieter, almost unnoticed gallery on the corner of Syndagma is offering something all the more poignant -- a reminder that it was not that long ago that such expressions of democracy would be met with batons, water cannons and even tanks.

"Mikis Theodorakis: The Composer - The Politician - The Thinker" is a temporary exhibition funded by the Greek parliament to honour one of the country's greatest living artists and an icon of left-wing resistance.

Best known to the world at large for composing the music for Michael Cacoyannis' 1960s film "Zorba the Greek" -- now almost a Greek anthem -- Theodorakis has a huge and respected body of work covering some 60 years, from operas to song cycles, ballets and symphonies. Among his film themes are those for Sidney Lumet's "Serpico" and Costa-Gavras' "State of Siege".

These are all celebrated with due reverence at the exhibition, including displays of many strangely ancient-looking  record album covers. But in the current political climate, it is the politics which catches the eye.

Various phases of Theodorakis' life are highlighted -- from wounded resitance fighter in the Second World War to internal exile in the Greek Civil War that raged until 1949. His music was banned and the composer himself arrested during the brutal military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. But his escape to Paris in 1970 combined with his music and imposing presence to set him up as a voice for democracy's return.

A particulary historic photograph for the period shows Theodorakis embracing Mercedes Sosa, the Argentine singer who had similar struggles with her own country's junta. 

It is all puts "Rocking the Casbah" into context as Greeks ready themselves for a simple excercise in democracy.

(Photo: Jeremy Gaunt)

The Pusan International Film Festival opens its 14th edition with “Good Morning President”, a movie taking a warm-hearted look at the ruthless and cold-blooded world of South Korean politics.

The festival is Asia largest and runs from October 8-16 in the South Korean port city of Busan. Organisers on Tuesday unveiled the line-up for the festival where 355 films from 70 countries will be screened, including 98 that will be world premieres.

The festival has its red carpet where several of South Korea’s and Asia’s biggest stars parade before the cameras but it pales in comparison to the glamorous showings in Cannes or Venice. What the Pusan fest does best is celebrate and promote Asian films. It is also one of the biggest film markets in the region where producers from, say, Malaysia can pick up distribution deals in Japan.

Influential Bollywood director and producer Yash Chopra will be honoured as filmmaker of the year at the festival, which is considered one of the top cinema honours in Asia.

The festival will have a special programme celebrating Hong Kong’s Johnnie To, called “The Hood in the City”, while French director Jean-Jacques Beineix will heads the jury for the New Currents award that honours new Asian directors.

“The Message”, a spy thriller set in 1942 in a part of China ruled by a puppet government controlled by Japan, closes the festival. The movie is from Taiwanese director and producer Chen Kuo-fu. A complete listing a films is available at the festival’s web site.

And to answer a question that comes up every year, Pusan and Busan are one of the same. The city was named Pusan when the festival began but after then, the South Korean government changed the style it used for Romanizing place names. Under the new system, the city became Busan. The name of the festival did not change.

(Handout pictures provided by the Pusan International Film Festival of "Good Morning President" seen above and "The Message" below)

It was a night of celebration on Fox’s summer hit “So You Think You Can Dance” as the show marked it’s 100^th episode with special guest appearances and the return of Emmy-winning performances.

Familiar faces from seasons past, including Travis Wall, Heidi Groskreutz, and Hawk, performed award-winning routines such as the zombie-inspired group number Ramalama (Bang Bang) and the contemporary gem “Calling You.”

Thursday’s show also featured a new, and perhaps the most eagerly anticipated addition, as actress Katie Holmes performed a pre-taped tribute to screen legend Judy Garland.

Despite the jovial feel, salsa dancer Janette Manrara and contemporary dancer Jason Glover were sent packing as the top eight was cut down to six.

“Janette, you were my favorite too and I really wanted you to win this year,” said executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe. “You bring so much to this.”

Lythgoe added he thought America got it wrong, but ultimately elimination is decided by viewers. So do you agree with Lythgoe? Was Manrara’s elimination as much a shock to you as it was to host Cat Deeley?

Manrara faced stiff competition on Wednesday’s performance show, which was filled with a number of memorable numbers.

Tyce Diorio’s contemporary routine, inspired by a friend’s battle with breast cancer, was hailed as a “perfect portrait” by an emotional judge Mia Michaels. Performed by Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi, Lythgoe said the number prompted an overwhelming audience response, including a personal message from Olivia Newton-John, herself a breast cancer survivor.

“I think television at its best can reach out and unite a country with a shared experience and I think that happened last night with Tyce’s routine,” Lythgoe said on Thursday.

Guest judge Ellen DeGeneres provided some much-needed comic relief on Wednesday’s show as Lythgoe dished out biting criticisms before and after the tears, including his contention this season’s hip hop numbers disappointed.

However, both street-inspired performances blew the judges away. Jeanine Mason and Brandon Bryant hit hard on Wednesday with a Laurie Ann Gibson pop-jazz routine, breaking Lythgoe out of his funk. “This is the flattest night I have ever experienced on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ up until now,” he said of the routine.

Michaels praised the camouflaged-clad couple saying, “you guys danced in a place that was more than dance, you were inside it.”

Kayla Radomski and Glover’s ghoulish Shane Sparks hip hop routine was one of the few numbers to prompt judge Mary Murphy’s coveted bloodcurdling screams. Michaels described the pair as “disturbingly hot” and noted it was her favorite Sparks number to date.

Was the milestone 100th show bittersweet with the elimination of Manrara and Glover or did you have your cake and eat it too?

Captions: (Top) Janette Manrara , 25, is a salsa/ballroom dancer from Miami, Fl. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Mike Ruiz/FOX

Jason Glover, 21, is a contemporary/lyrical dancer from Fresno, CA. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Mike Ruiz/FOX

The South Korean director whose movie about a mutant river monster became the country's biggest box office hit has a new film on what might be an even more terrifying subject -- an maniacally obsessive mother.

Bong Joon-ho sat down last week for an interview with Reuters about his new movie called "Mother"that debuted last month at the Cannes International Film Festival and has quickly become one of South Korea's biggest hits of the year.

The movie is about a mother who goes to extremes to protect her emotionally and mentally unstable son after he is charged with murder. It follows Bong's movie "The Host," which was the first South Korean film to make more than $100 million at the local box office.

The following are excerpts from the interview in Korean and translated by Kim Junghyun 

Reuters: How would you describe your movie “Mother”?

Bong: It is a movie that brings this issue of motherhood to the extremes.
This movie is about a mother, but not just a mother. It’s a mother whose son is facing a murder charge. International audiences might find it easier to approach this movie at first as a thriller.

But I believe South Koreans and foreigners, although they might start at different points, would ultimately reach the same point by the end of the movie – two different doors into the movie, and one exit. 

Reuters: What did you think about casting actress Kim Hye-ja, who has played the role of a mother so many times in South Korean movies?

Bong: I was worried and excited at the same time. On one hand I was worried she might not like the role because it was too different from what she has been doing for decades. On the other hand, I had this belief that she must be bored of her stereotypical image, which could be both an honour and a burden.

I spoke to her about the story in 2005 before working on a screenplay. The story I told her back then has the same ending as the movie. So she knew what would come, and she liked it. She said she would want to do it, and that she liked it because it was just so different from what she had done. I was so happy.

Reuters: So you had her in mind in the first place. What would have happened if she rejected the offer?

Bong: The whole project then would have been scrapped, which was why I was nervous. The shocking ending was pretty much set by 2004, so story-wise it took almost five years to be fleshed out. Like wine grapes ripening.

I’ve wanted to do a movie with her since, well, always. And I always thought she needed to appear much more on screen.

Reuters: Compared with your previous works, such as “Memories of Murder”, or “The Host”, “Mother” has much darker ring to it.

Bong: I wanted the story tragic. My previous movies all had a sense of comic relief, but I wanted this to have a different tone. I wanted it to be a movie that was dashing toward a tragic end – a tragedy that is simple but strong, shocking, and sad. It’s no wonder that the ending can be disturbing.

But at the same time, the movie does not leave you as a mere onlooker but instead makes you ask questions to yourself, and what you would have done in her place. Many mothers out there may want to go out for a drink after seeing this movie.

Reuters: What do you think about the talk of the sexual nuances in this mother-son relationship and the tricky relation among the characters?

Bong: Yes, this is a sex movie. If you follow the course of a mother in this movie, the movie in a way is about sex. There’s a bloody scene by the end of the movie – I wanted that murder scene to feel like a sex scene.

Reuters: Your films always seem to have had social misfits as protagonists. Why?

Bong: I am innately drawn much more to those people, whom I believe have much more compelling stories to tell and drama in their lives. Plus, I’m rarely around people with money and power – they live on a different planet.      

Reuters: Do you like Cannes?

Bong: As a director, or just a film fan who wants to enjoy the festival, Cannes is the worst place to be. But it must be a paradise for distributors and importers.

I mean, Cannes for a director is really a hellish place. Imagine all those critics and savvy audiences members ready to jump at your movie and tear it apart – your movie which quite often would be shown for the first time in the world. Those hundreds of audiences members – the likes from the “New York Times” and “Variety” – get to see my movie for the very first time, with a sashimi knife at hand to brandish. 

But then at the same time, it’s the hottest place to unveil my work, I must admit. It’s hard to resist Cannes.

(Reuters pictures by Eric Gaillard and You Sung-ho)

South Korean director Park Chan-wook talked vampires and the movie industry at an interview with Reuters in Seoul this week as his movie “Thirst” prepares to enter the competition at the Cannes International Film Festival which opens today. Park’s movie “Oldboy” won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004 and this is his first film in competition since then.

"Thirst" stars Song Kang-ho and Kim Ok-vin  as a priest turned vampire and a femme fatale respectively.

Here is a transcript of the Reuters interview with Park,  translated from Korean.

 SPOILER ALERT: About halfway through this interview, Park speaks about the ending for “Thirst”

(Reuters pictures by Jo Yong-hak. Park Chan-wook at his office in Seoul and actress Kim Ok-vin)

Reuters: Your film “Oldboy” left such a deep impression with global audiences. A lot of people at Cannes are going to be comparing this film and “Oldboy”. How do you think these two films compare?

Park Chan-wook: Well, I made several other films after “Oldboy”, and now it feels like I only have dim memories of making that movie. So while shooting “Thirst”, I didn’t particularly have “Oldboy” in mind, nor did I try to make a better, or more interesting film than “Oldboy”. Of course audiences will be comparing the two. But as a person who made this film, it’s a difficult question to answer. I would like to direct the question to audiences and I’m curious about what they would say.

But if there’s a difference between “Thirst” and “Oldboy”. Audiences could watch “Oldboy” without preconceptions. But they will inevitably have various kinds of stereotypes about a vampire movie because of pre-existing film. They might watch this film with the conventional genre boundaries in mind.

Reuters: How do you think “Thirst” compares to other Western vampire movies?

Park: There are many types of vampire movies. But they in general have a certain romanticism in them, which “Thirst” lacks. Mysterious moods, sexually attractive male vampires and women who are captivated by them – those are some of the romantic aspects that are typical of vampire movies, possibly reflecting the (mood of the) time when a vampire became a popular subject matter in literature. “Thirst”, on the other hand, has more of a medical realism. It is a contradiction this movie has – there’s a clash between fantasies about vampires and the realistic approach this movie takes on as the subject matter.

Reuters: You’ve been working on this for so long. What is the fascination about the subject matter for you?

Park: First of all, I thought I could add some fresh changes to this old genre by approaching the subject matter – “vampire-ism,” so to speak – without the usual mysteriousness or romanticism but from a realistic perspective where being a vampire is sort of a disease. Also, the idea that a Catholic priest – not just anybody, and not even just an ordinary priest, but the one with “dark passion” for martyrdom to save humanity, which is actually hardly distinguishable from suicidal impulses – becomes a vampire prompted me to do this film. This priest, whose original intention was to sacrifice himself to save humanity, ends up with this completely different result. He is transformed into an existence that can only sustain itself by killing others. This new identity, and all the conflict and dilemma stemming from it, was interesting.

Reuters: When it came to a vampire movie, was it this discussion of morality that was more interesting for you, or this staple of Hollywood vampire movies, this long history of the subject matter that was more interesting for you?

Park: Needless to say – morality.

Reuters: What about moral dilemma that was interesting for you?

Park: The moments of choice that come to everybody. Whether it’s trivial or important, every choice has a moral aspect to it to a certain degree. Some are sensitive about it, while others are not. So I wanted to make audiences more conscious of the moral aspects of choices, whether large or small, by presenting a once-in-a-lifetime, life-or-death decision and exaggerating it to the extremes. I wanted people who watch this film to be keener on the moral questions presented by their decisions.
 
Reuters: You left the ending of the movie a bit ambiguous. What was the reason for that?

Park: The two main characters have two very different viewpoints at the end of the movie. The man says he will meet her in hell, and the woman says death is death and nothing more. So they have totally different perceptions about the afterlife. And it’s up to the audience to decide which is right.
 
The last scene has the woman’s feet crumbling to dust and put in the man’s large shoes. The image of it shows the two being together forever, which is the only thing resembling  a “romantic ray of light” in this movie.

Reuters: You reached a financing and distribution deal from the U.S. for this movie. What do you think about this cooperation with Hollywood, and what do you think it would do for the movie?

Park: South Korea’s movie industry has been in decline for the past several years and many investors have disappeared. And investors tend to avoid projects that are considered risky. So it was encouraging (to be cooperating with the U.S. studios) amid this atmosphere. For South Korean investors, the cooperation could reduce risk factors, and Universal could gain an early edge with the movie of a certain quality made at a relatively cheaper price than what they usually put into a Hollywood film. So this cooperation created a condition in which both sides can avoid worst scenarios. And in South Korea, it’s being used as a marketing tool to promote the movie. I was fortunate that this movie, which well could have been commercially risky, easily secured the investment. I heard South Korean audiences were pleasantly surprised to see the Universal logo at the beginning of the movie.

Reuters: The Korean title translates as “Bat”. Why the English title “Thirst”?

Park: There is a Hollywood film titled “Bat”, which even had a sequel and was quite successful in the U.S. And there’s this famous Batman series too. So I was concerned that these would give unnecessary preconceptions about the film.

Reuters: One more Hollywood question. What do you think of the Hollywood remake of “Oldboy”?

Park: I do not know anything more than you about what’s going on with the project. Steven Spielberg has been considered as a director for  the film, but since it’s such a different type of movie than his usual films, I am just guessing he might choose to be a producer rather than a director.  But anyway, whoever makes the film, I would like it to turn out as a completely new movie. I hope it wouldn’t feel too much like my “Oldboy”. I would enjoy watching the remake only if it’s a totally different movie. Watching similar movies won’t be that much fun.

Reuters: Is there any Hollywood film you want to remake as a director?

Park: Well, not really for now.

I’ve always though it’d be good to remake “Apache”. But then, it might not be a good idea to do so since it’s such a great film. People wouldn’t  really have nice things to say about my film when they compare it to the original work. When I see other directors who are remaking great films, I kind of envy their guts. I wouldn’t dare – I’m scared to be bashed. (laughs)

Reuters: What is it like to compete against Quentin Tarantino?

Park: I don’t believe directors will be coming to Cannes thinking about competing against each other. A festival is a festival, not a sports competition. Being part of the festival is what really counts. Also, getting awards depends heavily on the taste of the jury. If you think about it, too many great works have failed to get attention from juries in the past.

Besides Quentin Tarantino, there will be a lot of world-class directors at the upcoming Cannes Festival.

What’s particularly interesting about Quentin Tarantino’s new film for me this time is that it was inspired by Robert Aldrich’s “The Dirty Dozen”.

Reuters: How have you changed since the vengeance trilogy?

Park: A chapter in my career seems to have turned over. I felt exhausted and a bit devastated after the trilogy, which is why I made a “cute” film: I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK. So after the trilogy and the “Cyborg”, I felt like a full-course feast has ended, and of course the trilogy was a heavy steak and the Cyborg movie was a desert. “Thirst” marks a new start for me.

Reuters: Are you working on a new project?

Park: No, nothing has been decided yet. And it’s actually the first time that I have completed one movie and don’t really have anything immediate at hand. It’s giving me mixed feelings – I kind of get antsy about not planning anything at the moment, but then at the same time, I feel relaxed. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take some rest and ponder what’s next. There are some scenarios coming from Hollywood nowadays.

Reuters: Would you think about doing a Hollywood movie?

Park: It all depends on whether I can come across a good screenplay. People might think I can write on my own, as I do here, but it’ll be difficult to start out in Hollywood with a film written by myself. So if I ever do a Hollywood movie, the script would have to be written somebody else. I guess there’s no reason for me not to do it if there is a good scenario. But I have no intention at all to do a Hollywood film just for its own sake. I am not going to do a film based on a bad scenario just to make a big Hollywood film or work with Hollywood stars.

Reuters: What do you think is the appeal of Korean films to international audiences, especially at global events?

Park: I’m not sure if I can generalise different movies from different directors, but I guess there could be two reasons. Firstly many of South Korea’s modern films do not dodge but squarely confront moral questions that other films in other countries tend to see as anachronistic. Also, South Korea has a very complicated modern history, and many local directors have gone through it all, which contributes to huge fluctuations of emotions and dramatic effects in their movies.

Reuters: What’s the most fun about directing a vampire movie?

Park: Like I’ve said, breaking away from stereotypes. It was fun to think of what changes I could make within the tradition.