A scene from Yim Phil-Sung's HANSEL AND GRETEL, playing at the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival, April 23 - May 7, 2009. SFIFF52- HANSEL AND GRETEL- Director YIM Phil-Sung Cast: Chun Jeong-Myoung, Eun Won-Jae, Shim Eun-Kyoung, Jin Ji-Hee Showtimes: 4/30 7:00 roxie The Grimm fairy tale is given a scary twist with the children who lure the adults to their 'gingerbread' home. The handsome star, CHUN JEONG-MYOUNG) crashes his car in the woods and finds a 'KINKADE' home which seems to have the perfectly normal home with everything a kid would ever ever want. Toys, tv, sweets, christmas tree, well, everything just looks so perfect and fun. and doesn't the sign in front of the house say HOME OF THE HAPPY CHILDREN... JEOUNG-MYOUNG tries to leave only to find that he is 'trapped' in the maze of the woods, and keeps ending back up at the 'fairy tale' house. Then the 'parents' want to leave, and are replaced by some other couple...only to find the previous 'mother' as a life-size doll in the attic ... the replacement parents, seem to get on the nerves of the children...and are soon missing... only to be replaced by a creepy preacher and his wife...only to....oh oh....they want someone to stay and be their 'uncle'... why...and why is the TV playing the same TV show over and over and its not plugged in...the old 1960's phone doesn't work.... and was that really 'beef stew' they had for lunch? and who is making all those cakes and cupcakes and sweets that are constantly on the table? can 'uncle' escape this suger sweet jail? Beautiful filmed with that incredible South Korean angles and color saturation that ASIAN film lovers worship...The angles and movement of the camera make this a movement as well as a visual delight. An art and set decoration masterpiece. An incredible ride with how and what the hell...hell being an operative word , folks... Best lines: "Mother is dying, but don't worry, I don't like my mom much. " "The snow keeps falling on my desparate hope." "Why hasnt help come to us? Becasuse heaven is too far from here." "You have already become part of OUR story." Not a slasher-bloody horror film but a film that slowly crawls under your skin and doesn't provide clues until the near end, which you will absolutely never forget... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED---4 SPOTLIGHTS...and don't forget....Bring a nice cupcake one with lots of sprinkles and frosting...just like those wonderful treats you remember as a child or like HANSEL AND GRETEL remember...

Christmas was my father's favorite holiday. He was always the first to awake then made enough noise to make sure we all awoke early too. He took thousands of Christmas photos throughout the years too. One of our Christmas traditions was to dig out the projector and see the family history through his photos of our Christmas trees, pajamas, gifts and decorations through out the years. I know we eventually got tired of the annual slide show, but I look back now at it as one of my fondest Christmas memories. Dad passed away 4 years ago on December 3rd. His one wish had been to make it to one more Christmas. We did the best we could to give him his Christmas in advance, but he didn't make it to the 25th. As I sit here today and see my gifts and listen to the excitement of the grand kids opening theirs, I think about how much this holiday and celebration meant to my Dad. I also am thankful for all of the gifts he gave us throughout the years, among them, the importance of being responsible and the joy of interests and hobbies. It's only now that I am beginning to understand how his passion for photography was a gift for all of us. It took me over 50 years to figure it out but, I finally get it. What I get is that Dad did make it to one more Christmas and, will make it to many many more. His photographs and in this case, his wood carvings were gifts that will continue to be graphic reminders of his love of the Christmas holiday. That's why the first photo I post, that was taken with my new macro lens, is dedicated to my Dad. I wish you all a peaceful holiday and a joyful New Year. Since I probably didn't say it enough times while you were here, thanks Dad for all of the wonderful gifts. Love Don