Waikiki Brothers The Surrogate Woman

Two engaging parables about Korean society present and past from leading directors Im Soon-Rye and Im Kwon-Taek.

From Im Soon-Rye, one of Korea's leading female directors, Waikiki Brothers spans decades charting the rise and fall of a high school rock band. It's a reflection of the rapid changes in Korean society and a moving parable about adolescent dreams that mutate into middle-aged realities. (2001; 105 mins.)

From Im Kwon-Taek, who shared Best Director honors this year at Cannes, comes The Surrogate Woman. Set in the Yi Dynasty of the late-19th century but having clear modern resonance, the film follows a happy couple whose marriage is threatened when the wife and her in-laws force the husband to use a surrogate to produce a male heir. It's a pointed analysis of how deeply male lineage and ancestor worship are lodged in the Korean national psyche. (1987; 85 mins.)