Cobweb

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Cobweb

Released Feb 9, 2024

2h 15m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

74%

Tomatometer

35 Reviews

27%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

In the 1970s, Director Kim is obsessed by the desire to re-shoot the ending of his completed film 'Cobweb', but chaos and turmoil grip the set with interference from the censorship authorities, and the complaints of actors and producers who can't understand the re-written ending. Will Kim be able to find a way through this chaos to fulfill his artistic ambitions and complete his masterpiece?

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Critics Consensus

Cobweb has no shortage of sticky strands, even as Kim Jee-woon's ambitious effort threatens to become an overly tangled blend of satire and meta-fiction.

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Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

It’s as if Kim is testing himself to see if he could make a self-indulgent, unsubstantial lark of a comedy. He can. Sorta.

Rated: 2/4

Feb 12, 2024

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Brandon Yu

New York Times

“Cobweb” falls victim, ironically, to its own punchline — becoming a movie that is too obsessed with itself.

Feb 8, 2024

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Jessica Kiang

Variety

A film containing another film; a filmmaker referring to the trials of a filmmaker: It's a movie of many layers, all of them garish and goofy, none of them great.

Jun 23, 2023

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William Schwartz

HanCinema

Focuses mainly on the absurd dramas of film production, with Director Kim's legitimacy as an artist rather paradoxically confirmed by his genuine obliviousness to everything that's going on with his cast and crew.

Nov 5, 2024

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Daniel Allen

Loud and Clear Reviews

If Cobweb is supposed to be a satire on filmmaking, that element takes a back seat as the film enters absurdist territory near the end... Nevertheless, it is a frenetic and, at times, humorous film that works best as an enjoyable farce.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 25, 2024

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Joe Muldoon

Battle Royale With Cheese

Underneath the laughs and lunacy, there's a very important discourse about censorship and authoritarianism; for cinema to live, it must be free. Free from external interference, from expressive restraint, and free to be as open and original as it wishes.

Feb 19, 2024

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JeeHwan (Luke) L

“If you really love Korean film you should study the history of Korean film, than watch it. It is such an amazing film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/25

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Dean Chungho K

Underwhelming, and really confusing. I did not like this film at all

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

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Alan W

In writer-director Kim Jee-woon's new film, Song Kang-ho's Kim Yeol is a movie director in the 1970s haunted by the recent death of his mentor and determined to succeed in his place and proves he's not a hack. Unsure about the ending of his latest film, a hilariously overblown and tonally spot on gothic family melodrama, also called Cobweb, he's convinced that 2 extra days of reshoots will turn it into the masterpiece he dreams of, though inevitably his plans begin to derail and chaos soon takes over his movie set. Partly a satire of the strict censorship regime which existed there back then when government script approval is required before any shooting can begin; and partly a farce where an increasingly desperate and obsessed director wrangles his cast and crew against a running clock and mounting obstacles in the form of surprise visits from government officials and on-set romantic entanglements, this is a deliriously entertaining and funny film, especially for a cine-literate audience who enjoys a peek behind the curtains to see how the smoke and mirrors work to produce cinematic magic on the screen. A delightful and grounded cast, especially for a Korean one, thankfully doesn't stray into their usual exaggerated over-acting; while a climactic sequence pushing Kim into a frenzy state as he attempts to get a meticulously planned one-take shot to finish his film is accompanied by the unexpectedly and brilliantly choice of Luxemborg's winning Eurovision entry from 1965, and proves that the South Koreans can do farce just as well as the British can. South Korea's belated answer to Truffaut's Day For Night turns out to be tremendous fun as competing obsessions, egos and ambitions of the cast and crew fire up on and off the sound stage to uproarious effect.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/24

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Kim Jee-woon

Director

Song Kang-ho

Actor

Lim Soo-jung

Actor

Oh Jung-se

Actor

Jeon Yeo-been

Actor

Jeong Sujeong

Actor

Cobweb: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the 1970s, Director Kim is obsessed by the desire to re-shoot the ending of his completed film 'Cobweb', but chaos and turmoil grip the set with interference from the censorship authorities, and the complaints of actors and producers who can't understand the re-written ending. Will Kim be able to find a way through this chaos to fulfill his artistic ambitions and complete his masterpiece?

Director: Kim Jee-woon
Producer: Lee Dong-jin
Screenwriter: Shin Yeon-shick
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Production Co: Luz y Sonidos, Anthology studio, Bareunson
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 9, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 9, 2024
Runtime: 2h 15m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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