There is a common misconception in the viewing community that First Snow is just another in the long line of tired efforts by modern filmmakers to rehash scripts from the genius of yesteryear. This, however, could not be less true with First Snow. Though the title “First Snow” itself has indeed appeared in the archives of film before, the first First Snow, if you will, is in no way affiliated with the Mark Fergus’ film by the same name.Debuting in 1958, the elder film is actually referred to as Choseol in its native Korean tongue, only taking the name First Snow for its release to Western audience. Directed by Kim Ki-Young, the societal drama centers around refugees who must survive by means of theft, taking United States Army goods on and coal, set near the military barracks close the city of Seoul in the post Korean War period of 1953. The refugees are up against the demolition of their village in order to pave way for the construction of a factory, and risk their lives to stand in its path. Ultimately the village is bulldozed, amid feelings of heartbreak and futility.Though it could be argued that the 2006 First Snow evokes similarly dark images and calls into question the emotion of futility when fighting against greater powers, in its case fate, not the controlling class, this is perhaps the most significant commonality between the two on-screen productions. Save for a name and some sentiment, the movies deal with entirely separate subject matters.Both films stand on their own as impressive works in their own time, united by a common name, but such association is merely the work of coincidence. Unless of course you believe fate is inescapable, in which case can we ever really call any matter of chance a coincidence?