There has been a surge of excellent films coming from the South Korean film industry over the past few years, and thankfully these films are gaining enough international recognition that we should expect more of South Korea's finest cinema in the future! I recently reviewed Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and here I present brief reviews for three other South Korean films that I've recently seen. I can strongly recommend any of these films, and hopefully you can gain some idea as to the films' content and quality, if you've been curious but did not know where to begin!
I have the Special Edition DVDs for all the films below, but did not have time to go through all of the special features. Mostly, I watched interviews and behind-the-scenes featurettes, and these were quite insightful, but there is so much material to explore, and I would personally be curious to learn more about these filmmakers and to hear them speak about their art. I normally don't make the effort to seek out Special Editions of films, but these were all very reasonably priced and I did not even see the possibility to buy "bare" versions of the DVDs (not in Europe, at least).There are still several other films that have received positive responses from critics and audiences, for instance Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, which I have borrowed from Karelle and will watch soon I hope!
Oldboy
DVD Release Date: August 23, 2005
Chan-wook Park’s second entry to his Vengeance Trilogy is a brilliant follow up to Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, sprinkled with his directorial style, but different enough in tone and pacing to keep the experience fresh. The film begins wonderfully, so much that it seems to falter towards the end, but only mildly. The story opens with a drunken Oh Dae-su (Min-sik Choi) being detained by the police for disorderliness, it seems. The opening scenes very nicely add humor to help viewers settle in before the story turns to a darker direction.
Very suddenly, Oh Dae-su is placed in some sort of asylum, where he is kept for many many years. Just as suddenly as he was placed in that prison, he is released into the world and left to solve the mystery of his punishment as little clues are given to him over the following days.
Somewhere in the middle, it became a bit difficult for me to follow all the details, but everything is cleanly resolved by the end of the film. As in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy is beautiful to watch, and some of the most striking images are of the banalities of regular life. And of course, there is violence! I thought Oldboy would be more violent than Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, especially since it has more energy than its predecessor, but the violent images were not as gory and savage as in Sympathy. It is nevertheless a very violent movie by normal standards.
It was difficult for me to rate this film, because it relates so much to Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance in subject matter, but treated differently. One thing that’s for certain is that Chan-wook Park has demonstrated his versatility as a director. Where Sympathy was more poetic and contained more social commentary, Oldboy was infused with energy as schizophrenic as its protagonist, and I felt it was easier to sympathize (hum hum) with its characters. Both films’ endings are brilliant, though completely different.
I think both films are comparable in quality, but their differences are enough such that many people will prefer one to the other, due to different tastes. I’m leaning more toward the Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance direction for now, but Oldboy is just as good of a film. Certainly worth your time!
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
DVD Release Date: February 15, 2005
In the 1950’s South Korea was attacked by Communist North Korea, and so began the Korean War. Tae Guk Gi focuses one the story of one family, particularly two brothers, Jin-tae (Dong-Kun Jang) and Jin-seok (Won Bin), who are thrust into combat, as many male citizens were, during perhaps the most brutal and important period of modern Korean history. This film is rich with different themes, and it is a true epic story that masterfully balances the larger picture of the War as well as the personal stories of the two brothers.
The War itself is recreated very harshly; this isn’t a war about glory and heroism. This is a war about survival, madness, and savagery, like all wars. Tae Guk Gi is very well photographed, but the war we are shown was a horrible experience for all who were involved.
This is the best war film to be released in the past few years, and though the story is very classical, it is nevertheless a very touching and sincere one, thanks to director Je-gyu Kang’s ability to manage different scales of filmmaking, and to the wonderful cast who make everything feel so real.
A film you will not be able to ignore, Tae Guk Gi will shock and sadden you, but behind that a strong message of love will emerge, and this will break you down. Keep some tissues nearby.
A Tale of Two Sisters
DVD Release Date: March 29, 2005
South Korean director Ji-woon Kim had made two comedies and wanted to try making a psychological horror film based on a Korean folk tale. This is how A Tale of Two Sisters came to be, and this is an excellent occurrence.
The story focuses on two teenage sisters, Soo-mi (Su-jeong Lim) and Soo-yeon (Geun-yeong Mun) who return from a stay at a mental hospital to live with their father and stepmother. Their mother’s death had understandably left a traumatic mark on the sisters, but thankfully they have found peace of mind, and begin to enjoy their time at the house by the lake, dipping their feet in the water as they sit on the pier chatting amongst themselves.
As the story continues, we know that matters will only become bad for the sisters, as initial disputes with their stepmother escalate to larger proportions, and the ghost of their mother begins to haunt them. Though the premise could have led to a fairly generic psychological horror film, Ji-woon Kim has some tricks to keep us interested and make the film original. There are so many twists that start to reveal themselves that even after the end, it took me a few minutes to replay some portions of the film in my mind to piece the mystery together.
The film is very gripping, and like most modern East Asian horror films, relies on a slowed-down pacing and suggestion of horror rather than horror itself. The cinematography is beautiful, and the actors have all done a very nice job!
