Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005) March 19, 2010
Posted by Cal in : Comedy, Drama, War, 2000s films , add a commentDirector: Park Kwang-hyun Starring: Shin Ha-kyun; Jeong Jae-yeong; Kang Hye-jeong Territory: South Korea
It’s 1950, and the Korean War has just got underway. High up in the hills, the remains of a North Korean unit are all but annihilated by troops from the South. The three survivors happen upon a village in the valley called Dongmakgol, a farming community who are so self-sufficient and isolated that they aren’t even aware that the country has been plunged into war. When they find out that the village has also been visited by two deserters from the Republic of Korea and an injured US pilot, a tense standoff begins.
The first shock of Welcome to Dongmakgol, at least for me, was the film’s evident political neutrality – this is no flag-waving exercise by South Korean against their long-term foes. In one early scene, the Republic open fire on the remnants of a North Korean army – including their wounded members. More surprising still, the film marks the United Nations the de facto “bad guys”, although the film paints all of the participants of war in a bad light.
The story may feel familiar – factions from two opposing sides are drawn together against their will and are forced to get along – but Welcome to Dongmakgol eschews cliché and predictability with a healthy dose of humanity, humour and a small sprinkling of surrealism. The villagers are so naive that they don’t even know what modern weaponry is (they think the grenades angrily weilded by the soldiers are potatoes) and seem oblivious to the danger of their situation. When the standoff occurs, with the villagers square in the middle, they eventually get bored and wander off. The symbol of the village’s innocence and naivety is Yeo-il (Kang Hye-jeong, Old Boy), a simple girl who may or may not be playing with a full deck. It’s her that the soldiers have most initial contact with, and she slowly changes their attitude to each other and to the war in general.
The turning point comes when hostilities between the two sides reach a peak and a stray grenade blows up the village’s food store. Both sides feel guilty and help the villagers restock their larder, starting a chain reaction that leads to a thawing in the frosty relations. Further bonding occurs when a giant wild boar threatens to attack the inhabitants of Dongmakgol and the two sides find themselves pitching in to help. Again, the concept might feel familiar, but thankfully the characters are all believable and very human. The central characters are all well played, from the North Korean High Comrade Rhee Soo-hwa (Jeung Jae-yeong, Sympathy For Mr Vengeance) to his opposite number Pyo Hyun-chul (Shin Ha-hyun), who is about to commit suicide when we first encounter him. Western actor Steve Taschler also gives a creditable performance, and the usual awkward problems that arise when English dialogue is delivered in Asian films does not occur here.
Credit must also be given to director Park Kwang-hyun, who turns in quite a visually interesting film despite obvious budget constraints. He manages to pull off some rather unlikely surreal images, such as when the village’s corn gets blown up and rains as popcorn on the inhabitants. Also, the recurring theme of the supernatural butterflies that inhabit the Eden-like village is particularly haunting. You do get the feeling he bites off more than he can chew in the boar scene though, which is presented almost like an Anime sequence and for me didn’t quite work as it should have. There’s also some rather dubious CGI effects, but these never last long enough to distract the viewer.
There are many bittersweet tales on the insanity of war, but Welcome to Dongmakgol has got to be one of the best, simply because it never hits you over the head with its message. And also because it is also so damn funny – the scene where the villagers try to converse with the American pilot in elementary English is bloody hilarious. But it’s the ambiguity of the morality of the “sides” that is the most refreshing, and as a western viewer, it’s humbling to see the United Nations portrayed in such a bad light in such a believable way. But then, Welcome to Dongmakgol leaves you thinking about a lot of things, not least the validity of current military actions, and therefore feels like a very topical and relevant film.
Exiled (2006) December 1, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Action, Drama, Thriller, 2000s films , 2 commentsDirector: Johnny To Main cast: Anthony Wong; Francis Ng; Roy Cheung; Lam Suet; Simon Yam Territory: Hong Kong
A group of Triad hitmen arrive at the home of Wo (Nick Cheung) in Macau, assigned to kill him. After a brief firefight, they sit down to talk things over. It transpires that Wo knows his would-be killers very well – he was part of their gang and grew up with them. Blaze (Anthony Wong), Cat (Roy Cheung), Fat (Lam Suet) and Tai (Francis Ng) eventually disregard their orders, much to the annoyance of Boss Fay (Simon Yam), who ordered the hit.
Exiled burst onto the screens in 2006, and was the perfect antidote to the growing trend of style-over-substance, CGI-heavy Hong Kong movies. What’s more, there are no giggling/pouting pretty boy/girl pop stars here. Instead, we have a wealth of acting talent headed by the wonderful Anthony Wong, who just seems to get more miserable-looking as he gets older – in this, you’d think the man had never smiled in his life!
It throws the viewer in at the deep end right from the start. One minute Blaze and company are shooting at Wo and the next minute Wo’s cooking them all a meal - during which Blaze finds a stray bullet in his tea, leading to much laughter amongst the gang. But the film drips information on a regular basis and pretty soon you know what’s going on as long as you’re prepared to join the dots occasionally.
It quickly becomes apparent that Boss Fay (Simon Yam in his default mode) is the real villain of the piece, and the only character without any redeeming features. After a particularly exciting gunfight with Fay, Blaze’s life is saved by Wo, but the latter is injured and has to go to an “underground clinic” – a surgery run by a quack but the only place a Triad member can be treated without having to answer some serious questions. This leads to an unfortunate meeting that you should see coming but don’t, in a scene that starts off pretty humorously and ends in more gunplay and a shocking conclusion.
Johnny To nods to the spaghetti western at various times and there’s even a scene that’s reminiscent of Leone’s For a Few Dollars More, but it’s film noir that he seems to be mainly aiming for. Later in the film we have some outdoor scenes filmed in a very unusual, almost surreal, way. It’s here that we encounter Chan (Richie Ren), the sharpshooting cop guarding a cache of gold, and the film works itself up to the finale.
The whole package is wonderful – the story, the characters, the action, everything. It also has a great soundtrack that matches the tone of the film perfectly. The only fly in the ointment is some horribly invasive product placement and a pretty pointless appearance by ineffective cop Shan (Hui Siu-Hung) who is literally counting the hours until his retirement. But these are small criticisms compared to the engrossing and uplifting experience of watching a film that bucks the trend of Hong Kong films and delivers something essential. It’s probably not a coincidence that the film is set in the 90s, and stylistically feels from that period. It does have a couple of CGI shots, but on the whole seems very organic and natural and very much like the way Hong Kong films used to be made before the digital age. The setting of the very European-looking Macau over Hong Kong is also a great choice, and some of the locations are brilliantly atmospheric.
Exiled is an essential viewing experience and a must-see for even the most casual fan of the genre.
Lam Suet-o-meter: Very high! In fact, one of the most prominent roles I’ve seen him in. Rejoice!
GP506 (AKA Guard Post) (2008) October 13, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Horror, Thriller, 2000s films , add a commentDirector: Kong Su-chang Main cast: Jeon Ho-jin; Lee Young-hoon; Lee Jeong-heon; Cho Hyun-jai Territory: South Korea
Something or someone has killed the soldiers stationed at Guard Post 506, an outpost situated near the border between South Korea and its hostile northern neighbour. Sergeant Noh (Jeon Ho-jin) and his team go to the site to piece together what went wrong, and uncover a bizarre tale of infection and insanity.
GP506 (retitled Guard Post in the west) has similar themes as certain films in the body horror sub genre, and occasionally reminded me of the much derided Shyamalan film The Happening. It’s surprisingly not an all-out horror movie though; for most part it plays like a detective thriller, albeit with gory mutilations and unnatural food cravings.
The story is told in a series of flashbacks, and this can sometimes be a problem as it’s not always clear if you’re watching past events or the present. When a survivor is found from the original team and helps to start putting the pieces together, we get a series of glimpses into the mystery. Noh also finds and reads diary entries to shed light on the affair. Other clues suggest Corporal Kang (Lee Young-hoon) may have been unstable and killed the rest of his team.
Things are never quite what they seem, and the story twists and turns with new elements being introduced that challenge the viewers’ assumptions. As with most films of this nature, it works better with as little prior knowledge as possible.
While GP506 is a competently made film (the production values are high throughout), there was something about it that didn’t quite grab me. Although the film moves quite slowly, I think the main problem is I never really cared about any of the characters and their plight. The structure and feel of the film is also similar to a lot of modern shockers and doesn’t really stand out from the crowd.
However, the setting is good and occasionally recalls classic films set in remote locations such as John Carpenter’s The Thing. There’s also a very real possibility the whole film is an allegorical comment on the cold war and the paranoia between the divided Korea.
But while the film is quite watchable, I have to admit a feeling quite underwhelmed by the whole thing. Perhaps if the characters were a bit more engaging and the plotting a little tighter, this could have been a lot better. As it stands, though, GP506 is only mildly diverting.
The Myth (2005) August 30, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Comedy, Action, 2000s films , 6 commentsDirector: Stanley Tong Main cast: Jackie Chan; Kim Hee-Sun; Tony Leung Ka-Fai; Mallika Sherawat Territory: Hong Kong
Jack (Jackie Chan) is an archaeologist plagued with recurring dreams of being a general in Qin dynasty China, escorting the Emperor’s new concubine Ok Soo (Kim Hee-Sun) through hostile territory. During his waking hours, Jack and his friend William (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) search an Indian tomb for a device that can counteract the laws of gravity. While there, Jack finds evidence that his dreams may in fact be his past life, and that the princess may have been real.
Much to my surprise, I’ve never done a review for this film before. I think it might have something to do with watching this over the festive period a few years ago and not really remembering much about it – probably as a result of drinking alcohol. In any case, the simple fact of the matter is that The Myth is a nice idea that is quite badly executed.
The film is split into two timelines – Qin dynasty China (where Chan is bizarrely dubbed for his Mandarin lines unless I’m very much mistaken) and present day Hong Kong. It soon becomes apparent that the period scenes just don’t work on any level and soon become increasingly irritating. When you think of Jackie Chan, you don’t immediately think of period epics, and this looks like someone thought it would be a good idea to jump on the House of Flying Daggers bandwagon.
On the other hand, the modern day thread is surprisingly entertaining. Tony Leung Ka-Fai plays a good stooge to Chan and their banter is favourably reminiscent of the Armour of God dynamic between Chan and Alan Tam. Furthermore, one of the more successful sequences of the film involves Mallika Sherawat and a glue factory. It’s a scene that is forced and contrived and has every sight gag clearly signposted, but is no less fun for it. In fact, it’s classic Chan from beginning to end.
The problem is that these flashes of entertainment never last long enough. Both the Tony Leung character and Sherawat’s character are dispensed with just when you’re getting into the fun and you’re thrown back into the story, which is frankly not that interesting. As with a lot of Jackie Chan films made from the 90s onwards, the story has great ambition but ends up being messy and confused. A villain is introduced later in the film and I’m still a little hazy as to what he’s doing there.
It’s not just the garbled plotting that causes problems. There is some truly awful CGI work in this film, particularly when it comes to shots of horses fighting each other. Whoever thought that these shots could work needs to be kicked out of the business right now – it sounds like the bright idea of a sugared-up eight-year-old kid. There are also problems in the script department, and the age-old problem of a Chinese (and Indian) cast speaking English crops up yet again, with portions of dialogue being quite hard to understand. There’s also a speech given by Tony Leung that just makes me cringe. He’s talking about myths, and says that a hundred years ago, landing on the moon was just a myth. Erm, no. Landing on the moon was a dream, an aspiration, but not a myth because nobody had done it yet. I’m prepared to concede that this is a translation problem and just one of those language quirks that are hard to get around, but it still sounds totally boneheaded.
To sum up, The Myth is not terribly great - and at just over two hours in length, it’s also noticeably bloated. Which is a terrible shame as it has some really fun elements and a couple of great scenes. I’ve always said that Jackie Chan films work best on a smaller scale, and this is a classic example of what happens when you try to add too many ingredients to the pot. And it’s getting quite funny when characters refer to Mr Chan as “young man” without a trace of irony. And is it just me, or does Tony Leung Ka-Fai look confusingly similar to Ken Lo? And does the book at the end really have “The Mnth” written on the cover?
Flash Point (2007) August 23, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Action, Thriller, 2000s films , 4 commentsDirector: Wilson Yip Wai-Shun Main cast: Donnie Yen; Louis Koo; Fan Bing-Bing; Ray Liu Territory: Hong Kong
Hong Kong cop Ma (Donnie Yen) tries to take down a ruthless Triad gang led by three Vietnamese immigrants. Helping him is his partner Wilson (Louis Koo), who is working undercover in the gang. When one of the leaders gets arrested, the others start wiping out suspects one by one until only Wilson remains. When the Triad bosses discover Wilson’s true identity, Ma is forced to wage war against the gang to save his friend.
Again, I’m probably the last person claiming to be a Hong Kong film fan to actually see this film. I don’t know why, but I’ve always put it off. Well, I’ve got a good idea it’s the title. Flash Point is one of the best examples of the brainless two-word action film titling I can think of. It means nothing, is instantly forgettable and was probably decided by rolling a pair of dice and consulting a list of “tough words”. Moreover, the film’s plot reeks of generic unoriginality, and Donnie Yen has always been a bit patchy for my liking.
Well, the good news (and you probably all know this already) is Flash Point is actually really good. Yes, the story is unoriginal and by-the-numbers, but the mix of Triad drama and high action works better than you’d think.
Originally conceived as a prequel to the hugely successful SPL (and with both director Wilson Yip and star Donnie Yen on board), the film is set in 1997 Hong Kong, just before the takeover. The first half runs like a straight Triad thriller (albeit slightly confusing until you get a grip on the story) with almost no action at all, while the second half is almost all action. While this could have killed the film stone dead, the characters get room to breath and the viewer gets the chance to bond or despise them as appropriate.
The supporting cast are workmanlike and there isn’t really a memorable character amongst them, apart from Louis Koo’s mole in the underground gang. Elsewhere Fan Bing-Bing pops up to play a totally undemanding damsel in distress girlfriend role, and Kent Cheng demonstrates just why you should never put aluminium foil in a microwave. It’s a good job then that Donnie Yen and his choreography saves the day – despite him not actually grabbing much screen time early on in proceedings.
One can only wonder why Yen hasn’t performed action choreography like this through his entire career, but the fights in Flash Point are simply breathtaking. Unlike the Yip/Yen collaboration it followed, Dragon Tiger Gate, the special effects do not get in the way of the enjoyment of the fights and while there simply had to be a bunch of CGI shots in there, most check out cerebrally. This film includes some of the most dangerous looking stunt and combat scenes I’ve seen from Hong Kong since the days of Jackie Chan’s 80s hey-day and I have to admit I loved every full-contact second of it.
When the dust settled and the ending credits rolled, I couldn’t help comparing this with SPL, and deciding that Flash Point wasn’t quite as satisfying as a film experience. Despite that, it is a hugely enjoyable film and the bone-breaking action scenes will keep me coming back for more.
The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008) July 7, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Comedy, Action, 2000s films , add a commentDirector: Kim Ji-woon Main cast: Song Kang-ho; Lee Byung-hun; Jung Woo-sung Territory: South Korea
Not so much a remake (or parody) of Sergio Leone’s classic western adventure, The Good, the Bad, the Weird is more of a variation on a theme. We have our three central characters more or less corresponding to the template set down in Leone’s film, but the focus is firmly on Yoon Tae-goo (Song Kang-ho), or the ‘Weird’.
All three are chasing an unspecified and vague treasure buried in the Manchurian desert in the 1930s. However, to get the treasure they need the treasure map, which is usually (but not always) held by Tae-goo. On his tail are the ‘Good’ – bounty hunter Park Do-wan (Jung Woo-sung), and the ‘Bad’ – psychotic gang boss Park Chang-yi (Lee Byung-hun).
The film moves at a breakneck speed and contains enough dry humour that a smile is never far away. Although not excessively violent (the odd finger-chopping moment notwithstanding), the gunplay is surprisingly hard-hitting and brutal. And when the ruling Japanese army want a splice of the treasure, things get even more explosive – literally. With so many bangs, laughs and chases, it’s hard not to have a good time, and fans of a good MacGuffin will love the treasure map and its travels throughout the film. The action scenes in The Good, the Bad, the Weird are surprisingly free of CGI (or so it appears), which is heartening and some of the stunts look refreshingly ‘real’.
The star of the show though is undoubtedly Song Kang-ho, who seems to have appeared in about half of the Korean films I’ve seen so far. His character appears a close relative of the devious Tuco of Leone’s film, and both of the other main characters drop into the shadows quite often. If there can be a criticism of The Good, the Bad, the Weird, it is the fact that these other two are nowhere near as well drawn as Tae-goo. In fact, while ‘the Bad’ has an ultra-hip style and a neat way of killing a centipede (and also a sliver of intrigue with a rumour of a rivalry between him and Tae-goo), ‘the Good’ is out-and-out boring. In a film running just over two hours’ in length, you can forget his involvement in the plot for most of it.
But character development is not the main point of The Good, the Bad, the Weird. It is an action spectacle well on a par with anything Hollywood can produce (and a lot more fun than the latest blockbusters produced in the west) and is a definite must-see for action film fans, western fans and fans of anything a bit funny and quirky – and that should include all of my readership, frankly. It’s not as good as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but then very little is. It is, however, easy to enjoy this film as well as the original, and no prior knowledge is needed to get the most out of it.
The Chaser (2008) July 4, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Thriller, 2000s films , 2 commentsDirector: Na Hong-jin Main cast: Kim Yoon-seok; Ha Jeong-woo; Seo Yeong-hee Territory: South Korea
Pimp Jung-ho (Kim Yoon-seok) is bothered by his dwindling stock of girls. He assumes they have been running out on him, but when he discovers they all had the same client just before going missing, he suspects that a rival pimp has been stealing them from him. Enraged, he sets out to trap his rival with one of his remaining girls, Min-ji (Seo Yeong-hee). But when the trap fails and another girl goes missing, Jung-ho steps up the search to get his “property” back. But after a chance encounter with Yeong-min (Ha Jeong-woo), he realises that the truth might be far more sinister. Being a former detective, Jung-ho uses his skills and contacts to go after Yeong-min and to find out what happened to Min-ji and to (re)discover his humanity and compassion.
The idea of the protagonist of The Chaser being a pimp was pretty compelling. He’s not even a nice pimp, either, and thinks nothing of bullying one of his girls out of her sickbed to go back to work. His guilt only starts to kick in when he realises that he’s sent Min-ji into the clutches of a serial killer and her cute young daughter will become an orphan.
The killer in question, Je Yeong-min, is a right piece of work – even though he makes the stupid mistake of leaving one of the victim’s cars in the neighbourhood after killing her. The scene where he traps Min-ji, though, is one of the most suspenseful I’ve seen in a while. You’re pretty sure Yeong-min is more than just a regular john, but he plays it so casually that when his true intent is made clear it’s very chilling indeed.
This isn’t a cat-and-mouse chase film as you would expect. For a large portion of the film, Yeong-min is incarcerated. Instead, the film focuses on Jung-ho’s search for Min-ji, who is assumed to be alive. Even though the police have a confession from Yeong-min, they suspect Jung-ho has more involvement and eventually have to let the killer go. This seems to be a recurring theme in Korean movies – police incompetence. I’ve no idea if they really are as dense and slapdash as depicted in cinema or whether they are simply written that way for dramatic purposes, but it’s certainly something I’ve noticed quite a lot lately.
Director Na Hong-jin seems to come from the Akira Kurosawa school of film directing when it comes to weather. Yes, it rains an awful lot in The Chaser. But he does a splendid job of making a tense, watchable thriller with intriguing three dimensional characters. It’s edge-of-your-seat type stuff, and that’s all you can ask for in a thriller. One slight fly in the ointment is the (very brief) inclusion of probably the stupidest convenience store clerk in the history of the world. It’s a short scene, but one that sticks out in the mind for its ridiculousness and (presumably) unintentional comedy value. However, natural selection wins out and the cinematic Darwin Awards will have themselves a prime candidate.
Otherwise, solid stuff, and a film to be chased down at the earliest opportunity.
Dragon Tiger Gate (2006) June 29, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Action, 2000s films , 5 commentsDirector: Wilson Yip Main cast: Donnie Yen; Nicholas Tse; Shawn Yu Territory: Hong Kong
Childhood friends Dragon (Donnie Yen) and Tiger (Nicholas Tse) reunite as adults on different sides of the Dragon Tiger Gate, a place where youngsters are taught to become heroes. While Tiger has become an upstanding citizen, Dragon has become the top muscle for the criminal Lousha gang and its masked head, Shibumi. The two friends come together with the help of nunchaku-wielding friend Turbo (Shawn Yu) when the master of Dragon Tiger Gate (Yuen Wah) is killed by Shibumi.
I realise I’m incredibly late with this one. Generating massive buzz back in 2006, I’ve only just got around to seeing it. Reuniting director Yip and Donnie Yen from the previous year’s superior action film SPL, and chucking a sizable budget at the screen, the hopes were high for Dragon Tiger Gate.
Dragon Tiger Gate starts with a bang, and delivers high energy action from choreographer Yen – who incidentally seems to have found a time machine somewhere along his travels as he appears to be getting younger as the years go by. While the action is along the more fantastic wire-fu variety, it is delivered in an exciting way and almost never ceases to be enjoyable. The inclusion of Turbo and his ever-present nunchaku grounds the film in some kind of reality when he’s present (barring some special effects shots) and the mixture works well.
However, the narrative isn’t so good. I suspect a lot of this is down to being based on a comic strip – there are far too many characters and back-stories thrown in that it quickly becomes frustrating. I imagine fans of the comic strip will appreciate the detail and thoroughness of Dragon Tiger Gate’s weaving storylines, but personally I thought the film could have lost a few characters and not been any the worse for it. Again, this is probably obvious for fans of the source material, but I found the partly modern urban and partly dark fantasy settings a bit strange. It’s always going to be hard to fit a well-established literary serial into a 94-minute movie, but I just wished they’d have simplified it a bit for newbies.
It’s always nice to see Yuen Wah in an action role (albeit rather digitally enhanced) and he has a good, meaty role as Master Wong. Other than him and the leads, though, the rest is all pretty forgettable, except for a scene with a fully dressed Li Xiao-Ran taking a dip in a swimming pool. Even third lead Turbo is somewhat a mystery and even though I love nunchaku scenes I thought his character was surplus to requirements.
With so many people praising Hong Kong’s action sequences in an age where they are no longer as accomplished as they used to be and ignoring their much improved ability to tell a good story, it’s always a shocker to see something directly to the contrary. And that’s what Dragon Tiger Gate is for me – a lot of good action scenes with some less inspired dialogue and uninteresting characters in between.
Oldboy (2003) June 4, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Thriller, 2000s films , 4 commentsDirector: Park Chan-wook Main cast: Choi Min-sik; Kang Hye-jeong; Yu Ji-tae Territory: South Korea
Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is snatched off the street one drunken evening and is held prisoner for fifteen years. He has no idea why he has been imprisoned, and is equally baffled when he is released one day without warning. Teaming up with Mido (Kang Hye-jeong), a young sushi waitress who takes him under her wing, Oh Dae-su seeks answers to his imprisonment and revenge for his wasted years.
I am probably not alone by saying that Oldboy was my introduction to Korean cinema, and probably also not alone in saying I have seen nothing to surpass it. Unfortunately, it is a film that works best when you know as little about it as possible, making reviewing the film rather tricky.
However, it’s also fair to say that most people who would want to see the film already have. In case you haven’t, Oldboy is a superb thriller with a vein of surrealism and dark comedy running through it and enough ambiguity and layering to keep you thinking about it long after the film has finished.
After the initial kidnap and imprisonment section, the film becomes, for a time, a kind of mystery thriller, with Oh Dae-su (now in “the bigger prison”) and Mido searching for clues to the former’s captors by hunting down the suppliers of the fried dumplings he was fed throughout his captivity. Tracking the culprit down as Lee Woo-jin (Yu Ji-tae), Oh Dae-su is still none the wiser, but still on the lookout for revenge.
There are a number of things that Oldboy so great. Firstly, the performance from Choi Min-sik is simply enthralling – he is both manic yet also believable. Secondly, the music is incredibly atmospheric and memorable and has one of the most haunting themes I’ve ever heard. Thirdly, and more importantly, is the story that Oldboy tells. Full of twists, turns and perversely entertaining imagery, Oldboy can be likened at its most basic level to an Asian Fight Club. If you like your thrillers with bite, originality and weight, this is a must see.
This film is the middle film of Park Chan-wook’s “revenge” trilogy, and will always be my favourite. Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is a good film, for sure, but Lady Vengeance, in my opinion, was a film too far and had very little to add to the subject. Oldboy is just so damn watchable, uncomfortable violence and live octopus eating excepted. If there is one single person out there that hasn’t seen this film and was hovering over the decision, I sincerely hope I’ve persuaded you to try it out.
Samaria (Samaritan Girl) (2001) May 24, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Drama, 2000s films , 1 comment so farDirector: Kim Ki-Duk Main cast: Kwak Ji-min; Han Yeo-reum; Lee Eol Territory: South Korea
Jae-yeong (Han Yeo-reum) and Yeo-jin (Kwak Ji-min) are two schoolgirls saving money for a trip to Europe and set up a prostitution racket to raise funds. While Jae-yeong sleeps with men for cash, policeman’s daughter Yeo-jin handles the business side of things. When Jae-yeong is fatally injured in a police raid, Yeo-jin sets out to sleep with all of her friend’s clients and repay the money she had earned. When her father Yeong-ki (Lee Eol), finds out, he begins following the clients too for an altogether different reason.
Samaria (or Samaritan Girl) is a hard hitting film from Kim Ki-Duk (Bin-jip), but then the subject of underage prostitution is never going to be light and breezy. It is split into three distinct movements titled Vasumitra, Samaria and Sonata. The first concerns Jae-yeong and her ability to enjoy (or at least tolerate) her work, which occasionally sickens Yeo-jin, the second movement follows Yeo-jin’s promise of returning the money and the third concerns the father and daughter relationship between the police officer and the girl.
Unlike Bin-jip, which I wholeheartedly enjoyed, I found Samaria far too obscure to be totally satisfying. There were just too many times I was left wondering what the hell Kim was getting at with the story. Worse, there were parts that just defied logic, such as when Jae-yeong gets fatally injured. She is being perused by police, but as soon as she jumps from a window to evade them, they apparently disappear leaving Yeo-jin on her own to take her to hospital. They don’t even seem to question Yeo-jin about the prostitution business, as presumably her father would have found out what was going on.
Nevertheless, Samaria is a deep and weighty piece, and if you’re prepared to overlook the odd inconsistency, you may find it rewarding. Certainly if you have a penchant for metaphor and symbolism you should give it a whirl. One thing that comes across that I’ve never noticed in other Korean films is that the place has some absolutely stunning scenery. There’s a section of the film that takes place in the countryside and it looks positively otherworldly. Another thing I noticed was city of Seoul, which seemed amazingly devoid of litter and graffiti. I don’t know if that’s true or was designed by Kim, but I’ve never seen such a clean city in the twenty-first century. Mind you, if this film is anything to go by, there may be a bit of a problem with violent crime and underage prostitution…