2003 ‘장화, 홍련’ Directed by Kim Jee-woon
A recently released patient from a mental institution returns home with her sister, only to face disturbing events between her stepmother and the ghosts haunting their house- all of which are connected to a dark past in the family's history.
Part of Hoop-Tober
“I’ll always be with you.”
In close-up, a man washes his hands carefully and repeatedly. His hands do not appear dirty. He has not, so far as we can tell, just used the toilet, nor is he preparing to eat or to engage in some practice necessitating sterility. He is merely awaiting a conversation. Nonetheless, he is fastidious about his washing. It is a curious image with which to begin Kim Jee-Woon’s A Tale of Two Sisters, but one that, eventually, makes a great deal of sense. For hand-washing, in the grand tradition of Pontius Pilate, is commonly associated with the cleansing of guilt, and guilt hangs over Kim’s picture like a deathly shroud.
Of course, hand-washing…
To all involved in the making of this film:
You're all a bunch of heartless bastards.
Sincerely,
Dirk's insomnia
Hoop-Tober, Film 17 of 31:
A complex film that utilizes the concept of non-linear filmmaking quite well, but is so intricately crafted that it might confuse some viewers. You'd be hard-pressed to find a horror film with a better combination of cinematography, editing and performances... but even calling this a horror film feels wrong. The ever-mobile camera juxtaposed with the gorgeous set design makes for a fantastic visual experience, and the sound design is just as well put together. There were at least a half dozen points during the film where a certain sound effect or scream or something sent a shiver down my spine and made my body tense up.
A Tale of Two Sisters has an impressive atmosphere…
A Tale of Two Sisters is another Asian horror that was unable to avoid the inevitable catastrophe; the American re-make. Thankfully those lucky enough to be aware of the original can still discover the horrifying delights of this film, in one of the best to come from the genre in the past decade or so. The film isn't without its problems however but the skilfully crafted atmosphere more than compensates for those issues.
There is no hurry to get to the heart of the story which is what makes this so effective. The idea is to play between the lines of the real and imaginary, while still managing to scare the pants off you. Monsters are shown early enough although…
Brilliantly shot with great direction, this moody and atmospheric telling of the Korean folktale Janghwa Hongryeon jeon is my favorite on screen adaptation of said story, super stylish and disturbing despite showing restraint, A Tale of Two Sisters was an effectively creepy revisit for me and another home run in the wonderful filmography of Kim Jee-woon
This was terrifying ... the suspense was fking real (the horror aspect is 10/10) and this is coming from someone who watches a lot of horror. I was hesitant to open my wardrobe?!? My mind is currently imagining things that arent there....
Although I appreciate this film as a whole and enjoyed watching it, i didnt really feel satisfied at the end? It started really well and i was excited to see more but the multiple revelations were confusing. watta fak is going on fk i need some answers
Holy shit that movie became complicated very fast. It took some work to untangle, but I’d rather that scenario than one where the movie simply spelled everything out for me.
It's another one of those movies in which I deeply enjoy the frightening horror scenes but where I don't give a fuck about how the mysterious plot will be cleared up in the end. [7+]
casually investigating my hunch.
Side note: this is apparently my first time rewatching this movie since I started Letterboxd? wild.
EDIT: I can say now that it's pretty understandable for me to see similarities between this and Hereditary, but I'm not gonna go into it for the sake of spoilers. I don't know Ari Aster's taste though so I can't make a case for this movie having been an influence, plus I don't know the history of the making of this movie by heart so it's far more likely that these movies share common influences than this movie being a direct influence on Hereditary. But if it was, that'd be cool.
I usually dislike movies with plot twists on the plot twists, because this makes them unnecessarily confusing and traps de viewer unto an absurd logic that goes against character relationships and the drama itself. Specially when the plot develops in a convoluted manner as happens to be the case here.
Although in this movie there is enough good work to make you forget about it and to get you ensnared by the tragedy that unfolds. This is achieved due to a more than competent framing and composition, a good OST and acting from its main characters and an excellent control of the timing of its shots.
This is a how you should make a psychological horror.
ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING, do not try to watch this alone.
Rahat Ahmed 100 films
The 100 highest-rated South Korean feature films on Letterboxd.
Updated on June 17, 2018.
Jon Hillman 1,000 films
The 2018 (4th) edition of the list.
