A Tale of Two…wait? What the hell is going on?
Sunday, October 4th, 2009
And that's why you don't drink fruit punch on the couch!
Korea has turned out some great films in the past ten or so years. Oldboy, The Host, Thirst, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, etc…and, A Tale of Two Sisters. Maybe I’m biased. Maybe it’s because I lived in Korea for a year and really enjoyed it, but I doubt that’s it, because what I enjoyed most was the completely boozahol fueled shenanigans. No, these are simply some of the best films made, and A Tale of Two Sisters is one of the best of these.
Immediately, in the very beginning of the movie, you can see that great care was taken in the cinematography. This is one of the lushest, most beautifully crafted movies that I’ve ever seen. It takes place in one house, and still each shot manages to be colorful and exciting.
Two sisters (no…really) are coming to see their father in his country home. Their stepmother (Jung-ah Yum) immediately lets the audience know that she’s just plain mean and nasty. Su Mi the eldest (Su-jeong Lim) makes it clear, in no uncertain terms that she will not tolerate harassment of any kind, towards herself, or her little sister, Su Yeong (Geun-Young Moon). This doesn’t stop stepmother from needling the hell out of the the younger girl, all to the supposedly purposeful ignorance of their father.
Every role here seems to be so delicate that any misstep in casting would have capsized the entire movie, but there should be no worries there. Especially standout is the stepmother. But, abusive antics are not the point here. I promise you, when you finish with this film, you’ll want to watch it again immediately to see just what was really going on. Normally, I’d say that’s a bad thing. I’d say that the story didn’t get told in the time allotted, but that’s not the case here. This movie is genuinely frightening, touching, and affecting. It has what would appear to be redundant parts, but remember, by the end, you’ll have had to see it all to even begin to understand it.
This is one of those films that defies explanation, because to explain it is to spoil it. Take my word for it. Or don’t. If you’ve not seen this movie, you really are letting something good pass you by.
Posted on October 8th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
A Tale of Two Sisters is one of my favorite horror films. It’s easily in my top 10 scary. Heck, it might even be in my top 20 films ever. Soooo good.
Posted on October 9th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I was lucky enough to get this in a Tartan Asia Extreme prize pack I won (which also included three other great films I highly recommend: Koma, Whispering Corridors, and Phone). I’ve always loved foreign horror, especially Asian, and this is absolutely one of the best I’ve ever seen from anywhere in the world.