Une critique de Darcy Paquet :
Barely managed to get a ticket into this press screening... the producer apparently didn´t want any of the " international press" seeing it, but I´ll be writing some short impressions that will appear in Cine21 next week, so they got me in. ( As part of the deal, the piece I write will appear on their website in Korean translation only instead of the usual bilingual deal, at least until the Venice film festival) Meanwhile Kyu Hyun will be writing a review for this site that will be posted shortly after the film´s commercial release on the 29th.
I did like it quite a bit. It´s perhaps harder to digest in one sitting than OLD BOY or MR. VENGEANCE. Even though watching it is quite intense in parts, it´s the sort of film that leaves you thinking afterwards, and I imagine my feelings about it will continue to evolve over time.
I suppose the first thing to address is what people should expect after OLD BOY. It´s a much different film... somewhat meandering and preoccupied with the character of Geum-ja, as opposed to the unstoppable forward narrative drive of OLD BOY ( or the slower, but equally unstoppable momentum of MR. VENGEANCE). In the latter two films you get the impression that the characters´ actions were not really born out of free will... like a Greek tragedy, where the end is foretold. On the other hand, Geum-ja ( while just as motivated) seems to be making her own choices. In that sense, we´re dealing with a completely different kind of moral landscape.
Don´t get your hopes up too high regarding the appearance of Choi Min-shik. Not that he acts badly or anything ( could he act badly if he tried?), but the character he portrays is very thinly characterized... He´s simply evil, and that´s it. I can´t think of any other character appearing in a Park Chan-wook film who is presented in such black and white fashion, which leads me to believe that he´s meant to be read as a symbol, rather than seen as an individual. Certainly it´s intriguing to think about what he may represent. I could call him Stalin if I wanted, and that would give the film a very interesting twist.
Of course, it will come as no surprise to anyone if I say that the film is beautifully shot. Not stylish in the same way as OLD BOY, but almost. Lots of those weird, quirky Park Chan-wook touches... some funny, some bizarre in a damp, clammy sort of way. The tempo is slower. If OLD BOY was allegro and MR. VENGEANCE was largo, then this is moderato.
I´ll be very, very curious to read the reviews of this in the Western press. Many critics dismissed OLD BOY as technically brilliant but thematically empty, but I don´t think that will be possible with this film. It´s obviously taking on real issues. However the violence -- physical and emotional -- is strong enough that many will feel that their emotions are being handled in too brutal a manner. One scene in particular contains really no onscreen violence at all, but it´s the sort of scene that you can never, ever forget, especially if you are a parent.
I´m guessing that most people who were really floored by OLD BOY might feel a mild disappointment after watching this, and some will find the ending a bit flat, but I think that this is a movie that will age well and be remembered as a work by a director who was at the top of his form.
After watching this I´m also going to go back and re-watch one of the masterpieces of early German cinema, which seems to bear more than a passing resemblance to this film. ( though I don´t really want to say which one)
--Darcy
Je rappelle que le film est sorti aujourd´hui.
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ce topic là
