OPENS JULY 11, CERT 18, 102 MINS You know you're in twisted territory when a film's key scene of tenderness consists of a brutalised college girl vomiting over the mute thug who forced her into prostitution. It's at this point that controversial South Korean director Kim Ki-Duk's film transforms itself from a grim drama into a sort-of love story, albeit one with the sort of sexual politics that may turn many viewers off. Kim's regular star Cho Jae-Hyun plays Han-Gi, a brooding hulk whose violent advances towards prim Sun-Hwa (Seo Won) are understandably rebuffed. He takes revenge by putting her to work in a seedy brothel, watching from behind a one-way mirror when she's with clients. Growing more obsessed, Han-Gi becomes Sun-Hwa's protector and lover. What sounds like squalid male fantasy on paper is more complex on screen, where investigations of societal pressures and divides are folded into an increasingly dream-like narrative. The film's confrontational title and unappetising surface represent a challenge, forcing viewers to dig deeper to uncover Kim's true?if still enigmaticintent. Hard work then, but richly rewarding.
OPENS JULY 11, CERT 18, 102 MINS
You know you’re in twisted territory when a film’s key scene of tenderness consists of a brutalised college girl vomiting over the mute thug who forced her into prostitution. It’s at this point that controversial South Korean director Kim Ki-Duk’s film transforms itself from a grim drama into a sort-of love story, albeit one with the sort of sexual politics that may turn many viewers off.
Kim’s regular star Cho Jae-Hyun plays Han-Gi, a brooding hulk whose violent advances towards prim Sun-Hwa (Seo Won) are understandably rebuffed. He takes revenge by putting her to work in a seedy brothel, watching from behind a one-way mirror when she’s with clients.
Growing more obsessed, Han-Gi becomes Sun-Hwa’s protector and lover. What sounds like squalid male fantasy on paper is more complex on screen, where investigations of societal pressures and divides are folded into an increasingly dream-like narrative. The film’s confrontational title and unappetising surface represent a challenge, forcing viewers to dig deeper to uncover Kim’s true?if still enigmaticintent. Hard work then, but richly rewarding.
