REVIEW: A TALE OF TWO SISTERS
Kim Jee-Woon is known to casual fans of Pan-Asian cinema as the director behind the Quiet Family (which was remade by Takashi Miike) and the Korean segment of the first Three horror anthology (which also featured Hong Kong's Peter Chan and Thailand's Nonzee Nimbutr. To most Korean moviegoers, he is known for the Foul King, a strange and cool dark comedy about the masked wrestling circuit.
Kim's first film to received North American distribution, A Tale of Two Sisters, studies the tenuous relationship between two unhinged girls and their neurotic step-mom. It's hard to tell who is the more neurotic--the older sister or the adult--with their two-faced behavior, and it's easy to see why the father is so detached. With his gray hair and glasses, he practically blends into the flower print walls of the stylish lakeside home, which comes across as a haunted, upscale Holly Hobbie dollhouse.
Mysterious footsteps, dripping blood, and horrific visions and flashbacks add up to a chilling vibe, but most of the tension stems from the sadly dysfunctional family dynamics. In the end, it's more of a psychological thriller than a shocker. Superbly acted, gorgeously shot, and ultimately disturbing for human reasons rather than supernatural ones, A Tale of Two Sisters has much more appeal and staying power than the typical scary movie.
Catch it on the big screen. The acting is subtle (except for an appropriately crazed dinner scene) and many scenes are obscured in darkness. Plus, the cinematography is exceptional, begging to be soaked in and not peered into from the couch.
Check out the site for A Tale of Two Sisters
Kim Jee-Woon is known to casual fans of Pan-Asian cinema as the director behind the Quiet Family (which was remade by Takashi Miike) and the Korean segment of the first Three horror anthology (which also featured Hong Kong's Peter Chan and Thailand's Nonzee Nimbutr. To most Korean moviegoers, he is known for the Foul King, a strange and cool dark comedy about the masked wrestling circuit.
Kim's first film to received North American distribution, A Tale of Two Sisters, studies the tenuous relationship between two unhinged girls and their neurotic step-mom. It's hard to tell who is the more neurotic--the older sister or the adult--with their two-faced behavior, and it's easy to see why the father is so detached. With his gray hair and glasses, he practically blends into the flower print walls of the stylish lakeside home, which comes across as a haunted, upscale Holly Hobbie dollhouse.
Mysterious footsteps, dripping blood, and horrific visions and flashbacks add up to a chilling vibe, but most of the tension stems from the sadly dysfunctional family dynamics. In the end, it's more of a psychological thriller than a shocker. Superbly acted, gorgeously shot, and ultimately disturbing for human reasons rather than supernatural ones, A Tale of Two Sisters has much more appeal and staying power than the typical scary movie.
Catch it on the big screen. The acting is subtle (except for an appropriately crazed dinner scene) and many scenes are obscured in darkness. Plus, the cinematography is exceptional, begging to be soaked in and not peered into from the couch.
Check out the site for A Tale of Two Sisters
posted by gr @ PERMLINK: 2:17 PM
