Title: Silenced (International)
Title: The Crucible (“Dogani” in Korean)
Release year: 2011
Directed by: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Screenplay by: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung Yoo-mi
Based on the novel “Dogani,” by Gong Ji-young
Summary: Based on actual events, it depicts the brutal physical abuse of children at a school for the hearing impaired. One of the victims is a deaf mute boy, one is a mentally handicapped girl, and the other is a deaf girl. The movie sparked controversy and brought about a change in legislation that went through in late October 2011. Called the Dogani Bill, it changed the statute of limitations for sex crimes against minors and the disabled in South Korea.
Pick up a copy from Amazon.
The minute I read the blurb I knew this was going to be one of those movies that was going to completely wrench my emotions. I was right.
I would still watch it again.
This was such an excellent movie that it forced me to see passed its subject matter. The rape of the children was depicted in a manner that highlighted just how brutally they were treated, yet the camera angles and cutaways mean that it’s not as graphic as it seems.
Title: Portrait of a Beauty
Directed by Jeon Yoon-soo
Screenplay by Han Soon-ryeon
Alternative title : “Beauty Island”
Synopsis borrowed from HanCinema: Born to a family of established court painters, seven-year-old Yun-jeong is a young girl gifted at painting. However, the pressure is on her brother to carry on the proud family tradition, as women aren’t allowed to become professional painters. While her brother trains to take his place in the court, Yun-jeong helps him out by secretly painting for him. The little girl’s life is turned upside down when her brother kills himself. In order to preserve the family honor, she is forced to take her brother’s name and lives as a man. Yun-bok’s genius and talent captures the heart of another great master of the time, Kim Hong-do. But her daring depictions of women are condemned by the royal institute as obscene. Yun-bok meets Kang-mu and falls deeply in love. For the first time, she feels the strong desire to abandon everything she has built and simply be a woman in front of the man she loves. Kang-mu sacrifices all for his love as well. Kim Hong-do, who loved the genius of his best student, ends up loving everything about her, and Seol-hwa, a Gisaeng at the courtesan house, possesses a love for Hong-do that turns into fatal jealousy. The secret behind Shin Yun-bok’s masterpiece, Portrait of a Beauty, is finally revealed after 250 years of silence.
Okay, so this was a movie that I really wanted to see and was very excited about. You would not believe how long I waited to be able to see it and how happy I was to get a hold of a copy.
I put it on and started the movie… then afterward wished I could go back in time … Read the rest “RE MOVIE: Portrait of a Beauty [Korean]”
Title: I Saw the Devil
Genre: serial killer, horror
Rated: R for graphic depictions of violence
Director: Jee-woon Kim
Writer: Hoon-hung Park (screenplay)
Starring: Byung-hun Lee, Min-sik choi, and Gook-hwan Jeon
Summary borrowed from IMDB: When his pregnant fiancee becomes the latest victim of a serial killer, a secret agent blurs the line between good and evil in his pursuit of revenge.
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Wow. I don’t even really know where to start with this one. I’m not even sure if I even liked it or not, and I highly doubt that I’ll ever watch it again. But that’s just my personal preference.
This is a revenge movie ala “Oldboy” or “Otis,” though this movie keeps it real.
Starts off with a woman having a flat tire and being stuck on the side of a mountain road. While she waits for the tow truck, she calls her fiance. His advisement: “Lock the doors and stay put. Wait for the tow truck.”
While she’s waiting, a van drives up and a man gets out. He taps on her window — she’s smart enough not to open the door — and offers to check things out. She tells him she’s waiting for the tow truck, but he insists.
Creepy guy fiddles around near the tire while she’s still talking to her fiance. She tells her fiance goodbye and hangs up, then settles in to wait for the tow truck. Which is about the point that creepy guy pops up and tells her to open the door. She says no… and things get serious.
He busts in her car window with a hammer, thumps her with it on the head, then roughly drags her body to his van. At this point, I thought that she was dead … Read the rest “RE MOVIE: I Saw the Devil [Korean]”
Through a window darkly gazing
At a sight afraid to see Breathing deep the salted water
Dreaming dreams, of you and me.