A Tale Of 2 Sisters
Original title : Janghwa, Hongryeon
Directed by Ji-woon Kim
Written by Ji-woon Kim
with Su-jeong Lim, Geun-yeong Mun, Jung-ah Yum, Kap-su Kim
Year : 2003
Country : South Korea
Length : 115 min
Other : Double DVD
: 
Directed by Ji-woon Kim
Written by Ji-woon Kim
with Su-jeong Lim, Geun-yeong Mun, Jung-ah Yum, Kap-su Kim
Year : 2003
Country : South Korea
Length : 115 min
Other : Double DVD
: .: STORY
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After a long disappearance, two teenagers, Su-mi and her young sister Su-yeon, come back to the familial home, a big mansion isolated in the country. Brought back by their father, the discreet Mu-hyun, they're welcomed by their mother, Eun-joo, whose behaviour both courteous and extrovert, bring an aggressive reaction within the two sisters. Su-mi has both disdainful and rebel attitude towards this woman she seems to hate, whereas Su-yeon, with a more discreet attitude, stay timorous when she's around. The unease doesn't stop growing between the members of the family, from the very first dinner supposed to celebrate the two girls' comeback. When the night has come, Su-yeon, who is sure that someone tried to get into her room, goes and hides, terrorised, in her sister's bedroom. After several strange events, the relationships between the stepmother and the two girls become cruelly inflamed.
Machination or supernatural presence in the mansion? The answer could be as spooky as surprising...
.: REVIEW
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After going to comedy with "THE FOUL KING" and "THE QUIET FAMILY" (from which Takashi Miike made a remake of with "HAPPINESS OF THE KATATURIS"), Ji-woon Kim signs here his second horrific film, a year after "MEMORIES", one of the segment of the first opus of "THREE". If in "A TALE OF TWO SISTERS", the glaucous atmosphere of "THREE" isn't far, this hybrid movie, between psychological drama and spook, explore the theme of madness with an aesthetics out of the range. Each detail has its importance, a precision that takes all its sense when watching the long-running movie, which tortuous scenario is quite hard to catch at first sight...)
From the very beginning, an ambient melancholy sets the sinister atmosphere that reigns in this one-of-a-kind family. A family that has just lived a traumatising experience, particularly for the two young girls Su-mi and Su-yeon, who, thanks to their merging complicity – sometimes ambiguous – try to protect themselves against this unhealthy familial environment without harmony. The complex personalities of the characters is set... a Su-mi protective towards her fragile young sister Su-yeon, a discreet father and an alarming underhand mantle, manipulator and ambivalent, who hates her step-daughters. )
All that looks very much like a banal family affaire, till the apparition of the ghost of the dead mother of the two sisters in the recesses of this austere manor, which has been the theatre of strange phenomena since they came back... An oppressive closed scene situation sets then, around a heavy family secret, in which Su-yeon's room cupboard seems to contain the answer... As the movie goes by, element of answer are suggested, insidiously exploiting the mental state of a Su-mi corroded by the death of her sister, of which it feels obstinately responsible. A memory that haunts her to the point that she projects her responsibility feeling through ghost (?) and “imaginary” enemies... )
Freely inspired by "JANGHWA HONGRYEON" (literally Rose and Lotus Flower, the respective names of the two sisters), and old Korean popular tale of oral tradition, "A TALE OF TWO SISTERS" definitely stresses the aesthetics. The sumptuous settings full of a haunting nostalgia, between 19th century Korean tradition and occidental furniture, play an essential part, reminding of the colours with a old-fashion charm of Wong Kar Wai's "IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE". )
A large number of small details let to be thought that this movie was thought of and meticulous: the flower wallpapers symbolising the names of the two young girls, the insisting presence of the red colour annunciating a tragic event...The menstrual cycle, gate between teen age and adult age, seems to be a springboard to Su-mi's schizophrenia and hallucinations. Between supernatural nightmare and alienating reality, "A TALE OF TWO SISTERS" offers some quite terrifying scenes, like the convulsive crisis of the stepsister, the one of the cupboard, or the violent confrontation between Su-mi and Eun-joo... Some rare dialogues added to a soundtrack and sound effect both sad and anguishing reinforce the almost touchable tension that reigns the entire movie long.)
A misleading movie that asks for a thinking effort to the audience and is the source of multiple interpretations... Unfortunately, some shadows remain, particularly about the past of the family, the arrival of Eun-joo in the home and the reason to the death of the two girls' mother. We sometimes feel difficulties understanding the true goal of the director, master in the art of confusion, however, some elements in the extras of this DVD may help you finding the answers...Let's note that "A TALE OF TWO SISTERS" got, amongst others, the Great Prize of the Jury at the fantastic movie festival of Gerardmer in 2004 and is supposed to be the subject of a remake in the US...
Lan's rating : 7 on 10
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