After Parasites, everyone rushed to watch South Korean movies. I did the same thing. And after watching X films, I can highlight some features - in this case, the structure and dynamics that are similar in many Korean films will be important for us.
“Shouting” is a sequence of events that, in my opinion, do not fit well into the average viewer’s perception of cinema. On the one hand, we observe the main character, who leads the investigation of mysterious murders in his village, and on the other, closer to the second half of the film, the focus changes and two more characters appear in the narrative, who play a much larger role in the denouement.
The dynamic also jumps – it’s unclear which scenes are important to the plot and which are not. The characters are constantly faced with some real or supernatural obstacles, are constantly smeared in mud and blood, screaming and screaming - but the film continues, without much imprint on the characters. And these scenes are not one or two.
Overall, I would describe this film as extremely chaotic. It doesn’t scare you in any of the classic ways, but it tries to create an atmosphere where neither the viewer nor the characters understand what’s going on. And if it seemed to you that I described what I saw in very general terms - the problem is that it is so.
Probably, to understand some part of the mythology of the film, you need to be familiar with Korean folklore - because when watching it, I did not leave the feeling that I do not understand what is happening, and the Koreans themselves understand and deliberately misinterpret.
In the south-east of Korea, in a picturesque area, among high mountains and bright green forests, the village of Kokson stretches. Clean air, fishing with the buzz of flies and monotonous work. Apparently, this was the dream of the local police officer Chong-gu. But it was not here, because the village is shaken by a series of strange events - its inhabitants begin to drink whole houses, and it looks as bloody and creepy as possible. Chong-gu in Korean frostbitten contemplates all these events, until his daughter begins to behave as strange and audacious as possible in relation to relatives.
When some mystical murmur begins to occur that defies logical explanation, help is sought from anyone possible: mediums, exorcists, shamans, Catholic priests, Buddhist monks. That's what happens. But will the villagers regret it? . .
Honestly, expected Korean zombie horror with elements of comedy, the more Koreans with their pronunciation and facial expressions of individual characters can laugh where laugh and not supposed. But when the mix of local religion (according to real statistics, 53.4% of the population are mostly non-religious or follow indigenous religions), Christianity, Buddhism, shamanism and other unearthly mischief began, everything went into a mystical thrash, which is not so easy to understand. But the intrigue lasts until the end, because it is difficult to know who is playing what game: who is on the dark side and who took the light half. By the way, after watching the film, it does not hurt to find comments on the film so that the idea was more understandable.
The film is a horror on a mystical basis. Fans of Korean cinema can easily buy this picture. Some scenes look very frightening, and in the end a serious action unfolds. But in general, the film is very long, boring, the middle is stretched like an old T-shirt, some scenes are superfluous. So I watched this film, alas, without much interest and on the moral will. In addition, at the end, the trademark Korean naturalism appeared, so that especially impressionable people can get a portion of nausea.
In general, the film is for an amateur, and for a lover of Korean cinema. I can't say the movie is bad. I mean, the Koreans are like 30 to 70. This one didn't come in.
If you like the films of Eggers and Astaire, then "Wailing" should also come to taste. It has no (almost) standard horror techniques: no screamers, no ugly faces or bodies, no unnatural movements. What happens on the screen is sometimes even a little caricatured. But the creators of the film somehow managed to find a balance between the somewhat ridiculous “village” heroes, the hell that is happening and the reaction of the first to the second, which did not allow the whole story to slide into some kind of farce, when after watching you say to friends “Great horrors – the whole film laughed.”
I would like to point out separately:
1. operator's work;
2. the script is a film for 2.5 hours, but the story without sagging and any intrigue until the very end;
3. the acting of the main character-policeman - his face is plump with a childish expression of the emotions of fear and fear sometimes add both comic to some situations and sincerity to scenes where the characters are faced with something inexplicable and unnatural.
A South Korean mystical thriller about gods, demons and their connecting links with society-shamans, filmed and presented to fame. The national flavor, sharp and tastefully seasoned with several currents of religions.
Shamanism is here, placed at the forefront. Since the first rudiments since the Paleolithic, make themselves felt when talking about other religions, still in sight.
On Hong-jin presents to the court and the viewer's eye - the battle of shamans, and the most that neither is deadly and uncompromising. I was somewhat reminded of the Soviet film White Shaman in 1982, directed by Anatoly Nitochkin.
However, a person who is not familiar with the practice of shamanism, all this action causes misunderstanding and rejection. Therefore, the realities of the cinematic versions are somewhat smoothed and softened.
Actors are also well-chosen—they’re just people next door, not Hollywood superheroes, with computer-generated muscles and other charms. They are original and experience with them - every minute is not so short timing of the picture.
The script, worked out by the director himself, captures from the first minute to the most ambiguous end. The viewer is provided with a fashionable now-open finale, reach yourself or revise - at the worst end.
Also, the veil of secrecy over the guardian spirits of the area was lifted a little, but to give intrigue, it was not fully disclosed or so revealed - but so florid and allegorical that not everyone will understand, even despite flashbacks and revisions.
For the directorial and scripting campaign. . .
Korean cinema has always been distinguished by originality and an absolutely non-trivial ability to combine elements of author and commercial cinema. South Korean director and screenwriter Na Hong-jin is one of the most talented authors, his previous works have earned universal approval and have been shown with great success at the main film festivals of our time. This film is the most complex and non-trivial work of the author in his career.
Before us is an absolutely irrational film, the genre affiliation of which is impossible to determine. This is the author’s original mixture of psychological thriller, mystical detective, creepy horror film, drama and fantasy based on the national Korean color. The film is a bizarre heap of everything and everything. In the center of the plot is a small forest village located in a remote area. It is here that a strange epidemic of an unknown disease and a series of brutal murders begin. The investigation of this case is carried out by the local police and the further they move, the more the situation becomes confused, both for the heroes and for us, the spectators.
It's a very long, slow movie. In two and a half hours, a real puzzle unfolds on the screen. Here you have religious motives with quotes from the Bible, and shamans with rituals, and the expulsion of demons, and zombies, and a strange man from the wilderness. According to the description, it may seem that this is some kind of nonsense, but in fact it is a very whole, albeit strange movie. There are familiar motifs from other films. I noticed similarities with "The Exorcist", "Pet Cemetery", classic Korean thrillers and Asian horror films.
The picture looks with great interest, fascinating and intriguing. With every minute the tension increases. This is a very scary movie that can scare an impressionable audience. The director masterfully confuses the story, letting the viewer on the wrong trail. At the end of the film, there are more questions than answers. Not everyone will understand the final picture, and also recognize the hidden symbolism of the tape. History is open to various interpretations and versions. The authors managed to create an excellent atmosphere of incessant horror and complete misunderstanding of what is happening on the screen. I really liked some of the artistic elements, namely the scene of a meeting with a forest zombie, as well as the stunning scene of a lightning strike.
The main role was played by Kwak To-won. He looks very organic in the image of a simple and not very smart village policeman. A rather original image that brings the character closer to real people. It falls under the influence of irrational forces, and with it we fall under this influence.
Wailing is one of the most unusual and strange films of recent times. But therein lies its advantages. The tape constantly changes genre directions, jumping from one genre to another and back. The picture makes a strong impression and leaves room for various interpretations and interpretations. If you are an admirer of Korean cinema and like unusual author's films, then this is a great option to watch.
8 out of 10
It is difficult to give an unambiguous assessment to this film.
Movie search recently, once again, did not fail to recall that 'Howl' kind of like one of the scariest horror films in the last few years. So I decided to watch it, although, I confess, I love horrors in the form of thrillers, not creepy horrors, from which the hair stands on end. There is nothing wrong with and there is nothing wrong with . Rather, a series of scenes of moderate disgust and tension. Horrors are terrible on the one hand, the screamers, on the other - the hysterical atmosphere, that now something terrible and unimaginable will happen, and this very atmosphere frightens without any action as such. Often, these two approaches do not coexist in the same film, and the director chooses one of these methods as the main one for his film. On Hong-jin kind of tried to use both of them, but not in one did not succeed. Scrimers in the classical sense there are almost no - when you see that the monster from a kilometer away runs on someone from afar, the fear disappears at the moment, we just wait for the scene to reach its logical conclusion. In other cases, too, everything that happens somehow just looks like monsters, if they can be called that at all (they are obsessed people) attack the forehead, some of the characters somehow infantilely react to this, and the inflating atmosphere of a good half of the film is absent at all. The picture lasts 2.5 hours, but its first half is frankly mediocre quality. I would like to note the Asian taste of the work - it is 100% superfluous here - a certain touch of thrashiness of what is happening and dull village people are clearly out of place in a serious horror, which kind of should be here. A special mention is the howls of GG - a kind of pig squeal. You know, sometimes you watch a horror movie, and you want to laugh, and sometimes even sleep - this is the 1st hour of this work that evokes such feelings.
I will also add claims to the script in fact - I had to read a couple of posts on the network and watch an English-language video on YouTube to reduce to some more or less digestible version all the events in the film, to build a semblance of a single picture of what is happening. There are slacks in the plot, some secondary lines and hints that I really did not understand, if they can be understood at all, and these are not deadlocked ideas of the writer (he is also a director). Of course, there is a point of view that if the film asked a lot of questions / riddles for you and you are looking for an answer to them, then it’s cool, the director and screenwriter did their best. But I agree with this only in part, because the film should leave behind a sense of clarity and integrity, albeit with elements of mystery and understatement, but with elements, and not so that the whole film is a solid tangle that does not unravel. Yet the horror should be spectacular, understandable (in the end) and scary. The first one was good, the rest was good.
' Scream' very much draws the excellent acting of all, without exception. The script is pleasing in places, but let’s be honest, with all the relatively original plot twists, it is painful in some places it looks like a Korean remake & #39; The Exorcist'. Remake of medium quality.
In recent years, many more interesting works have come out: if you want a cool atmosphere - look ' Behind the ford' and for the script you can turn to the new series ' Ghosts of House on the Hill'. There is also a non-durable ' Apostle'.
It is difficult to unambiguously assess this work: on the one hand, the film is revealed only in its second half, sometimes showing itself as a typical Asian horror film, of which ten a year are riveted, on the other hand - there is something in it, yet the hand of a talented creator is felt, which is a very rare phenomenon for horror films, and the actors are good at it.
In his previous reviews, I have repeatedly mentioned that in Korean cinema, I do not care much about only one of its genres. And it's a horror genre. So this work, under the resounding title 'Wailing', leaves a very ambiguous impression in itself. But everything in order:
(1) Atmosphere. Gradually oppressive picture of the narrative, undoubtedly adds the desired effect on the viewer. A sharp transition from the general plan to a large, leisurely change of personnel, from an aesthetic point, there is absolutely nothing to complain about. Everything is done according to the canons of this genre.
2) Acting. Here, as in principle, in all Asian films, the play of characters at the highest level. This is not surprising, because in the shootings there are such mastodons & #39; as: Hwang Jong Ming, Jun Kunimura, etc. But what struck me most was the acting of Kwak To Won and the very young Kim Hwang Hee. For her ' tender' age, the little actress played just great.
(3) Scenario. Here lies the main stumbling block. The story itself looks a little confused, and completely unsaid. As I watched it, I often had questions in my head, such as: 'Who is it?', 'Why is it, not like this' and the like. In fact, incomprehensible and indistinct moments in the picture ' Scream' enough and a lot. This is probably the main drawback of the film.
(4) Directing handwriting. The work of director and part-time screenwriter Na Hong Jin left very contradictory impressions. In the external design to its product there are no claims, but in its submission, of course, there are many roughnesses. Huge timing, unfortunately, does not add the necessary plot twists to the picture. And the story itself is limp on both legs. In fact, this story has no beginning, but does not have a clear and logical end, leaving me in complete perplexity after its end. What successfully took place in 'The Persecutor', and not so much in 'The Yellow Sea', failed miserably in 'The Howl'.
So, the South Korean film ' Howl' is a good representative of Korean horror, with excellent camera work, but with obvious plot punctures and a leisurely narrative. Fans of Asian horror films may well like it, but this movie left a very contradictory palette of emotions for me.
“Burden Me and consider; for the spirit of the flesh and bones have no bones.”
Korea is a small country with a developed electronics industry, mechanical engineering, and, as it turned out, a very developed cinema. Remember Park Chan-wook and his magnificent 2003 Oldboy? I think this movie will amaze you no less! Although it is not a bit like the above work. Stunning beauty of the countryside, endless rain and clumsy sloppy police officer Jong Woo, madly loving his daughter. Incomprehensible and terrible in its senselessness murders.
A small, rural hell away from the big cities. A hero who, like no hero at the beginning, is almost superman by the end. The antihero is a Japanese, of course, who else can be the embodiment of the most evil of Koreans? The most striking is the phenomenal play of actors, especially the little Kim Hwan-hee.
A philosophical, terrible fairy tale about the absolute evil that can appear in any form that we can and must fight, but we can always win? How can you defeat evil if you are evil?
The director, originally from South Korea, received worldwide recognition, and his third feature film was a real revelation. I have to admit, I haven’t enjoyed the movie in a long time. His movie called "Wailing" scared me so much that I thought about it for a very long time. The film is shot so cool and deep that after such a high bar, it is difficult to switch to another movie.
Meet Officer Jong-gu. He is investigating a horrific and shocking case. In one village, people are covered in sores and attack each other. They all die in torment, and a string of brutal murders occur. A plump police officer and his partners investigate the case and come to shocking and mystical conclusions. Either poisonous mushrooms are to blame for everything, or a mysterious and creepy, Japanese hermit who lives in the forest, and everyone thinks he is a sorcerer.
The new drama with elements of fantasy and horror was shot interestingly and very intensely. The film wraps its at first glance incomprehensible, but curious story, and then does not let go. Everything looks abstract. The main character becomes close to the viewer, and with him we go through a terrible, frightening story. What could be worse when something happens to our children? This happened to the main character from this story, so he was ready to give everything in the world and go to the very end.
The whole movie is guessing what's going on, you think you're analyzing everything, and the director manipulates it well. Personally, I love double bottom movies. I think they are particularly interesting and worthy of attention. That's exactly what it is. What made me happy was how the director made it. It was realistic, truthful, spectacularly mysterious, with no hint of falsehood, and that's cool. The film excites and from it goosebumps all over the body.
The story itself is very mysterious and difficult. On Hong-jin removed it atmospheric and laid out everything on shelves. This movie is like a terrible dream, from which you can not get out. Another big plus was the main character played by Kwak To-won. He was so down-to-earth, so real - an ordinary, not slick character (as very often happens in Hollywood movies and slick characters to which we are already accustomed), and everything that happened was believed.
I was impressed by this movie and stuck in my memory as something curious. It is difficult for me to give an exact genre of drama or thriller, but in any case, there is a lot of things mixed up here and the picture is a mixture of something mysterious and mystical, dramatic and detective, a horror story and something inexplicable, which is better not to mess with and run away from it.
"Scream" is a creepy and stunning film from Na Hong-jin. This story is frightening to the bone, it is unique and sinister. It is difficult to convey the delight of what I saw, I was impressed. The picture definitely deserves attention, and I say yes to it. Thank you.
If you confess, I will not touch you and just leave.
- Who said I'd let you just leave?
I love Hong Jin primarily for his powerful debut work “The Persecutor”, which, in my opinion, is one of the best representatives of paintings of this genre, where the hero is forced to play a game of cat and mouse with a criminal. The director showed that he is able to shoot very tense thrillers without making the story too fantastic.
“Scream” has a recognizable style of the director and the atmosphere of all his films, but this picture is significantly different from the previous works of the master. If in the past times the director showed stories in the genre of thriller, but this time he decided to add a little mysticism with elements of horror. It was pretty good. And although the film turned out to be long - two and a half hours, but during this time it completely tells the whole story and leaves no questions to it after watching.
Despite the fact that most Korean films take place in the stone jungles of major cities, Koreans still love and prefer to shoot in nature, showing one or another the beauty of their mountains and forests. So in this film almost all the action takes place either in the forest or near the tall trunks covered with thick greenery. I don’t know what might surprise anyone in this ordinary nature. A forest is like a forest, but something catches in it. Maybe because Koreans love their nature and therefore try to show its beauty without imposing it on the viewer. "We have a very beautiful nature and we love it very much" - as if they tell us from the screen, and I agree with this statement. In this film, the forest is both frightening and fascinating at the same time. It is frightening because you do not know everything waiting for you among the impenetrable darkness of greenery, but it is fascinating because of its beauty and mystery. In general, there is something to admire while watching and this is an undoubted plus of the film.
And, you know, I agree with a lot of Western critics who like this or that movie of the country of morning freshness, but almost always they note the “not the strongest performance” of Korean actors. In this I strongly support them, because not everyone can just accept the usual curvature of an Asian actor, who does not fully understand what should be a holistic picture of one of the scenes according to the director’s idea, and show some emotions it is necessary ... Need to show anger? Okay, no question: it will frown, hiss, sang, scream, open your eyes wide, shake your fists threateningly - and all this at once. Of course, this is not seen in every film, but still such a “drum acting of an actor” is often found in full-length Korean films. Don’t get me wrong – I like almost all the actors in this film and their characters, but for me their performance is extremely weak, which sometimes I could not empathize with some characters, but only suppressed a slight laugh and smile caused by what I watched on the screen.
As I said above, I liked many of the characters. This is due to the fact that they were shown by ordinary people with their usual work, in this case, sitting in the office / station and chores. Ordinary people with a small family who do not have huge funds, but also do not need them. Therefore, it is much easier to sympathize with such heroes, especially when they are faced with something unfamiliar and terrible for them, and basically they can only rely on their own strength.
After watching, I realized that I especially liked the character of the old Japanese foreigner and the actor playing the role, Kunimura Jun. Some will say that there is nothing special about this actor, but to me he looked great even when he just stood there and did nothing. It was as if I was not looking at a man, but at that majestic and beautiful forest that harbored much unknown. Here, as in the film "Hannibal" - good as the actor and the eponymous character of this picture. In the movie “Scream” I also believe that without a certain actor – Kunimura Juna – a significant character for the film would be boring and unattractive. But it is good that everything as it is and the finale of the film (especially the scene in the cave) is the best that is in this film and only because of it I would recommend this film to watch.
As a result, the film "Wailing" shows us that there are still people in the art of film in Korea who are interested primarily in the result, rather than the production of the film. And that any ideas, albeit often flashing on the screens, can be presented in a new, slightly more thoughtful and interesting form.
7 out of 10
"Wailing" is a very rare case when, due to 2 minutes of the film and one "beautiful" look, it is not a pity to increase the score by one point.
Now many people say that Asian horror is gaining a second wind, which is not true of its Hollywood relative, who is rather writhing in death throes. If you want to know why, pay attention to the tape "Wailing" (2016). Again, if you miss the real horror - hopeless, inexplicable, growing so slowly, as if nothing is happening, also pay attention to the tape of the South Korean director. After all, if you just want to expand the geography of your cinematic experience, watch The Scream. On Hong-jin, originally named as "Goksung", which refers to the eponymous county of the Korean province of Cholla-Namdo.
This is a very simple story about people who try to live with the times, but as soon as strange things happen, they are thrown into the pool of superstition. It is also a story about human gossip, about how easy it is to blame the innocent when trouble knocks on the door. This is a mystical horror story in the setting of a deep province, and a family drama, and a detective story, and a philosophical parable, and the fight between good and evil (often unsuccessful), and even a thriller that knows how to intrigue, which makes you look at every frame and listen to every word. This is a film that is really fascinating, including its meditative picture.
His emotions are simplistically sublime, but as soon as the action heats up, the Korean actors (and one venerable Japanese) show a fantastic performance. You believe them unconditionally. Even if you turn off the audio track, it will not be difficult to understand what emotions they broadcast. This is especially true of Kwak To-won, who plays a clumsy and good-natured law enforcement officer who, despite his heroic role in society, has no idea how to behave in the environment of the supernatural. And yet, he has to become a hero when it comes time to protect his family.
The film itself flares up very slowly - and that's the main reason for the 150-minute timekeeping. Its justification should not be doubted – measured narrative is an important part of the dialogue with the audience. This retardation allows you to live the moment, put yourself in the place of the protagonist, have time to think through the riddles and plot twists that the director throws every now and then. Na Hong-jin leaves us with the only way to fight slowness – to enjoy the emotions and alien culture that lies at the heart of history. Of course, you're not likely to fall asleep because something crazy is waiting around the corner. You will not be able to sleep immediately after.
In a small village, terrible things begin to happen. People are covered with sores, behave like animals, attack each other, brutally killing their loved ones. The local policeman is not particularly eager to investigate a string of deaths. Until he notices the terrible symptoms in his little daughter.
The third work of the iconic Korean director Na Hong Jin, the creator of the acclaimed "The Persecutor" and "The Yellow Sea". And this time the director plunges the viewer into the abyss of horror of a mystical kind. Like Alan Parker with his “Heart of an Angel” (or “Heart of an Angel”), the analogy with which is very convenient, Gene skillfully and skillfully creates tension and, tangible to the skin, the atmosphere of a real nightmare, while doing without cheap and vulgar “BU” effects. The aura of hopelessness and darkness from the very initial credits begins to slowly envelop and gradually compresses with such force that it becomes difficult to breathe.
Despite the long 2.5-hour timekeeping, the action in the picture does not sag for a second, becoming more oppressive with each minute, without losing in intrigue and balance. The terrifying ending, leaving a significant number of questions for the European man, may not be confusing for the country in which the film was shot. On the other hand, such a passage encourages re-viewing in order to look at what is happening from a different point of view and note the details that were previously missed.
In addition to competent and high-class directing, the tape has excellent acting aces. Kwak To Won ("The Employee", "Asura: Mad City") is beautiful in the role of a ragged cop and desperate father. And slightly reminds So Kang Ho of the times of "Memories of murder". Hwang John Minh is traditionally good in the small role of a shaman. But the atomic bomb that stole the film was the Japanese veteran Jun Kunimura (Japanese Unforgiven, Reunion, Godzilla: Revival). With just one look, the charismatic artist easily enters into a state of wild fear and stupor, from which the task is not easy.
To sum up: definitely a staged and brilliantly embodied film work with true magnetism and irresistible gravity.
Puffy cop Chong-gu and his partner investigate an epidemic of deaths spreading through Koxon County in Korea. Some people are covered with sores and Satan, others confidently and en masse die at their hands. The hospital is struggling, the authorities blame the insanity of the first on immature mushrooms. But the partners have their own theory on this. A very suspicious Japanese man recently settled in the mountains. And when the daughter of Chong-gu falls ill, then you already have to act in two relics of the usual pace.
Busan by train and Busan train, of course, but Coxon is something. It looks like everything and is original. Like the dark forces involved in this story, director Na Hong-jin plays with the viewer, juggling elements of police rain noir, epidemic horror and a mystical thriller for fun, turning everything into a “blackish” sur-balaghan. Behind this, "Coxon" even has the features of an old comedy horror film with Sammo Hung "Ghost Meetings" (as a tip for those who are afraid to save their nerves and watch something fun and simpler).
In the film “On the representative of the authorities” is not that a full teapot, but somewhat stupid and ridiculous, more often hides under the table than heroizes, and in the process of investigation collects more victims than leads. However, at some point, Chong-gu and his fellow travelers have no time left and they begin to harness themselves like detectives from the x/f "Seven" (doing even bigger shit, ha), without finishing up that they have long become another pawn in the game of higher forces. But just as a valiant slut can not add 32567 to 76497 in his mind, so the viewer on the way to the outcome is doomed to become confused in the causes and goals of what is happening that are at odds with the usual logic. This train is on fire, and it's time to drop everything. The villagers are simply victims of an unknown satanic monopoly. Paraphrasing the not very long-standing hit of the Korean box office “I saw the devil”, you can in the same vein respond to “Coxon”: “I saw several.”
Either refuting the above, or echoing it, the finale of the picture suddenly disposes, not only to the otherworldly division of the territory, but also to the thought of the cruel divine punishment of unafraid, but sinful idiots, for whose souls, if there is a struggle, then extremely passive. No wonder the movie begins chapter 24 of Luke, in parallel with the Asian ritual of the neighborhood of ghosts with people. Maybe the citizens-peasants simply did not notice the signs, and in fact, no matter what the visiting Japanese says to them, they cannot be removed from their eyes, they even see evil in good. But how not to get confused in such a mess. Surprisingly, having started so seriously, the movie at the end calmly leaves in long thought, like a grandmother at a broken trough.
8 out of 10
Ten or twelve years ago, critics from the pages of famous magazines squeaked about the Korean phenomenon. No, it was not Hyundai Solaris, which every fifth Russian dreams of buying. It was (and now is) the Korean trinity of filmmakers (brother Ji Un Kim ("The Story of Two Sisters" (2003), brother Joon Ho-pong ("Memories of Murder" (2003) and brother Chang Wuk Park ("Oldboy" (2003)), who blew up all sorts of European charts with her creations, once again hinting to the mainstream that their sunset is inevitable and irrevocable. According to the favorite Hollywood script, someone has remakes of paintings, and (oh where are you my favorite godmother!) their own debuts in the format of English-language cinema. Loss of sexual innocence. The veils of mystery are removed, the sequins crumble and fade. Creativity, imperceptibly, with the monotony of gray everyday life outside the window, turns into craftsmanship. Year after year, the gold of the Korean phenomenon began to be covered with greenery, taking the shape of mythical creatures. And now, in 2016, there is a "Wailing".
Yes, "Wailing" is a eulogy, mourning silence and quivering screams to the abrasions in the throat of the golden era of Korean cinema. It is amazing how eras sweep in the modern world! If the era of noir lived and survived for two and a half decades, and then another twenty years phlegmatically died, now any commercial chip will not last for decades (well, this is the maximum program). The insatiable hunger for wonder - is he capable of educating a generation, is he capable of asking questions and giving directions? Of course, and this makes me very sad, “Wailing” is not able to destroy the modern framework of consumption and set a benchmark for what to return to and what to develop in modern cinema. But he also did not leave behind a depressive feeling of a passing era that once these frames and these scenes were filmed, but will they be removed again? – this decadence is not experienced after “Wailing”.
My love for this movie will be endless because it is home to the most delightful rain shots. Um, rain and detective - how it's beaten... Only what happens to you for the first time, it is not beaten, and the director shoots the chronicle of the rain - small and fussy, like inappropriate murders in the middle of breakfast; disturbing and able to frighten when faced with something inexplicable; absurd, in the floods of sunlight and in the company of thunderstorm lightning, the discharge of which can no longer hide in the middle of the forest, once you enter it - be kind to die. It's a fundamental classic that fills you with a feeling, or rather, it gives you a foothold, you can stand on this film and contemplate it and grow your own universe.
And I will continue to love this film for its ancient Greek dramaturgy. Where is ancient Greece and where is modern Korea? But I do not know of any other cinematic scene (which existed in the past, exists now) where comedies and dramas of Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes riding a golden donkey (and let it be from another opera) were combined with such a scale. And to hell with these cultural differences, differences in color, language, mythology. The drama is that the main character has been fooling around for two hours (and before that - all his life), and I laugh along with this infantilism, and I wonder - well, what is even more stupid? And then there are only a few minutes before dawn, and the director strips your whole idea of cinema naked and becomes no longer funny, and as was loved in ancient Greece – there will be a lot of blood.
Critics talk about social overtones. Yeah, sure. To me, it's a movie about everyone. Because it's inevitable, that's life -- you get tired. And you just go with the flow, letting it guide you, control you, make mistakes that you don't notice. And it would be nice to retire, but one day a tramp named an accident knocks at your door and you have to answer. "Wailing" does not leave an ellipsis. You'll have to.
10 out of 10
A new milestone in the family of mystical thrillers or “nothing is what it seems”
Director Na Hong Jin is one of the characteristic young representatives, marking a bold new milestone not only in Korean but also in world cinema. His witty mystical thriller 'Scream' - the complete opposite of stupid sagas of the type 'Paranormal phenomenon'. In his film, Hong Jin (also a screenwriter ' Scream') gracefully balances between the absurd and reality, between the irrational and the rational, bewitching primarily not cheap entertainment, but paradoxical and plot video series with its interesting moves.
The main line of this thriller is built ingeniously, the degree of incandescence is dosed thoughtfully, reaching a boiling point closer to the end, when the game of the poles becomes especially intense, a ' kind' and ' evil' change places more than once. Interspersions of a kind of rude humor give oddly enough an additional charisma to the tape. Also please characteristic angles from the life of the South Korean outback. If you are a connoisseur of good thrillers and have not yet watched ' Scream' forget about its description and do not try to predict the ending - everything will not be what it seems. Just watch this tape Na Hong Jin, which will please you more than once with a real movie.
9 out of 10
The Koreans came up with a new thing - to disguise horror films as a rural existential drama and make them a very open ending, so that you are no longer a draft, but all the demons you already have and you are already related to them, while you were dragged by your hair and tickled for three hours. Existence could still be closed by false-wise reasoning, and such a scum could not. I'll never sleep again. Discourse from the evil, chief, all is lost, there is no salvation.
In horror movies, it’s annoying that intuition doesn’t work there, you really need to read all these signs there – how many times a rooster bites you in the ass or that insects are the devil’s henchmen. But when you start watching one movie and finish another, it's a purely Korean thing, in this case, it's a form homonymous to content. For this, in my soul, the film was given eight points, and on this shelf I have only masterpieces. Even mat from such a feint do not want to swear, they made it clear that this is a sign of the devil.
The plot line of the film is built so competently that the intrigue is not that it is preserved until the end, and at the end of the viewing does not disappear from many viewers. I will not put my arguments in defense of the plot secret, albeit difficult, but quite understandable to me, but I will only say that from the point of view of the Orthodox doctrine everything is extremely clear there. How is it from other points of view? – probably there are many versions. The main thing is that the forces of evil harm people as much as they can. How they can do that is a debatable question. Specifically, this film showed people of different degrees and different directions of religiosity, but none of them this religiosity did not help. (Incidentally, it is not surprising that even representatives of the Christian denomination here did not shine with the ability to at least some sane confrontation, given the spiritual weakness clearly expressed by the local priest.)
The main spiritual component of this picture is human religiosity in its various hypostases. There are Buddhism, Christianity, and witchcraft on the verge of rabid demonicism. Everything is “brewed” in the coolest way and flavored with an excellent picture, where only you have time to translate your eyes from one terrible episode to another. The film immediately plunges into the atmosphere of a cruel nightmare, which in the form of a series of strange incidents suddenly covers a peacefully dormant village, literally - unafraid idiots. Quite quickly, it becomes clear to the viewer that the root of evil is clearly not in mushroom poisoning, because all these strange visions, whether in a dream or in reality, are regularly visited by the main character in the form of nightmares and do not allow him to live calmly. Soon, the real forces of darkness appear on the scene, first in the form of sorcerers, and then worse. . .
The acting is good, although the picture is characterized by a pronounced national character in the behavior of the characters: a strange mixture of Asian hysteria and simultaneously dreamy calm. In the course of the development of the plot, in front of the viewer, a significant transformation of the main character occurs, from an amorphous and shy puffy puff to a desperate daredevil head. The change is gradual, almost imperceptible.
I did not like the performance of the role of a shaman, somehow this hero behaved routinely, did not even try to instill respect for his murky craft.
A colorful character in this film could be called rain. This ordinary natural phenomenon quite abundantly saturated the whole picture, invigorated with coolness and stained with eternal village mud. Sometimes I just unwittingly reached for an umbrella.
The kaleidoscope of unfolding events is very impressive, especially because the film does not go too far in anything and absolutely everything seen is possible to imagine in reality. There is nothing frankly fabulous here, as is often the case in films with mystical lining.
But still, this movie does not inspire fear, does not cause aching horror, but rather looks like an object for exploring those misconceptions that are characteristic of people living outside of monotheism. And although the picture has a strong Christian component, abundantly seasoned with quotes from the Gospel, all this is just a fleur, unable to close the helplessly sticking out errors of paganism.
Conclusion. Without a doubt, the film is just great within its genre. If you do not look closely at the national color, then it is not only exclusively classical, but also significantly expands the boundaries of the usual. I would say that this is somehow the next step in cinema to master the themes of mystical thrillers: demonicism is coming!
Those interested in the genre simply have to pay attention to this film. Everything is good in it, and it is not even a pity that it is long.
The intriguing set of stories, a good average rating of the film, as well as a lot of positive reviews just encourage you to get acquainted with the film, shot in South Korea. And then these guys know how to make a good movie, remember at least the trilogy of revenge. Park Chanukah, so there is no doubt that the film will appeal to you. There is no doubt when the film is just beginning. There is no doubt that when the first half hour of the film passes, but then doubts still creep into the soul, and when the final credits appear, you can only exclaim surprisedly: “And I spent two and a half hours on this?” But let's be fine.
A Korean village somewhere in the wilderness and how to do it - in such places, nothing significant happens, except that some mortar will turn his foot in the forest, well, or neighbors during communication with each other will use swearing, or even mate through every second word. However, the latter I still rush to the translators - DeadSno and Den904, the benefit of which is that they adore to burrow and can not live without stuffing a couple of swear words into the film, even if the latter are not needed there. Well, in that nice village, terrible things are beginning to happen. Husbands pick up a knife and cut their families clean, then sit on the porch, covered with sores and baked blood, and their eyes are directed somewhere beyond the horizon. Investigate the incident is instructed to moderately fattened police officer Jong-gu, who is most often called simply - Bastard. But not because Jong-gu is the local equivalent of Harry Calahen or Martin Riggs, but because everyone here hates everyone.
It would seem that the standard plot of the story if you do not take into account the relationship of the characters, but no. The creators decided to go further and turn the police into people not particularly smart, but superstitious and nervously shuddering at any rustle. And in its own way, it's even interesting. The village is provincial and law enforcement officers do not have firearms, a rubber baton or a shocker. Why they don't have it, in light of the terrible things happening in the villages, is a mystery. But I will assume that there is no logical justification for this, but there is an illogical one – it was necessary for the plot. Although God knows if the police have the means to protect them, the film would only benefit from this, because you never know when the hand will shake and the charge intended for the evil spirit will hit the partner. Well, that's an empty debate.
Another thing is that the heroes of the story prefer to shout at any reason, whether it is nightmares that they dream or a naked girl who came to the police station at night, in the rain. Know yourself crooked on camera, in a vain attempt to portray horror. And if in the case of nightmares and visions, this is still justified, then the fear of a little girl still looks too far-fetched. There's something going on here, and grown men hid under the table at the sight of a little girl who doesn't look like Sadako Yamamura. The right to speak looks ridiculous, not scary.
Speaking of scary things. In the film there are several extremely stylish scenes, one meeting of five seemingly heroes with “zombies” that cost, but here’s the thing – the film has no atmosphere. Of course, it is interesting to see the real reaction of people to the evil spirit, even though the actors who play these people most of the time, but the atmosphere does not heat up. There is no horror and tension that is characteristic of films of this genre. There is not even a detective atmosphere here, despite the fact that the main character is investigating. How's it going? He's being led by a pen in the story, but let's put it down to an investigation, yeah. What is happening is not even suitable for an adventure film, since there will be no real adventure here. No drama, either. Or rather, it will be, but mishandled. The characters will go crazy, but they do not cause pity because the viewer did not know them before the incident and does not know whether they were good people or not. There is nothing to cling to here, and therefore there will be no emotional return.
Outcome? A couple of curious plot finds are faced with a weak script, disgusting acting, as well as the fact that the second part of the film will take place in the dark and make out what is happening there will be a more difficult task. I honestly tried to find something in this movie that puts her eights and nines, but I didn’t find it. “Wailing” can be compared to “Paranormal” – something happens from time to time, but most of the time the characters talk or portray active activities that bring sleep. Use only as a sleeping pill.
Divided personality or confrontation of two identical hypostases
Taking up this film, I did not even suspect what a flood of various feelings, emotions, questions and answers fell on me during the 2.5 hours that the film was going on, I will say once that I did not understand anything from the first viewing, so I had to repeat the film in order to understand what was happening and after that, all the questions found their answers. In addition, I confess, the film left behind quite negative and gloomy impressions, which is generally rare, since all directors usually strive for a happy ending, and to the viewer felt some integrity of the image and the picture as a whole, I have an unpleasant aftertaste, which does not change my attitude to the film, and it is positive.
Briefly about the plot, in a small Korean village, murders of people begin to occur, the culprits are members of their families who find themselves in a kind of stupor, which later turns into a deadly disease with ulcers, from which the unfortunate ones burn out literally in a few days. And all the locals blame the Japanese old man, who lives far away in the woods, he is unsociable and does not talk to anyone, but everyone accuses him of the most terrible things. These incidents are being investigated by the local police.
Once again, I am surprised that directors in their films often present police officers as clumsy boogies who are not able to fend off even a dog. But all this is only a foreplay, as a police officer becomes serious when the health of her daughter, who contracted a strange disease, is at stake. In such a desperate situation, any person and a loving father of a daughter is ready to go to great lengths, so did the main character, who went to the forest to talk to a Japanese man.
His assistant and outlet becomes a shaman who reads his thoughts and helps save his daughter, condemning the Japanese to terrible agony.
In a battle in which two people clashed for the soul of the child, there were no winners, because everything she wanted to do despite the love of the family, the admonitions of ghosts, and the salvific rite. And again, she becomes a muse for someone who likes to collect photos of cheerful faces and faces covered with grief and longing.
The end of the film is twisted so famously and peculiarly that it seems that the director will not be able to connect the different heroes of the story, but step by step, he manages to build a storyline in such a way that when you see the camera, everything falls into place. And in this little thing, perhaps, hidden everything that the creators wanted to convey. And this is the main plus of the film, to keep intrigue, until the very last minutes of the film, to guess who is to blame and what happened, but this is Asia and only they, in my opinion, so deftly manage to sometimes combine incompatible things, be it shamanism, obsession, ghosts, demons and split personality.
8 out of 10
Rain washes away all sins, and tears and resentments, it will wash away everything you hide, only photos of memories will remain.
I consider the film ' Scream' a notable phenomenon of 2016 world, not only Korean cinema. One of the most unusual Asian thrillers of recent years.
Talented (and otherwise it can not be) 42-year-old director and screenwriter Na Hong-jin (Na Hong-jin) shot a quality film of the mystical genre, which stands out from other films in this direction. The film was in Cannes, but the most rigid Europeans were not quite imbued with Asian mysticism.
Having begun to watch without the certainty that I would be able to handle this more than two-and-a-half-hour movie, I could not stop. The bewilderment from what is happening, from the helplessness of puppet policemen, was replaced by the understanding that this film cannot be considered as a story about modernity. This is a scary tale for adults in the interiors of a modern Korean village. A fairy tale is always timeless. Many films are created on this principle - an enclosed space, deaf places, in which strange and even terrible cases occur. And no outside help. The intensity of passions and a sense of hopelessness increases - the film only benefits from this.
Actor Kwak Do Won perfectly coped with the role of a provincial policeman, plump, a little clumsy, never smelling gunpowder and living a simple boring life of a layman. On his share fall trials that are not amenable to human reason. The transformation of his character as the plot progresses is impressive - it is impossible to take your eyes off.
Kunimura June is simply brilliant in the role of either a shaman or evil spirits. Enough of his chopped facial features and heavy long look to imbue the heavy aura of the film.
Hwang Jong-min is reserved, but this made the shaman even more convincing. His figure was also ambiguous.
Smart little Kim Hwang Hee withstood the load of such a difficult role of the daughter of a police officer. I think she has a great future as an actress.
However, the cast of the film can be said that it was selected perfectly. Everyone was wrong. Female roles are not spelled out, the ladies were present more as a background, but it is not the fault of good actresses. It is impossible to focus on all the characters.
Many people may not understand the ending. That's the plan, I suppose. But I got it. I will not give my opinion. Visit this little universe of fear and terror and decide.
10 out of 10
Who would have imagined that a Korean film would begin with the text of the Gospel, and this distant Asian country would give the hell a movie about shamans. The director On Hong-jin became another filmmaker who to some extent excited the world film market, pointing the compass needle to the Far East.
The film is very far from perfect, the brilliance with which Hollywood mints its best representatives of the mainstream, you may not see here. But you will definitely get a small, with its share of madness masterpiece. In the remote village of Coxon, strange events begin to occur, the police here resemble more telebubbles than harsh law enforcers.
But it is this toothless characters "Scream" and bribes the viewer. If I’m not mistaken, weapons in the film never got, men run from a rabid eccentric with an axe in his head, the police hide behind the table when the lights go out and a very gloomy aunt stands at the window, let’s just say – the fears of the characters in this film play not the last role. Although the main character of the film clearly shows how from a plush policeman he quickly turns into an unwavering predator trying to protect his young daughter.
More than two hours of screen time is a very perfect timekeeping, a small universe of fear and insanity does not look unfinished or drawn out. Moreover, in the picture there are several very clear lingering twists that simply do not let go while watching. Very good work of the South Korean director, with a gloomy atmosphere and intriguing until the very end of the story.
In the filmography of Korean director Na Hong-jin there are not so many films, but if you look at the reviews of most viewers and even critics, you can see that a person does not make the worst works. Before that, he apparently had a great way to shoot rather tough criminal dramas. But his latest work, the thing is far from that genre. This is a chilling thriller, with an admixture of real mysticism. And do not be surprised by the number of inexplicable and mysterious things happening in the picture per unit of time. On Hong-jin is obviously a multifaceted director and decided to surprise his viewer with a rather non-standard work, analogues of which you also need to look for.
In a small village in South Korea, strange things are happening. Many Coxon residents have gone insane, burning down their homes, killing their families and acquaintances. At the same time, all of them appear on the body signs of an unknown disease - a purulent rash that looks very contagious and seems to be the obvious cause of the madness of the victims. Detective Jong-guu aims to find out all the circumstances of the incident and, enlisting the support of a partner, tries to get to the truth. Only now, this truth can be deadly.
The first thing that impressed me in this rather unconventional film is the way the main characters are shown - people. They are simple, they have a simple life, they are subject to fears, suffering and are not yet another unwavering fighter against the world's evil. Detective Jong-guu and his partner are excellent examples of this - standard police officers who do not shoot at the first danger and tell each other local stories from the rumor section. The work has a very correct atmosphere, it envelops the viewer and sometimes you feel the atmosphere so much that it seems that you yourself get into this rainy town. But of course, the main advantage of the work should be considered the plot, it is smooth, measured and at the same time, quite tense. Throughout it there is a whole bunch of riddles, the answers to which, we will not be able to learn literally until the very end. At the same time, at the moment when the main enemy seems to be clearly defined and the solution is close, the film makes a steep plot twist, leaving the viewer to be puzzled and build new guesses. It's hard to believe, but you literally don't know who's who, five minutes before the end of the movie. A very well-considered work with a competent story. Unfortunately, there are some mistakes, for example, during the emergence of a strange epidemic with characteristic skin rashes, no one took care to call epidemiologists. Everyone is surprised, but they have not even heard about quarantine. Another oddity is that while the local cops look very lifelike, none of them carry a gun at all, and there were definitely a couple of times when it would have been completely justified. And a couple of ambiguous decisions, which seemed strange, but in general did not spoil the impression of viewing. Moreover, the actors play well and the guys are generally colorful, especially local shamans. The picture generally has an excellent emphasis on religious beliefs and various shamanistic rites, implemented simply by five plus.
As you can expect from any Asian film, the picture is very niche and will not appeal to everyone. After all, this is primarily about Koreans, their culture, customs and a certain aesthetic that is foreign to our people. You may be surprised, but even here there is a kind of Asian humor inherent in these guys. But do not worry, this does not affect the perception of the picture. In fact, Na Hong-jin turned out to be a very atmospheric work with a whole bunch of riddles, after viewing which, it seems, most of the questions posed by him will be solved, but at the same time, new ones will appear, the answers to which we will not receive. Although the flight for fantasy is of course just huge.
In the secluded village of Cookson, a series of terrible events occurs. The scenario is the same - someone from the family brutally kills all relatives, then falls into an incomprehensible state and eventually dies in terrible agony, covered with scabs and sores. Everyone suspects a Japanese hermit of atrocities, and one day one of the policemen notices with horror that his daughter begins to behave very strangely.
Immediately it is worth warning that this megahit of Korean hire is a spectacle that tears all the templates that the viewer has regarding mystical cinema. After reviewing a decent number of Korean thrillers, I can say that Koreans have long had a rather strange tendency to portray provincial police officers as clinical idiots behaving like a cross between Jackie Chan and Louis de Funes. Their behavior instantly brings to the narrative a sense of comic farce and this picture directed by Hong-jin Na ("The Persecutor, Yellow Sea) was no exception. But, what is most surprising, if the viewer accepts the rules of the director’s game, by the middle of the film, the frankly comical behavior of many characters ceases to surprise and as a result, the bewildered viewer receives a shock dose of hellish mixing of genres, which, most interestingly, acquires its charm and charm. If the first half of this big picture (lasting more than two and a half hours) very cool mixes mysticism, detective and comedy, then in the second part begins selectively creepy horror drama with an abundance of religious motives. Despite the strange, not all clarifying finale, a lot of religious ideas and other oddities, the director writes out such an atmosphere in places that goosebumps run on the skin, especially this is emphasized by the colorful camera work, very delicately working with the color palette and frame construction. Not everyone will like this bloody mystical cocktail, but “Wailing” is certainly one of the most unusual Asian thrillers of recent years.
8 out of 10
Chong-hoo is a police officer in the small village of Cookson. Chong is a phlegmatic, cowardly, superstitious fathead. His life flows slowly and measuredly, the main problem of Chong - hu - where to find a place to pay his beloved wife overdue marital debt, as the charming daughter He - Jin takes all the free time of parents, and does not leave mom and dad time for privacy. The calm course of life in Cookson is disrupted by a series of mysterious murders.
Murders are carried out according to the same scenario: one of the family members brutally kills the others, then falls into a state close to tetanus, and dies in terrible agony, covered with disgusting sores and scabs. The killings continue, the death toll rises, frightened locals blame a Japanese man leading a reclusive lifestyle. Chong-hoo investigates the case (without much success) until his daughter develops symptoms of a mysterious illness. . .
Na-Hon is the same person who shot the beautiful in his bloodlines 'The Pursuit' and 'The Yellow Sea' the director should continue to work in the same direction, but he succumbed to the fashionable among Korean directors the wind and shot something that can be attributed to the genre of mysticism, zombie slasher, detective, thriller, comedy and hell knows what else.
The first half of this short 156-minute film falls into a category where it’s more funny than scary. Everything that happens resembles a skillfully induced muddle - reality is layered on dreams, reality is intertwined with nightmares, it is simply impossible to distinguish where one is, and where the other is. Chong-hoo is an amazing coward and alarmist, he is so amusingly frightened, sways with a fat belly, shakes with horror that what is happening is perceived as a comedy. Hee-jin (daughter of Chong-hu) is a creature with some completely unearthly charm, she has a stunningly beautiful cut of large, playful eyes, a fabulously beautiful smile, a round moon-shaped face, the girl is very lively and direct.
The second half of the film gives a grave cold, in several moments it becomes really scary, the director managed to spoil what started so well. Blood splashes flood the screen, murder victims spew streams of vomiting, jets of pus, bursting scabs, crunch of bones ... If you are a fan of the horror genre, then this movie is for you. Chong-hu realizes that he is faced with something beyond his understanding, the task before him has no rational solution, driven to despair, he turns to the shaman, will one witchcraft defeat another?
The director generously mixed Buddhism, Christianity, shamanism, black magic in his film, the film has a stunning sacrificial scene in its power: driving to madness, the accelerating rhythm of the drums, the rabid dance of a shaman (Hwang-Jong-min), hovering over everything the rage of chthonic gods, chilling spells, bleating of sacrificial animals - all this makes a powerful impression, and otherwise, the film is simply repulsive. Blood, puss, at the end of the film there is a twist that does not clarify anything, but only confuses. What did the director want to say? Are the world’s religions powerless in opposing pagan beliefs? Is black magic invincible? It is better not to think about the meaning of this film, you can earn a dislocation of the brain.
Characteristically, bloodthirsty Koreans appreciated this creation, the film is the leader of the national box office (maybe the reason is that the main suspect is a Japanese?), and maybe the key to understanding the film is the phrase - ' I am the way you see me', evil is a product of our consciousness (the dream of the mind gives birth to monsters), On Hon - gin brought his creation to Cannes, without much success, callous Europeans did not bewitch.
5 out of 10
A dramatic thriller with elements of mysticism and horror.
So before us is a new creation of a very strong and interesting director, specializing in dark thrillers with the traditional for Asian cinema cruelty and unpredictability of the plot - On Hon-jin (Persecutor, Yellow Sea) - he also did not depart so far from this favorite genre ...
The plot of the film revolves around a small remote village where strange and incomprehensible things happen to ordinary people, people begin to die one after another from an incomprehensible disease. Everyone associates this with the appearance of a mysterious stranger in the village at the same time. The case is taken by a local police officer, as his daughter is also exposed to this mysterious disease.
At the exit, we have a rather tense, dark and mysterious mystical thriller on the subject of ghosts, shamans and witchcraft, only framed in an atmospheric and heavy psychological drama with a mysterious denouement that leaves behind more questions than answers to them and proceeds under constant torrential rain.
I recommend watching.