[Movie 2010] I Saw The Devil, 악마를 보았다

[rubie]

June 23, 2011

Indie Wire lists "I Saw the Devil" as "The Best Films in 2011.. So Far"

Reporter: Lucia Hong luciahong @ Editor: Jessica Kim jesskim @ <ⓒ 10Asia All rights reserved>

Movie poster of thriller "I Saw the Devil" [showbox]

Popular daily independent movie website Indie Wire has listed Korean thriller "I Saw the Devil" as one of the best films so far this year.

Indie Wire's official website said Thursday that "I Saw the Devil," which opened in North America theaters on March 3, is one of the runner-ups for "The Best Films in 2011...So Far" list amongst 10 other movies including "Hanna," "Win Win," "Bill Cunningham New York," "Submarine," "Super 8," "Midnight Paris," "The Trip" and "Certified Copy."

They followed behing the website's five top choices, namely "The Tree of Life," "Jane Eyre," "Meek's Cutoff,” "Bridesmaids" and "Beginners."

The article noted that "I Saw the Devil" director Kim Jee-woon "makes every drop of blood count and while those moments will make your stomach churn and skin crawl, it’s the ramifications of violence and vengeance that offers up the biggest scares of them all."

Since opening in local theaters on August 12 last year, "I Saw the Devil," which stars Korean actors Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik, has brought in over 1.8 million moviegoers nationwide and has won a number of accolades from various international film festivals such as in Germany, Spain and France.

Most recently, Lee attended a red carpet event in Singapore for the thriller, while it is set for release in the country this September.

[rubie]

March 3, 2011

REVIEW – I SAW THE DEVIL

Written by Courtney veryaware.com

Written by: Hoon-jung Park & Jee-woon Kim (adapted)

Directed by: Jee-woon Kim

Starring: Min-sik Choi, Byung-hun Lee, San-ha Oh, and Kook-haun Chun

In I SAW THE DEVIL, the lines between good and evil don’t just blur but fall away, leaving the viewer with some unsettling emotions – disgust, shock and horror being just a few of them. What’s left is a solid psychological thriller conducted by a master of Korean cinema. This film makes SEVEN, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE look like children’s bedtime stories. It’s quite possibly the most violent film I’ve ever seen, but the violence is done for a thought provoking purpose – and a good one at that!

The film starts with a grisly murder of Ju-yeon, a young woman – the daughter of a retired police chief and fiancée of an elite special agent – who happens to be stranded on a country road while awaiting a tow truck. The killer, Kyung-chul (played perfectly by OLDBOY’s Min-sik Choi), beats her within an inch of her life, drags her away to his lair, and then dismembers her body, even after she begs for her life admitting she is pregnant. A local boy discovers one of her body parts and the nearby river is dragged. More body parts are discovered while Ju-yeon’s father and her fiancée, Soo-hyun, look on.

After the funeral, Soo-hyun (played by THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD’s Byung-hun Lee) accepts “the call”, a promise made to his slain fiancée, to track down her murderer and exact revenge on him, even if doing so turns him into a monster. When he does find Kyung-chul, handing him over to the authorities is the last thing on his mind. A dangerous high stakes game of cat and mouse ensues, and our story plunges further into the depravity of the human condition.

I SAW THE DEVIL touches on morals and questions of whether its right to get bloody vengeance. When the film ends, the audience is left to ask, did our hero really get the revenge he wanted so badly? The film is clear that violence begets violence, but is there a winner?

Scriptwriters Hoon-jung Park & Jee-woon Kim have turned in a well structured script. There are only very minor moments that ring false, such as the tortured nurse agreeing to bandage up her tormentor, but those are few and far between. Despite its gruesome nature, surprisingly the film has some tension release humor to it. The cab ride Kyung-chul takes after getting beat up by Soo-hyun gives a few chuckles. There’s also a scene that makes you re-think ever ordering your steak anything less than well-done, or turn vegetarian full stop.

Min-sik Choi turns in a brilliant portrayal of a monster on a rampage with his murderous character. He makes no attempts at humanizing the killer nor does he make any apologies for his demonic actions. He makes you wonder how he transformed into such an evil soul – what exactly does it take for someone to turn that brutal? (Perhaps we could find out in a prequel.) When Byung-hun Lee’s Soo-hyun switches, we get glimpses of an answer to that question. He makes a worthy foe when the tables turn. When the two main characters fight, the scenes exude the ice cold lunacy of their mad rage.

I SAW THE DEVIL is visually stunning even though the subject matter is quite grim. Despite the film’s darkness, it has stayed with me beyond its two and a half hour running time. Fans of the genre, director and stars are going to embrace this film. It stirs up dialogue and challenges your perspective. That’s powerful and haunting filmmaking at its best.

3.5 out of 5

[rubie]

June 11, 2011

HanCinema's Film Review

Revenge: Korean Style!

-Christopher J. Wheeler hancinema.net

Alfred Hitchcock once said "Revenge is sweet and not fattening", a stance shared in Korea as the suspense thriller genre has become synonymous with their film industry.

Along with the melodrama, revenge films and themes have become all too easy to identify in some of the most famous films to come out of Korea in the last ten years. This apparent sweet tooth has indeed been affected by Korea's turbulent socio-political history and perhaps a social consciousness persists that past injustices have not been adequately addressed both globally and locally.

Art--in this case, cinema--has the ability to purge, expose and depict past wrongs through spectacles that simulate and enact the painful residue of trauma. The notion of a "Revenge" film is a sadomasochistic affair in which the spectator is forced to oscillate between identifying with protagonists' painful circumstances and over-identifying with their vengeful actions. The degree to which one identifies with the hero's (or anti-hero's) trauma sets the parameters for how far we are willing to accept the resultant acts of revenge. Once that limit has been breached, an over-identification occurs and the more sadistic pleasures emerge.

Blood, gore and horrific imagery are the symbols in films that represent a need to over-indulge our lust for revenge in a space that seemingly exists outside normative social spheres. It is this safety of mind and from judgement, from guilt and repentance that functions in the revenge film as desire is dramatically played out to serve the individual, as they exist within a collective social consciousness.

But what of the fate of the hero? How does our protagonist progress once the revenge has been served? In revenge films, the answer is almost always undesirable. In "Old Boy" Oh Dae-su's journey ends with a forced forgetting, knowing that he will be unable to return to the state he once found himself. Much like the act of walking out of a cinema, reality looms and once the tunnel vision ceases to provide comfort, there is need to equip oneself for the aftermath of such a cathartic release. Oh Dae-su has his answers; he has taken the bloody trip and what results in an ineptitude to digest events in a manner that would allow him to transcend his trauma. This is where revenge and the act of seeking knowledge, itself, is a catalyst to compound suffering, except here the aftermath is without a suitable object to direct or project suffering onto. And when forgetting or forgiveness is not an option, there is only one choice left, the death drive.

In "Bedevilled" Kim Bok-nam is a pressure cooker that explodes in this psychotraumatic thriller. After years of torment and suffering, she snaps and goes on a short, but ultra-bloody rampage of revenge. Her mind is beyond repair, her existence now limited to eliminating those who she deems responsible for her suffering. She has no regard for herself or her future; it is all here and now and tomorrow holds no value as the damage has been done. Again, we can see how justice in revenge films is a highly subjective affair. Faith in any objective justice system is abandoned and a new, more self-serving system emerges.

This is particularly evident in the 2010 film "I Saw the Devil", in which Kim Soo-hyeon discards his title as detective in favour of a personal vendetta against his wife's murderer. Social justice in contemporary Korean cinema is seen as a failing and inadequate tool for balancing the scales. Even for a man within the justice system, Kim Soo-hyeon's personal need to deal with matters himself supersedes his previous commitment to social order. Revenge is personal; justice will always remain in the social arena and it is the revenge film that probes the individuals' drive to personally enact it.

Na Hong-jin's "The Chaser" shows how social authority can fail even when one attempts to work inside its parameters. Eom Joong-ho was once a detective himself but now finds himself operating outside their conventions and authoritative norms. When they do become involved, their incompetence and self-imposed restrictions limit their capacity to carry out what Eom Joong-ho would consider appropriate in dealing with the elusive sociopath. "The Chaser" is an interesting case because there is initially under-identification with our hero. This quest for revenge is more about economics than self-suffering. The justification is not initially self-evident (as in "I Saw the Devil"). Our hero is a vessel in which, over the course of the film, we assign justification for his actions. It is only when Eun-ji (Min-ji's daughter) is made the empathetic object that we begin to really identify with his quest and set the parameters for Eom Joong-ho's final confrontation with his target. Through projection, we fill Eom Joong-ho's "revenge cup" with reasons and justifications that he might not otherwise possess or be aware of. He is, at least initially, guided by a purer desire that he has not yet been made conscious of.

Although films like "I Saw the Devil" and "The Chaser" see the heroes as abandoning their socially appointed titles and obligations, does that mean that revenge cannot be a social affair? In Park Chan-wook's "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance", revenge takes on a more social dynamic. This time a female protagonist is behind the wheel and she makes the decision to form her own "revenge society" with its own rules and codes of conduct. Here we can see a stark contrast between masculine and feminine ideals of social responsibility. Unlike "Bedevilled" where the trauma was localised within an individual, here need for revenge is equalled by Lee Geum-ja's social consciousness and her subsequent responsibility to it. The act of revenge still exists outside of great authority but she creates a new democratic system designed specifically to deal with the situation at hand. In addition, the spectator's identification is split between an under-identification with our protagonist, as her initial trauma is subverted and displaced by temporal narrative structuring, and a over-identification with the revenge act itself as we are seduced by the groupthink of the victims and the choices they make.

Contemporary Korean cinema has a number of other revenge films that were purposefully not mentioned as the films discussed here represent my personal favourites of the bunch. The revenge genre is a fascinating one and its relation to Korean culture and society is an equally intriguing one worth tackling.

[rubie]

May 28, 2011

HanCinema Korea's Diary

Introduce Yourself to Korean Cinema: 7 Films to Get You Started

-Christopher J. Wheeler hancinema.net

"Old Boy" (2003) by Park Chan-wook

Well, if you haven't seen or heard of this bloodstained piece of cinema, then this should definitely be the first Korean film you see. Famed director Park Chan-wook won a spew of awards with this gruesome revenge thriller, most notably, the Grand Prix of the Jury award at the 57th Cannes Film Festival. Its success in Korea and abroad is well-known and even Quentin Tatantino labelled it as one of his favourite films. There are two other films that make up Park Chan-wook's revenge trilogy. The first, "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance", was released back in 2002 and the third film, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance", came out after "Old Boy" in 2005. All three are fantastic and can be appreciated in different respects. A quick search online will show you just how divided people's thoughts are on this. It's best to watch them all and make up your own mind. The Korean cinema circuit is definitely not short of revenge thrillers, but Park Chan-wook's "Old Boy" is a classic that will rock you to your core.

If you like this, also try "Bedevilled" (2009 by Jang Cheol-soo), "I Saw the Devil" (2010 by Kim Ji-woon), "The Chaser" (2008 by Na Hong-jin), and "A Bittersweet Life" (2005 by Kim Ji-woon).

[Guest mochamist]

DON'T WATCH!!!!!

BECAUSE IT'S SO GRUESOME, I ALMOST PUKED HALFWAY THROUGH THE MOVIE. ugh.....don't eat before watching either.

[rubie]

July 7, 2011

In Focus: 'Devil' goes down to Times

Source: jsonline.coml

A secret agent's fiancée is murdered by a psychopath, and the agent sets out for revenge, justice and worse in "I Saw the Devil," a brutal thriller by Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-Woon.

"Devil," starring Lee Byung-hun ("The Good, the Bad and the Weird") and Choi Min-sik ("Oldboy"), has its Milwaukee premiere in the Times Cinema's Cult Film Creepshow series at 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Times, 5906 W. Vliet St. Admission is $5.

Kim's credits include the hypnotic supernatural thriller "A Tale of Two Sisters" (2003). "Devil" has been described as "hypnotic" and "unflinching."

It's not for the squeamish: Get a look for yourself at the official website: www.isawthedevilmovie.com/.

[rubie]

Thanks to the highlight by youyo712 via twitter

July 8, 2011

IN CONVERSATION WITH LEE BYUNG-HUN

By Lady E Terror Exquisite Terror.com

Highly impressed by Lee Byung-hun’s per­form­ance in Kim Jee-woon’s I Saw the Devil, Exquis­ite was pleased to have some time with the actor. If only for more of said time, minus a lan­guage barrier…

You have worked with dir­ector Kim Jee-woon a num­ber of times now. Which of his films have you most enjoyed work­ing on, and why?

The fun­ni­est film to film with Kim Jee-woon was The Good, the Bad, the Weird(2008). Out of all the ones I’ve filmed with him it was the least intense. Even though the con­di­tions were tough, it was fun.

I was very impressed by your per­form­ance in I Saw the Devil. Your char­ac­ter is multi-faceted; his grief and fury are both very clear. You made it look natural.

Revenge is a feel­ing that every­one can have. Both sides kind of bal­ance each other out and allow the other emo­tion to shine when one is depressed. It was hard try­ing to keep an expres­sion­less face while try­ing to por­tray vari­ous emo­tions. This film acts out these emo­tions to the point that it becomes unreal or very fic­tional, like a fantasy film. There are two other ver­sions, but we chose this one. I am happy with the one we chose.

Asia is prob­ably one of the best regions in the world at pro­du­cing good, effect­ive hor­ror films. What is Hol­ly­wood doing wrong?

I think that Asia makes very good hor­ror movies. When hor­ror movies are remade I think they often try to make it more com­mer­cial which can take away from some of the ori­ginal plot that made it good. Hav­ing said that, remakes have their own style and col­our that make it unique. All cre­ations come from a first source.

Do you have aspir­a­tions to step behind the cam­era, or write screenplays?

Most act­ors that have acted for a long time would prob­ably like to make a film of their own. From when I was young until now, it was very excit­ing to me that people could take ideas, real or fic­tion, and make it into a film. There­fore, I think I would like to make a fantasy film. If I were to make a real­istic film I would make it about people, their inter­ac­tion and all the dif­fer­ent per­son­al­it­ies that they can have or show.

Review: I SAW THE DEVIL

By Exquisite Terror.com

Dir­ector Kim Jee-woon brings two of South Korea’s finest act­ors together in this blood-soaked revenge thriller. A reg­u­lar to Kim’s canon, Lee Byung-hun plays Kim Soo-hyeon, a secret ser­vice agent whose preg­nant fiancée is bru­tally murdered by school bus driv­ing serial killer Kyung-chul (Old­boy’s Choi Min-sik) in a grue­some open­ing scene. Employ­ing the help of her retired police chief father, he fol­lows a num­ber of leads in order to track down Kyung-chul — but not without pun­ish­ing a few other sus­pects on his list first. The cat-and-mouse theme is a com­mon motif in revenge-driven movies, but here it’s taken one step fur­ther. Not only does Soo-hyeon soon catch Kyung-chul, deliv­er­ing a furi­ous beat­ing in the pro­cess, but, after force-feeding him a track­ing pill, releases him only to repeat the pro­cess, until the crafty killer wises to his game and ups the stakes.

As a show­case for the two act­ors it’s a fine one, their char­ac­ters boun­cing off each other mag­ni­fi­cently, shar­ing a sat­is­fy­ing amount of screen time together. Lee’s revenge-driven agent is not without emo­tion, while Choi’s killer is a mem­or­able beast, an instinct­ive, impuls­ive mon­ster of a man who eman­ates viol­ence. Kim’s dir­ec­tion is as con­fid­ent as ever, and I Saw the Devil is one grand-looking film; the set pieces them­selves are punchy and well-executed. One tax­icab attack in par­tic­u­lar is not only viol­ent, but well-choreographed, as the cam­era pans around the blood-spattered car.

I Saw The Devil is unflinch­ing and viciously uncom­prom­ising in its por­trayal of viol­ence against women. This at times nears the hor­rors of some of the stronger torture-based films out there, but man­ages to avoid over­step­ping the mark, although the viol­ence proved a little too much for some cen­sors — includ­ing in Korea — who enforced a fair few trims. As with many thrillers, the revenge theme is not exactly new ter­rit­ory; Park Chan-wook’s Ven­geance Tri­logy stands out, and the film also owes much to David Fincher’s Se7en. Also, its char­ac­ter depth is lack­ing and the under­ly­ing trope of most revenge films — what does it take to become a mon­ster? — is clearly pre­val­ent, but these are minor quibbles in an oth­er­wise excel­lent film. South Korea has pro­duced some out­stand­ing thrillers over the years, and I Saw The Devil sits com­fort­ably among the best, approach­ing its theme in a way that is fresh, con­fid­ent and exhil­ar­at­ing, with a streak of pitch-black humour through­out. And con­sid­er­ing it is two-and-a-half hours, there’s really not an ounce of fat here, the film often hint­ing at clos­ure before the final act ups the ante.

[Guest scrump]

I saw this a while ago with my boyfriend..It was super gorey and scary...But I think it was better I saw it with my bf or else I would have been a lot more scared haha. 

Rather than being scary cause of the gore, I think it was scary because of how realistic some of the scenes are (in terms of psychotic murderers preying on innocent women). There are some other scenes that are overdone though too...Like Choi Min Shik's character was sooo evil - basically the devil. I did not see one drop of humanity in him, it was scary... And Lee Byun Hyun's character was really well played out too, but it makes you think about what he would be doing now. 

[Felicia Soh]

I Saw The Devil (ISTD)

Directed and Adapted By : Kim Jee Woon

Produced By : Kim Hyun Woo

Associate Producers : Kim Joe Young / Kim Jung Hwa

Screenplay : Park Hoon Joong

Cinematography : Lee Mo Gae

Lighting : Oh Seung Chul

Music : MOWG

Recording : Kim Jyung Tae (LIVE)

Sound : Choi Tae Young (LIVETONE)

Editing : Nam Na Young (MORI)

Costume : He In Entertainment

Hair & Makeup : Kim Hyun Jung

Production Design : Cho Hwo Sung (Hwo Sung Art Director Group)

Special Effects : Jung Do Ahn/Lee Hee Kyoung (Demolition)

Choreography : Jung Doo Hong

Main Cast : Lee Byung Hun, Choi Min Sik

Supporting Cast : Chun Kook Haun, Chun Ho Jin, Oh San Ha, Kim Yoon Seo, Choi Moo Seong, Kim In Seo, Kim Gap Soo and Lee Jun Hyuk

A very long-list of Deserving-Awards :

2011

47th Paeksang Awards

- Grand Prize Award for Film – Lee Byung Hun

17th FANT-Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival

- Official Selection Best Film

29th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival

- Golden Raven

5th Asian Film Awards

- Best Editing – Nam Na Young

31st Fantasporto Film Festival

- Fantasy section Best Director - Kim Jee Woon

- Orient Express sidebar Best Film

2010

31st Blue Dragon Film Awards

- Best Cinematography – Lee Mo Gae

- Best Music – MOWG

- Best Lighting – Oh Seung Chul

13th Director's Cut Awards

- Best Actor – Choi Min Sik

47th Grand Bell Awards

- Best Lighting – Oh Seung Chul

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please be aware that the following comment reveals a high degree of SPOILERS.

Although Director, Kim Jee Woon was already at the height of his critical success from his previous work, I saw the Devil was not a well-received film at the time of its release in Korea. Most criticism focused on the inhumane slaughtering of the victim, the lust and desire that accompanied with erotic content (mental note to self : will elaborate on this later) and it was – at times tempered with extreme doses of psychotic behavior.

Somehow, I am glad the film was critically reassessed and though film noir and thriller genres are not my cup of tea but on one fine evening, I decided that I am in the mood for thriller (anyway, I wouldn’t give it a miss since it’s not everyday I get to watch an unrated film). What surprises me is that I actually watched the entire movie including the cut-scenes in one seating without any breaks.

The first shot, of the two headlights cutting through the dark snowy countryside, seen from within the car, creates a claustrophobic vision echoing the character intent focus on his prey from within. Our first encounter with the film is from within that vision and when we finally see Choi Min Sik’s face it is neither his good-hearted nor his decent-looking (that was the only scene that I found him “human”) image, it is the out-of-focus unexposed motives that grabs our attention. The brutal blow he inflicted on Ju Yeon and the subsequent horrific scene of how he dismembered her body makes me relate him as an “extraterrestrial being”. This is what gives the films its meaning : he is the “monster” for whom Choi Min Sik’s character commits his horrible crimes.

As the heat of a forthcoming crime scene, we were introduced to our hero, Soo Hyun as played by Lee Byung Hun, a serious-looking highly-trained special agent as seen getting ready for a mission revealed a romantic side of him. His fiancée, the beautiful looking Ju Yeon played by Oh San Ha (the daughter of a retired police chief) has a sweet voice that matches Soo Hyun. I like the part when she said : “I love your voice. It feels romantic to hear your voice in the snow” - with such a romantic compliments, anyone would comply with her wishes. It was so sweet of him to sing her favorite tunes but his singing was abruptly stopped when one of his men barged into the toilet. That was the only romantic side of Lee Byung Hun’s character that we get to see and if you miss this part, you’ll never get to see the sane side of him – he has so much warmth, subtlety and a raw feeling emerged so naturally and beautifully from LBH performances (however, the scene was way too brief to appreciate him in his smart looking attire). The remaining scenes revealed a different side of him – Soo Hyun gets swallowed up by his obsession to take vengeance and is too demented to acknowledge that he has gone overboard with playing by rules.

Kim Jee Woon brings a sensitivity and complexity to the wild-stock characters (including CMS’s alien-nauseating-friend). Although the plot components are simple enough, the world depicted here is both dangerous and complex. The way events turn out opens up dark abysses in the life’s of Kyung Chul, made the more unexpected when his human-flesh-eater friend who took over the home of a family of four and kept the family members alive as prisoners until he ran out of stock.

Throughout watching, I notice it has an exceptional style of killing and from a moral view point, it remains with the viewers as one of the most disturbing movies. The expected murders occur in an expected ways but always random victims. The killing provides him with his most emotionally and sensually satisfying human connections. This becomes more and more obvious as he even seems indifferent about being caught by the end. Although the director avoids the typical tools of who-killed-the-victims, ISTD is completely engrossing on its own merit and we welcome the little-lifeless GPS-human-tracking-device (sorry, I am not familiar with the technical term for this device) that set the whole chasing mouse-and-cat game and the tracking-device was apparently the main focus of how Soo Hyun tracks his every move and conversation.

The climax is so concerned with the horrifying killing methods that the killer seems to almost get away with it (and I dread the discovery of the tracking device part that sent him into another killing spree in his desperation for purging dosage).

Here is the man who would not take it anymore – he stood up against the entire police force to find justice and vengeance on his own. He went all his way even if it means losing his own life – the psychotic killer must be terminated by him. But is his move coming across as someone turning himself into a monster? In an ironic ends-justifying-the-means twist, Soo Hyun is ultimately praised as a crusading hero, and it’s hard to say if Soo Hyun’s inadvertent triumph is actually another tragedy. It’s kind of thought-provoking, because the film has done such a successful job wobbling the moral compass, we’re left desperately grapping for impossible answers.

The characters are locked in a pattern of competing or complementary goals – the moment one party makes a move, the other party will make a countermove – and both are aware that they are headed together toward a fatal showdown. The final moments of his decapitation-death may be over the top, but they are nevertheless effectively reflects him getting the dose of his own medicine through his family.

The tension of both characters, provide ISTD’s main psychological interest and in the film’s stunning conclusion, allow it to achieve a tragic dimension.

OVERVIEW COMMENT

ISTD may be the kind of picture that’s better to contemplate in theory rather than as a vehicle for nauseating viewing, but for viewers attuned to Kim Jee Woon’s bold approach, most of his film remains in many respects, an unforgettable achievement.

It’s no exaggeration to say that few scenes in this movie proves to be as effective as sending thrills and chills up the spines of viewers.

Despite of its genre, what makes the picture truly phenomenal is the way Lee Byung Hun command the screen – with indomitable spirit and full of charismatic power. Though Choi Min Sik’s role is un-celebrated than LBH, this is one of his most outstanding performances. Choi Min Sik excels in depicting the life of a cold-hearted killer whereas Lee Byung Hun stole the show with his startling poignancy expression in various emotional dilemmas.

Lee Byung Hun and Choi Min Sik, both brilliantly cast as the good and the evil and the supporting cast are never less than effective. It is a powerful, suspenseful, moving and terrifying film and never have I been so satisfied with the way justice was brought to Kyung Chul (we finally saw the weak side of him fearing death) – executed by his own family as plotted by Soo Hyun – what an excellent ending!

This film is not fun to watch, but it is important that it forces viewers into reflection, questioning the cultural fascinations with serial killers. In my opinion, this film is best appreciated on its own terms.

Cut-scene note :

This film actually revealed an extraordinary level of erotic intimacy and I think because the picture is not intended for the pornographic circuit, this shot was cut. The extended sex scenes between Choi Min Sik and his ex-girlfriend (the curly-haired girl who sat on the dining table together with the two monstrous) are shocking. Since this part does not play a strong main plot, deleting it would be a good move as it may cheapen the film (imho).

Some of the deleted scenes do reveal some direct pointers but I guess the reason of deletion could be due to time constraint factor.

[rubie]

July 14, 2011

Film review: I Saw The Devil [and I liked it]

By: Papa Akuffo abb-design.co.uk

Here’s the first post from Patrick Schrijnen, who will be our man on film from now on. He starts as he means to go on, with a great film that also happens to be incredibly violent and challenging revenge thriller. Good stuff. Read on.You can find the trailer below – Papa

‘I Saw the Devil is an ultra-violent revenge film that finds Government agent Kim Soo-hyeon (Byung Hun-lee playing a brutal game of cat and mouse with serial killer and rapist Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi) after Kyung kills his pregnant wife. Kim, devastated and driven quite mad by this murder, captures Kyung, beats several shades of mini cooper out of him, shoves a tracer into his mouth and leaves him a wad of cash. Kyung wakes up, confused and staggers off to find another victim, at which point Kim finds him, beats him up some more and cuts through one of his Achilles tendon. At which point...you get the picture.

Such a structure had led the film to be criticised for indulging in ultra-violence for its own sake leading critics to ask the question ‘Is it necessary to the story for him to beat him half to death with a harpoon?’. Presumably that depends on the goal or the meaning of the film. In ‘I saw the Devil’ the message is simply that you can’t complete your revenge on someone without losing some of your humanity in the process. Especially if your revenge involves ripping someone’s jaw off with your bare hands. Given the message, Jee-woon Kim, the director, has a carte blanche showing the most disgusting and graphic gore imaginable in order that show you how far the protagonist has lost its way. But, in going this far, he has to accept his film will be known more for that than its acting, fantastic set pieces or eerie cinematography. A film that is known for being ‘ultra-violent film’ like ‘A Clockwork Orange’ or ‘Straw Dogs’ isn’t judged on its own merits but solely on how shocking or disgusting it is. The film becomes more about the controversy and hype that surrounds it than the film. Whilst a filmmaker can justify any level of violence they like, it does come at a cost of the film being viewed as any other film and therefore shouldn’t be done lightly. It also alienates many a filmgoer who just can’t handle the gore (Hi Mum). I Saw the Devil is a good, inventive film with some fantastically dynamic and original action scenes but its level of extreme violence means that it won’t reach the audience it could have and will remain in the ghetto of ‘ultra-violence’.

[rubie]

June 23, 2011

I Saw The Devil (Kim, 2010) + Shanghai Film Fest Film

Posted by dcpfilm

I really love serial killer films. Sure, there’s a whole, whole lot of terrible ones, but some of the all-time greats have the dual advantage of functioning as thriller/action film and character study: Seven, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, 10 Rillington Place, Man Bites Dog, Shadow of a Doubt, etc

I Saw The Devil is an ultra-violent Korean film from Jee-Woon Kim, who’s The Good, The Bad and The Weird put him on the American map. I don’t really watch many films that are as violent as this. I like horror, though I don’t watch much modern horror. I like dark films, but they’re usually more thematically dark with sporadic violence. I like thrillers, but prefer the suspense to the constant onscreen blood.

The first scene of I Saw The Devil is possibly the best. Joo-yeon (San-ha Oh) has a flat tire. A school van pulls up in front of her on the empty road and a stranger, later to be revealed as Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi) offers help. It’s late, there’s no one else on the road, and she’s but a helpless girl, so Joo-yeon rolls the window down a crack and politely refuses. She then calls her fiance, secret-service-type Kim Soo-hyeon (Byung-hun Lee). He advises her to stay in the car. They hang up. She waits. The snow falls. And…without giving too much away... the proverbial feces hit the fan.

Kim shoots this opening scene so beautifully and suspensefully, preferring to stay mostly in Joo-yeon’s or Kyung-chul’s POV through their respective windshields. The effect is multi-fold:

First, the opening, as we drive in Kyung-chul’s POV, wipers going lightly, snow falling gently, headlights illuminating the road partially, we are treated to an eerie but beautiful moment. Little do we know that we are also in the position of the stalker.

Second, once we are introduced to Joo-yeon the POV switches and the female (victim) perspective mostly takes over. Kim uses Joo-yeon’s POV to suspensefully build and strategically keep Kyung-chul mostly obscured.

By alternating between the perspective of murderer and victim Kim smartly sets us up for the rest of the film, one in which we’ll alternate between sympathies even occasionally (albeit very rarely) feeling for Kyung-chul. The opening demonstrates the easy transferability of POV and how underrated the technique is in cinema. It can be quite powerful if used properly. What would the effect be if, say, Kim had shot the entire scene from Joo-yeon’s perspective?

Instead of the opening, essentially tracking shot from Kyung-chul’s car, we’d be static, looking in a rear-view or through the back window, as the car approached. We’d pan with it as it came to a standstill. This is an effective shot, but without the juxtaposition of Kyung-chul’s POV we’d lose a) the feeling of creepy progression, b ) the feeling of, as I mentioned before, stalking, c) the jarring feeling of being forced to look through a murderer’s eyes.

Imagine for a moment if the first shot remained the same, but was later revealed to be her boyfriend simply coming to rescue her. At the moment of its inclusion in the film, the shot would retain its eerie properties, but would instantly deflate at the moment of the reveal. It would feel like a joke (which can be effective at times – there’s a great example of this in Blue Velvet when Kyle MacLachlan comes downstairs in a noir-ishly silhouetted wide-shot). Good cinema should work long after the shot/scene/film is done. As is, the shot has said eerie properties, which then compound when we understand whose eyes we’ve just been searching through. Lose that shot and Kyung-chul becomes only a nameless killer, not a dangerous killer who actually thinks and feels. The quickest way to understand a person is through the eyes – film is no different.

Ramble, ramble, ramble.

Anywho... I Saw The Devil is also quite successful in its portrayal of goodness gone bad. This is done via Kim-soo Hyeon, who is so torn up over the death of his fiance that he goes on a rampage that would make Charles Bronson blush. Some of it is standard stuff, including a naive reliance on his part on technology, but when the death toll starts racking up in part because of Kim-soo’s negligence…then the usefulness of complete revenge is questioned and it becomes interesting.

The final scene of the film is very brutal, but it’s pretty interestingly done in terms of Kim-soo’s definition of true retribution.

[rubie]

Warning

:

this is a critical review of I Saw the Devil by a prominent critic at koreanfilm.org.. please read (or not) in good faith..

DVD and Blu-Ray Reviews by Kyu Hyun Kim koreanfilm.org

I Saw Pointless Violence: I SAW THE DEVIL [blu Ray, Magnolia, Region A]

A Peppermint & Company/SIZ Entertainment Produciton. Distributed by Softbank Ventures Korea, Showbox Mediaplex and FINECUT. South Korea. 2 hour 23 minutes (International Version). Executive Producers: Greg Moon, Jeong Hun You, Suh Young-joo, Moon Jae-sik, Cheong Kee-young, Kang Yeong-shin, Kim Kil-soo, Bryan Song, Il Hyung-cho, Kim Byung-ki. Producers: Kim Hyun-woo, Jo Seong-won. Screenplay: Park Hoon-jeong. Cinematography: Lee Mo-gae. Lighting: O Seung-cheol. Production Design: O Hwa-seong. Special Effects Makeup: Kwak Tae-yong, Hwang Hyo-gyun (CELL). Special Visual Effects: Jeong Do-an, Lee Hee-gyung (DEMOLITION). Director: Kim Jee-woon. CAST: Lee Byung-heon (Soo-hyun), Choi Min-sik (Kyung-cheol), Cheon Ho-jin (Chief O), Kim Yoon-seo (Se-yeon), Kim In-seo (Se-joo), Jeon Kuk-hwan (Chief Jang).

Well, there we go, in four words, how I feel about this mega-controversial opus from the talented Kim Jee-woon (The Good, the Bad, the Weird) that for once fits the equally controversial label of "Extreme Asian Cinema" to a T. (Ironical that Tartan America was unable to pick it up for North American distribution) It is indeed such an obviously flag-waving example of the "ultra-violent Asian horror-thriller that Hollywood is too chicken to make" that I might have considered the whole movie a marketing gimmick for North America, had it not been directed by Kim with not only his trademark technical sophistication and visual elegance but also genuine commitment to its abattoir aesthetics. Unfortunately, Kim's sincerity, instead of redeeming the picture from its moral confusion and ugly characterization, serves to drag it back into the swamp, bubbling with gaseous emanations of half-digested ideas, occasionally bursting into flames with outrageous Grand Guignol set-pieces, certainly attention-grabbing but leaving little but the whiff of misguided enthusiasm in their wakes.

I Saw the Devil is certainly neither timid nor self-mocking, as it pushes all the right buttons for gore-hounds, serial-killer mavens and even fans of hyper-violent action film (think of an old-style Hong Kong actioner in which a secret agent played by Chow Yun Fat is going after a serial killer played by Anthony Wong in his most unhinged, An Untold Story-type mode). But it ultimately leaves a hollow feeling, even compared to some gruesome recent films already saddled with the make-you-puke-in-the-theater-isle notoriety-- Dream Home (2010), Audition (1999) or Embodiment of Evil (2008). Kim Jee-woon has little to say through this motion picture, other than his apparent desire to prove that he has the technical command over all existing genres regardless of the sensibilities or tastes required of them and that among these genres is a torture porn/psycho thriller, reduced to its bone-and-gristle armature.

Neither Lee Byung-heon (A Bittersweet Life), as Soo-hyun, the mad-as-hell government agent whose girlfriend was raped, killed and dismembered by a psycho killer, nor Choi Min-sik (Old Boy), as the hideously crass psycho killer Kyung-cheol, can overcome limitations of the characters they play. Director Kim obviously wanted to demonstrate the purposelessness of revenge on the part of Soo-hyun, as well as the meaninglessness of Kyung-cheol's action: but the end effect, at least on my part, is irritation rather than fear or even revulsion, much less insights into the darkness of a human soul. Choi Min-sik is a powerful actor but he is defeated by the inner vacuity of the character he plays. When he is cutting up a young woman and mumbling some inane dialogue in between puffs of smoke, he looks like an irate, overworked butcher having to deal with a rack of particularly tough meat. Lee Byung-heon, on the other hand, gets to competently essay shell-shocked torpor and consuming anger but he is also brought down by the character of Soo-hyun, who is apparently willing to put perfectly innocent bystanders, including his betrothed-victim's own family, in the paths of rape and death just so that he could play the role of a beleaguered lover. In other words, Soo-hyun is just as "crazy" and as much of a public menace as the psycho killer he pursues, yet Kim Jee-woon directs Lee for the most part as if he is a vigilante DC comics hero.

I hope there aren't any critics or reviewers trying to read some subtexts involving the contemporary Korean society into I Saw the Devil: you might as well try to decode the anal fixation among the characters in Human Centipede. I won't go into the film's too-numerous-to-be-coincidental "similarities" to Park Chan-wook's Revenge trilogy, pointed out by more than a few Korean critics. I will simply suggest that Park's movies have the requisite moral weights that adds acceleration to the cinematic wrecking ball smashing into the viewer's bone-globes: I Saw the Devil, in comparison, is like an impressively magnificent-looking wrecking ball that only produces a big noise like a gong, shaking window-panes and toppling glasses. I don't deny that that's something, too, for sure.

I think the strongest merit that I Saw the Devil can claim for itself, and the genuinely "subversive" element about its "extreme" outlook, is Kim's propensity for (or perhaps his constitutional inability to avoid) pursuit of visual beauty in the scenes meant to provoke terror and revulsion. The first victim, Joo-yeon, for instance, is shown in a strikingly beautiful, clandestinely (perhaps not so clandestinely) tragi-erotic, bird's-eye-view shot, a nude bathed in blood and covered in opaque plastic, just before Kyung-cheol chops her arm off. In another scene, Kyung-cheol counter-attacks a pair of robbers disguised as a taxi driver and a customer, and his savage stabbings produce small geysers of blood, seemingly coordinated like a fountainhead rhythmically shooting off colored water from its spouts while the camera spins like a top. It is a dazzling scene, again despite its utter purposelessness (other than showing off how much of a bad-richard simmons Kyung-cheol is).

However, Kim does not have the conviction of his strengths: instead of deploying his considerable skills in forcing the viewers to confront the moral repugnance as well as the alluring beauty of the murderous and sexual violence-- as in the best examples of Italian giallos-- he reverts back to the slickly choreographed, choppily edited "action" formulas reminiscent of brainless Hollywood blockbusters or boring family melodramas that serve no function other than putting more sympathetic characters in the harm's way. Soo-hyun never really struggles with the moral implications of his own crazy "revenge" scheme: Kyung-cheol's brain seems to have no compartment responsible for self-reflection, only one for super-human street smarts. The ending, when it finally arrives, elicits the ultimate response of "so what?", neither poignant nor genuinely disturbing, relying on Lee Byung-heon's trademark tearful emoting to paper over its blas? quality.

No doubt many sensible people will take I Saw the Devil's combination of the high-caliber film-making know-how, its "unflinching" descriptions of abuse, rape and slaughter (not to mention drug-induced diarrhea: don't ask) and its spiritual vacuity as original or at least intriguing, if not altogether brilliant and courageous. I am sorry I cannot join the bandwagon. The final sentiment that I was left with as credits roll up on the screen was, mixed with small bits of grudging admiration, annoyance: I truly wish it was something else.

Blu Ray Presentation: Magnolia Home Entertainment. NTSC. Region A. Release Date: May 11, 2011. Suggested retail price: $29.98. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1. Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Subtitles: English, Spanish. Supplement: Deleted Scenes, Raw and Rough (Behind the Scenes Documentary), Trailer.

Magnolia's Blu Ray video transfer is beautifully done, superior to their better-than-average Haeundae/Tidal Wave presentation. For your information, this is an international cut of the film restoring some voluntarily censored materials-- mostly additional scenes of gore and realistic wounds and such-- from the Korean theatrical print. I am not sure at this point whether Korean DVDs and Blu Rays also contain this uncut version.

A Kim Jee-woon film would be nothing without glossy, elegant visuals and DP Lee Mo-gae, a frequent collaborator for the director, flexes his muscles to create a wonderful texture that easily overcomes tough photographic conditions such as a white landscape dominated by falling snow-flakes, or Soo-hyun scaling the fortifications of his target's house in one take like auditioning for Spider-man. Neither the excessive contrast/boosted clarity nor digital artifacts raise their ugly heads, in contrast to the ugly shenanigans in the film itself. The color timing prefers cobalt blue and crimson red (blood) and as far as I can determine it is a reasonably accurate reproduction of the theatrical print I had seen last year. It looks fairly stunning on my pre-LED Samsung HD TV.

The DTS-HD soundtrack also sounds fine, although like 13 Assassins the dialogue channel could have been somewhat stronger. I did not even sample English dubbing: for all I know it's not too bad, but if you know anything about Lee Byung-heon, you know that dubbing his voice robs him about 40% of his acting capacity. Give it a pass.

The supplements are deleted scenes and a fairly elaborate making-of docu. Not too bountiful, but the days of 3-disc special edition DVDs with the supplement discs jam-packed with production notes, galleries with hundreds of pictures and whatnot are apparently over. Deleted scenes (clocking at about 25 minutes) involve more character details regarding Soo-hyun, Kyung-cheol and other personages. Personally I found the interaction between veterans Cheon Ho-jin (as Soo-hyun's superior) and Jeon Kuk-hwan (as Joo-yeon's father) most interesting. Raw and Rough, which extends to appx. 27 minutes, is mostly concerned with the film's action choreography, supervised by Jeong Doo-hong. It is fascinating to see the different styles of Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-heon using their bodies to project menace and rage, and what kind of utterly primitive technology was used to illustrate an impressive car chase sequence near the climax. Some good ol' Korean stuff apparently never change.

While I Saw the Devil in my opinion is a huge disappointment from the obviously talented Kim Jee-woon, working with two bona fide Korean stars, Magnolia's Blu Ray presentation does justice to the film's high-class audio-visual pedigree.

* Blu Ray for review courtesy of Magnolia Home Entertainment

[rubie]

August 20, 2011

I Saw the Devil: South Korea Does it Again!

By rosstheboss56 reviewsfromtheabyss.com

So recently in the past few years, I’ve been really getting into South Korean films. And not just horror, but action, drama, and suspense/thriller. It all started with The Host (starring my favorite South Korean actor, Kang-ho Song) and has branched into similar movies by director Jee-Woon Kim. And this includes The Good, The Bad, The Weird, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Uninvited, and A Bittersweet Life. And I have just recently added I Saw the Devil, Jee-Woon Kim’s latest masterpiece. And I loved every minute of it.

This latest film by Jee-Woon Kim is a suspense/thriller with a few elements of twisted gore and horror, the perfect mix if you ask me. Kim Soo-hyeon (Byung-hun Lee), a special agent/detective, has just recently lost his wife to a brutal murder, not knowing she was pregnant. Upon discovery, Soo-hyeon decides to pursue this serial murderer and get revenge. Once he finds Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi), Soo-hyeon goes hardcore after Kyung-chul with a fury and vengeance that almost seems unfair.

Using his secret agent skills and the aide of a tracking device, Soo-hyeon proceeds to beat the living crap out of Kyung-chul and then admitting him to a local hospital after every beat-down. With no idea why this is happening, a cat and mouse game comes about for the ages. Who will prevail?

There are some freaking great aspects to this movie. First of all, the mind game that’s created echoes another film that Min-sik Choi starred in, Oldboy. Without a rhyme or reason to this menacing, violent game, people are killed left and right in pursuit of justice and cold-blooded revenge. What’s nice though, is that there’s a clearly defined line between good and evil. You know for certain that Kyung-Chul is evil and Soo-hyeon is good. What changes is the blurred line between the two and who becomes more evil in the end, and also, more importantly, who has the last laugh.

With the pain and emotion behind the actors, both for different purposes, the hidden killer inside everyone is unleashed and survival becomes a determining factor after all. With sick and subtle gory scenes, an occasional bare hands brawl, and even some hack and slash action, this movie goes places where normal cops can’t go. To bring in the bad guy and exact your revenge, just how far would you go to do the deed?

A definite 10 out of 10.

Byung-hun Lee. Complete badass.

Min-sik Choi. Sick and fantastic.

Thank you for a fantastic movie, Jee-Woon Kim.

[rubie]

Official Website:

vladivostokfilmfestival.ru

September 1, 2011

Several Korean movies invited to international film fest in Russia

Source: 10Asia

Several Korean movies will be screened at the Vladivostok International Film Festival in Moscow this month.

On Thursday, the official website of the fest revealed that Korean feature films "Come Rain, Come Shine," "Blue" and short "Night Fishing" have been selected for main competition at the 9th annual Vladivostok International Film Festival - Pacific Meridian to be held from September 10 to 16.

In the meantime, Director Kim Ki-duk's controversial pic "Arirang," the third installment of the town series “Dance Town” by auteur Jeon Kyu-hwan and Kim Myung-min starrer "Detective K: Secret of Virtuous Widow" will be screened under the Panorama category.

Also, Korean thrillers "The Yellow Sea," "I Saw the Devil," "Moss," "The Unjust" and "The Man from Nowhere" will be shown under the special segment of In focus.

In focus. Suspense, Korean style

5 feature films of "suspense" genre (films with intense action) by leading Korean directors.

The Yellow Sea

Moss

I Saw the Devil

The Unjust

The Man from Nowhere

[rubie]

September 3, 2011

Posted by Deaditor brutalashell.com

Definitive Directors: Kim Jee-woon by JC De Leon

Here at Brutal as Hell we’re coming to an understanding about the simplistic nature of the label ‘horror.’ That realization is that the word horror can have many different meanings to different people, and we as a site are slowly beginning to expand upon the simplistic notion of films categorized either horror or not. This is the reason I chose to review a film like Rise of the Planet of the Apes recently, because although not a horror film in its own right, it was nonetheless an absolutely terrifying film. Sometimes a film doesn’t have to be scary for us to cover; sometimes brutal and unrelenting violence is what will deem a film worthy of our coverage. Throughout the Definitive Director series here at Brutal as Hell, you’ll read about a lot of great horror directors, and South Korea’s Kim Jee-woon might be the only one who has directed one true ‘horror’ film, but his other films are absolutely and unequivocally brutal in their own regard.

I Saw the Devil

On a snowy night Joo-yeon ventures into the wrong place at the wrong time when her car breaks down and the only one left to offer her assistance is psychopathic rapist and killer Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik, Oldboy). He methodically cuts her body into several pieces and when it’s discovered that she’s gone missing, a search is conducted where her severed head is discovered. Her fiance, a Korean secret agent named Soo-hyeon (Lee Byung-hun) is determined to find her killer, no matter the monster he may become.

I Saw the Devil takes the concept of revenge as we know it and expands upon it. So often in film someone seeking revenge only wants to kill. Kim Jee-woon manages to create a set of characters here who actually kind of complement each other. Soo-hyeon is just as calculating and merciless as Kyung-chul, but of course his purpose is… noble? Sort of? That’s what makes this film so brilliant: throughout the course of his revenge, Soo-hyeon is playing a cat-and-mouse game on screen that we haven’t really seen before, and to play up the insanity of Kyung-chul, he never learns his lesson. In one of his first moments of freedom, from whoever this mystery man is that keeps beating the ever-loving mini cooper out of him, he attempts to rape another woman only to be subjected one of the more brutal beatings in the film.

This was no doubt Jee-woon’s darkest film to date, yet the overall color of it seemed vivid enough when needed. This created one of the more interesting problems in viewing the film. It’s too beautiful to take your eyes off of, yet the violence here is almost too brutal to watch. But you can’t look away, and you certainly can’t turn your ears off as the sound design is absolutely brilliant.

It’s terrifying – the type of punishment that the human mind can come up with inflicting on another human being, and Kim Jee-woon captures it beautifully, if not also brilliantly, in I Saw the Devil.

A Tale of Two Sisters

Kim Jee-woon’s lone ‘true horror’ feature. This supernatural film from Kim Jee-woon is inspired by the ancient Korean folktale “Jangha and Hongryun.” A Tale of Two Sisters is set in an isolated lakeside house where two young girls, Su-mi (Im Su-jung) and Su-yeon (Mun Geun-yeong) return home after being hospitalized following the death of their mother. Their father Mu-Hyun (Kim Gab-su), in the meantime, has re-married Eun-joo (Yeom Jeong-ah), who despite her best efforts can’t seem to get in the girls’ good favor. Strange, violent and dark visions begin to disturb Su-mi and she becomes convinced that Eun-joo is keeping a dark secret from the family.

It might sound vaguely familiar to you, and if it does it’s because this film was remade here in America under the name The Uninvited, and you probably watched it, you watcher of Americanized-Asian-film-remakes. If you liked that film you should definitely check out Kim Jee-woon’s version. It’s one of his earlier feature films, and when compared with I Saw the Devil you’ll notice that there is certainly a difference between the two, and most of those differences stem from his growth as a filmmaker. A Tale of Two Sisters is dark most of the time, and when it’s time for scary things to go down, just like the amount of blood and violence in his other films, Kim Jee-woon doesn’t disappoint. It’s got some pacing issues, but that could also be attributed a little to the source material at the heart of the story.

What’s great about Kim Jee-woon is that he’s never stuck to one visual style, and he always makes fantastic use of music in his films. Two of his other films, A Bittersweet Life and The Good, the Bad, and the Weird are equally rewatchable in their own right. Both of those films also star Lee Byung-hun, and if you watch these films enough, he just might become one of your favorite up and coming actors. If you insist on seeing him in American films, he can be seen in 2009’s G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, and he can be seen in the upcoming G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation as Storm Shadow.

As for Kim Jee-woon’s next project, you can thank the over-active libido of Arnold Schwarzenegger. When most other film projects failed after his recent scandal, Kim Jee-woon’s next film, Last Stand, offered up a role written specifically for Arnold and he accepted it. It will be Kim Jee-woon’s American debut, courtesy of Lionsgate in 2013, and like the rest of his films should be amazing.

Kim Jee-woon, not exactly a ‘horror’ director, but a director of some damn good and brutal films that we will see plenty of in the future.

[shedevil77]

rubie,all your blogs were excellent and very much very on point.Thank you for sharing so much info with us.I personally loved the movie shocking, thrilling, and a great lesson in what not to do as it was.This is definitely not a movie for everyone because it deals with the underbelly of human emotions or should I say the very worst in humanity.The actors were excellent as well.And I loved the way the director brought many fine points home at the same time. Thank you again for sharing your point of view with us I found your thinking refreshing remarkable and highly entertaining.

[rubie]

Just a simple gist for now -- anything amiss please highlight to be edited

September 7, 2011

Special Documentary: The Power Film Makers

Source: Nate 1 l 2 simple gist by EverythingLBH.com

Cable Channel CGV will be broadcasting a 4-part documentary film "The Power of Movies: the story of home theater" for its 10th anniversary. The broadcast will be for 4 weeks from September 10 onwards which the documentary featuring various interviews with the story and humor, on how to create an actor, director, screenwriter, Technology around the film to tell the tale.

Part 1

Featuring actors Song Kang Ho, Lee Byung Hun, Jeon Do Yeon, Hwang Jung Min, Ha Jung Woo and other well-known thespians to share their thoughts on acting, the characters they play and the relations with the production as well as conflict solutions.

Part II

Featuring top directors Lee Myung Se, Bong Joon Ho, Kim Ji Woon, Kwak Kyung Taek, Kang Hyung Chul and many more about the domestic film industry - the joy and loneliness, as well as anxiety and suffering in film-making.

Part III

Featuring the screenwriters for screenplays in movies 'Unfair Trade', 'I Saw the Devil' etc - the tangled plot of the storyteller expanding the scenario in engaging films.

Part IV

Featuring the technology, and exposing the intrigues of behind the scenes situation in film technology - to be opened to the public.

[rubie]

September 7, 2011

Movie Review: I Saw the Devil [2010]

by Eric twscritic.com

Brutal, disgusting and unbelievably violent.

In other words, another badass Korean revenge thriller.

I Saw the Devil personifies evil. First there is the villain, a batmini cooper insane psychopath named Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi, aka Oldboy) who delights in murdering and raping young women. Actually, he doesn’t just murder them, he decapitates and dismembers them without showing even the slightest bit of remorse. He is one horrifying dude.

One snowy evening, Kyung-chul finds a woman stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. He offers to help, but the woman politely tells him that a tow truck is on the way. He sees this as an opportunity, however, and brutally attacks her, eventually killing her as well.

This leads us to evil personified, part two. It turns out that this woman’s fiancee is secret agent Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun), another crazy motherjohn tesher who vows to track the serial killer down and deliver the same amount of pain that he brought his victims. With the help of modern technology, Soo-hyun plants a tracking system on the murderer and begins to play a cruel game of cat-and-mouse with him, gradually maiming him along the way.

Yeah, it’s pretty john teshed up.

The sheer amount of gore and violence in this film is something to behold, and it takes a strong stomach to make it through. The good news is that it doesn’t reach the levels of the popular American torture porn flicks; instead, it offers a meaningful storyline that feels like it could actually happen. Beyond messed up, but still believable (though I have to wonder if some of the characters could actually stay alive after the sickening head bashing they endure).

If you can tolerate the violence, there is a lot to like here. The movie is beautifully shot, with some truly stunning camerawork, and it has incredible acting. Min-sik Choi is completely insane as Kyung-chul, and he delivers an absolutely haunting performance that will stay with you for a long time. I was also quite impressed with Lee Byung-hun, who was tremendous as Soo-hyun. He shows a great deal of sadness after his fiancee’s death, but gradually changes into a tough-nosed motherjohn tesher as he begins to slip into the mind of a monster. Powerful stuff.

I did have a couple of qualms with the movie. One, it runs a little too long, clocking in at a hefty 141 minutes. A good 20 minutes or so could have been taken out to make for better pacing. Also, what was up with the police in the film? They were acting as idiots most of the time, having no clue as to what was going on or how to handle things. The opening sequence shares evidence of this right away, as the police allow the media to go crazy and start taking pictures of a decapitated head in the ditch. What the john tesh?

Still, minor issues aside, I Saw the Devil is a compelling movie, certainly one I will not soon be forgetting. This isn’t meant for everyone, obviously, but if you can deal with the excess brutality it is definitely worth looking into. As far as revenge flicks go, this is a great one. Now I need to dig into Jee-wong Kim’s back catalog.

8/10

[rubie]

Thanks to ylin at LBH thread for the highlight

Stefan Says So: I Saw The Devil (악마를 보았다 / Akmareul Boattda)

Look Behind You!

Finally one of Korea's cinematic gems over the last year has made it to our shores, and it's better late than never to experience it on the big screen no less. For fans of gritty cop thrillers in the same vein as Se7en and Memories of Murder, I Saw The Devil serves up an engaging, disturbing narrative in similar veins, but surpasses with its intensity, characterization, and shocking imagery that even made me squirm in my seat (and I pride myself at not squirming easily). Some may dismiss it as shock jock tactics, but director Kim Jo-woon's film is anything but, paring down emotions to its rawest when dealing with a tale of vengeance.

Heartthrob Lee Byung-hun (who was here in June recently for ScreenSingapore) plays Soo-hyun, an elite secret agent whose wife suffered the misfortune of being under the crosshair of serial killer Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik of Oldboy fame), who brutally assaults and hacks her up. Promising that her killer will suffer an equally unsurmountable amount of pain, he embarks on a one man vigilante mission, with the help of his father-in-law, an ex police chief, to narrow down the list of suspects upon whom he delivers punishment without remorse, even for those who were not the culprits, but nasty people nonetheless.

It's plays on the notion of how it takes a thief to catch a thief, and here, just what would one do when you have someone who has done you great wrong and caused unforgivable pain, in your sights and in your captivity. In most revenge flicks, the score's settled in one scene. Here, there's allowance like the monologue of any villain of a B-movie, where it's allowed to continue repeatedly, just so that one can dish out punishment repeatedly as well, thinking it can help to ease the pain, or does it? Maybe Batman fans will come to appreciate Soo-hyun's behaviour, and understand the thin line that the hero treads on, vying dangerously close to the tipping point where it's so easy to become the monster one is set out to capture, and how the act of vengeance alone cannot change anything.

And what more when the villain is a sick psychopath with absolutely no morals, values, nor remorse felt, taking pride in taunting and boasting the sick things he had done. Choi Min-sik plays his character Kyung-chul to perfection, a live wire that can become explosive at any minute, armed to the teeth with weapons he doesn't wait to utilize, and a modus operandi that's effectively simple to execute, preying on beautiful nubile women just because he can. Choi Min-sik succeeds in making you hate the character, yet cringe in fear each time he appears on screen. It's the suspense built by the director which is top notch, allowing plenty of riveting moments where you'll be secretly hoping for Soo-hyun to show up each time, and save the day, only that Soo-hyun has his own hidden agenda to let the sickness continue, in order to deny the killer (just who is the killer and the devil here?) the pleasure that he seeks to gain.

Which is what made this film pretty amazing in my books, as it explores how one doesn't necessarily get to win outright in this brilliant cat and mouse setup, where one doesn't know when to stop and let up, of getting into the kick of being in power and calling the shots. It presents this moral dilemma of how overconfidence and underestimation sets someone up for a fall, of trying to go one up against the other that nobody wins in the end, with what I felt was a terrible lose-lose situation either character suffered because they got in each other's way through fate, degenerating into the final act in pretty much tit for tat fashion. It's never conventional the way things develop in this story with its fair share of collateral damage in the story, which allowed for a number of side and supporting characters to extend the narrative a little bit longer, such as Kyung-chul's cannibal buddy entering the picture.

Some may take a little offense at how indulgent this film can be with its violent scenes, since there are lingering, unflinching shots at some of the most gruesome ways one can violently pummel another human being in very direct methods which you'll rarely see on screen, and makes the Saw series look tame in comparison. Take a long a barf bag if you must, since there are many scenes of mutilation, bashing ins, dismemberment and the likes that will make you feel terribly uncomfortable, enough to put you into the shoes of the victims and feeling the kind of pain that is inexplicably caused, all just because you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and trusting a stranger all too easily sometimes no thanks to circumstances.

The edition shown here is the Director's Cut, or the International Version which is a lot more gorier than the Korean theatrical release which had to be tapered down, although the latter version did have a sex scene (which is one of the primary reasons for its longer run time) that added a litle dimension as to the allegiance and clarity of a small supporting character who pops up midway through the film. It's a complete package of thrills and spills, with excellent production values all round and some of the best character actors in Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik going up against each other already making the ticket price worthwhile, especially with Choi Min-sik coming out of self imposed exile from films will tell you something unique he sees in this film to want to do it.

I Saw The Devil opens here on 15 September. Do not miss this, even if you have watched it somehow before, nothing beats experiencing it on a big screen. Definitely highly recommended as it goes into my books as one of the best in its genre, and of this year.

source: A Nutshell Review

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