| Author | Message | ||
     Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
'The Host' is one of my favourite Asian movies of recent times and last week I saw Bong Joon-ho's new film 'Mother'. A brilliantly acted and genuinely edge-of-the-seat suspenseful Hitchcockian mystery thriller that takes the old theme of a doting mother's mission to prove her "wouldn't hurt a fly" son innocent of murder and turns it on its head. He is one seriously talented genre director and the actress who plays the mother, Kim Hye-ja, gets my vote for most stunning performance of the year! Many more meticulously crafted thrillers like this and Bong Joon-ho will be ousting Michael Haneke in the comparisons to Hitchcock stakes. Sumptuous use of colour, brilliant compositional sense, perfect timing and editing in the suspense sequences, delightful touches of macabre humour and brooding Herrmannesque score coupled with powerful acting and a maze of rug-pulling plot twists make this very special indeed... at least on a par with 'Shutter Island' and bettered only by 'The Ghost' as thriller of the year so far imo. One of those films it's best to see knowing as little as possible about what happens after the initial set-up. This is guaranteed to be remade abysmally in the West - so make sure and see the original version first! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.45.36 |
Glad to hear you liked it so much, Stevie. I preordered it a while ago, and am waiting for it to arrive (should be any day now). I think Bong Joon-ho is one of the best of the contemporary Korean directors, along with Kim Ji-woon, Park Chan-wook and a few others. His earlier film Memories of Murder is superb, putting to shame most recent western serial killer thrillers. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Haven't seen 'Memories Of Murder' but going by his track record so far it must be bloody good! 'The Host' impressed me by brilliantly subverting all the conventions of your typical "giant monster" movie and he pulls off the same trick here with regard to your typical "Hitchcockian suspense thriller". In all seriousness, the film deserves comparison with 'Vertigo' and I'll say no more than that... | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.45.36 |
I can't wait to see it. I heard that he's directing a sequel to The Host (it's still in development at the moment). He wrote (or co-wrote, I can't recall which) Antarctic Journal, another eerie and interesting (if flawed) film. His first film Barking Dogs Never Bite was good as well (it's a sort of black comedy). | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
'Memories Of Murder' is one of the best police procedural films I've ever seen. It's utterly compelling and heartbreaking. I can't thank Huw enough for recommending it to me. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
NB - it's so much more than just a police procedural, btw. Much, much more. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.176.202.56 |
For me, Memories of Murder is one of the best movies of the last 10 years or so, that's not an exaggeration... | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
I agree, Tom - it's extraordinary. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
I've ust watched Mother and thought it was bloody excellent - a thrilling, quirky, suspenseful yarn with an absolutely mesmerising lead performance. The opening scene is one of the best I've seen for years. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.237.21 |
Where do you guys buy your Asian dvds nowadays? A couple of years ago they were everywhere and now . . . | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
I just get the UK releases these days, Hubert - I used to use DDDHouse.com, but I believe it's gone now. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Unquestionably one of my films of the year - a good one for intelligent thrillers, dramas & comedies, but sadly not for horror. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
I'd class "Mother" as a horror film. But, like the Landlord, my definition of the genre is broad. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
I'd class it as Hitchcockian psychological suspense, in the same ballpark as 'Vertigo'. Bong Joon-ho is quickly turning into one of my favourite contemporary directors... and I still haven't seen 'Memories Of Murder'. Is that horror? | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.237.21 |
So they're still being released in England. I don't know whether I'm looking in the wrong places or not, but here in Belgium they have disappeared from the racks. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.68 |
I get most of mine from sensasian.com, Hubert. Stevie - no, Memories of Murder is a (very fine) crime investigation film. It has some affinities with Zodiac, and they're both based on real cases. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Thanks, Ramsey. Strange you mention 'Zodiac' because I would classify that as very much a horror film. I found the killer a genuinely frightening presence [remember the sequence when he picks the woman and child up in the car, and that brilliantly understated interview in the factory] and thought the murders were terrifyingly staged [that couple by the lake, Jesus!] while the depiction of obsessive madness, as Jake Gyllenhaal's character knowingly invites the killer into his life at the risk of his own family, reminded me strongly of the psychological horror of 'The Vanishing' [remember the petrifying sequence with the old man in the dank, dusty basement] - how the need to know can negate all other motivations, including self-preservation. 'Zodiac' vies with 'Antichrist' & 'Inland Empire' for my Horror Movie of the new millennium so far. Anyway, back to Bong Joon-ho... I must track down a copy of 'Memories Of Murder'! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.200.101 |
Hubert, I usually buy DVDs from local shops these days - we get most of the Japanese/Korean/other Asian films pretty quickly. If it's a film I really can't wait for, or a specific edition, I sometimes buy from one of the various online shops specialising in Asian film, such as dvdasian.com, HKFlix.com, yesasia.com and sensasian.com (the one Ramsey mentioned above). Stevie, another great South Korean director is Kim Ji-woon. I'm looking forward to his latest, I Saw the Devil. Anyone seen it? | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.200.101 |
Stevie, if you have trouble finding it, let me know. They have it in the shops here, on sale, so I could easily get you a copy. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Huw, I'm always raving about 'A Tale Of Two Sisters' - one of the best ghost stories from Asia I've seen, wonderfully creepy and enigmatic. Has he directed any other horror films? I see 'Memories Of Murder' available on Amazon for £4 with free delivery! | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
I'd call 'Vertigo' a horror film, too. A psychological horror film. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
It's certainly borderline horror, with even a touch of the ghostly about it. Ah, to see it on the big screen... | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.161.57 |
Stevie, the only other thing Kim has directed that would be classed as horror was the segment Memories from the anthology film Three (2002). He also directed The Quiet Family (adapted by Takashi Miike as The Happiness of the Katakuris - I prefer the Korean original), The Foul King (a sort of comedy about an aspiring wrestler, starring the seemingly ubiquitous Song Kang-ho), the gangster revenge film A Bittersweet Life, and The Good, the Bad, the Weird, a Korean comedy/adventure/spaghetti western set in 1930s Manchuria. I think his best film is still A Tale of Two Sisters. Four pounds sounds like a good price for Memories of Murder! You won't regret buying it. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.237.21 |
Thanks, Zed, Huw & Ramsey. I neglected to buy KAIRO when it was on the shelves here, recently watched it on YouTube and can't believe how good it is. Ditto for THE SUICIDE CLUB, for its incredible opening sequence and mysterious plot. |