strawberrycakee
Portugal
This review may contain spoilers
an amazing but disturbing movie that will bring you to tears
I picked up this movie knowing that it was going to completely destroy me. I'd heard about it, but I had no idea it was based on true events. So I looked up the real case that took place in Gwangju Inhwa School, back in the 2000s. Aka the case that this movie dealt with. I must admit that, me searching and learning about it, contributed even more to how much impact it had over me.
In a general way, the aesthetics of the film, the music, the production were all on point. The acting too, I mean, all of them, including the children did an amazing job. I highly believe they did justice to the delicacy of the film. It was a "quiet" movie in the sense that every scene is handled with the utmost care (as it should be), yet it's not boring at all, nor is it slow. The movie practically rushes by, in a great way.
As for the story, it was incredible and very well executed. It's a story that touches us and is unfortunately very true, not just because it was a specific case, but because sexual abuse and child abuse is a huge problem that, however much we want to solve it, is often not solved as it should be. For that same reason, I think the ending of the movie was a good choice because the intention of it, I believe, was to convey a message, where not everything can be the fiction we would like. Of course, from a viewer's point of view, I would have loved a fair ending, where the perpetrators were punished as they deserved. But as I said, reality isn't always fair, and this movie, in my opinion, wasn't about entertainment. That's why it's such a real and heavy piece of cinema.
Rewatch Value: I put it at 1.0, but I can't really change the overall, as it would be unfair. It's a 10 regardless, great movie, but would I watch it again? Definitely not. I was already expecting it to be heavy, but when the first scene of abuse came along, I was really shaken. I could never bring myself to watch something like that again, as it really made my stomach turn. It's really not an easy movie to swallow for anyone, especially if you're sensitive.
In a general way, the aesthetics of the film, the music, the production were all on point. The acting too, I mean, all of them, including the children did an amazing job. I highly believe they did justice to the delicacy of the film. It was a "quiet" movie in the sense that every scene is handled with the utmost care (as it should be), yet it's not boring at all, nor is it slow. The movie practically rushes by, in a great way.
As for the story, it was incredible and very well executed. It's a story that touches us and is unfortunately very true, not just because it was a specific case, but because sexual abuse and child abuse is a huge problem that, however much we want to solve it, is often not solved as it should be. For that same reason, I think the ending of the movie was a good choice because the intention of it, I believe, was to convey a message, where not everything can be the fiction we would like. Of course, from a viewer's point of view, I would have loved a fair ending, where the perpetrators were punished as they deserved. But as I said, reality isn't always fair, and this movie, in my opinion, wasn't about entertainment. That's why it's such a real and heavy piece of cinema.
Rewatch Value: I put it at 1.0, but I can't really change the overall, as it would be unfair. It's a 10 regardless, great movie, but would I watch it again? Definitely not. I was already expecting it to be heavy, but when the first scene of abuse came along, I was really shaken. I could never bring myself to watch something like that again, as it really made my stomach turn. It's really not an easy movie to swallow for anyone, especially if you're sensitive.
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