This was like a family TV cop show and old Hollywood buddy movie combined with a very old fashioned soundtrack (reminiscent of a silent movie score). Pleasant watch but nothing deep
Ugh. Everyone is stupid in this movie. I wonder if this is criticizing ignorance in all forms as bred by the isolation of island life and religion, and of course everyone stupidly keeping the truth from Seok Hwa, one of the most annoying characters I have ever seen. Her squeaky voice, wimpy ways and unbelievable naïveté (running around in a soaked nightgown to then press her entire womanly body against the pastor because she was scared of the rain?!) were pretty cringeworthy.
As a side note, the scene with the wet nightgown features a very interesting visualization of the pastor’s inner turmoil, very creative and weird, unlike any other part of the movie
Really beautiful and sad depiction of what happens when you can’t see your value. Her sense of self worth was shattered repeatedly until she viewed herself as an empty vessel. There are some really stunning images in the gaudy, blurred flashbacks that heighten the sense of a life as an object at a remove. A must watch!
Really liked how pop music, the trials of being a young woman and working through trauma worked in this supernatural (and emotional!) exorcism story. Amazing colors and the repeated Scott Walker-esque song “Don’t Sing Sad Songs” was cool but also such an apt illustration of what Mi Woo was fighting (the pressure to ignore the pain and put on a happy face)
OK, I just got back into reading more of ORV after watching this. The movie doesn’t get into all the charming quirky details that make the manhwa so enjoyable (e.g., constellations) but the general plot and characters weren’t really off the mark. It was OK and not as awful as suggested in the comments (though I do feel LMH was distractingly miscast and the CGI was pretty unpleasant at times, similar to the dogs in Project Silence)
Yet another story about innocence and faith thwarted by our civilized ways. But unlike “A Shaman’s Story” in this film the shaman is the villain and the visitor is the victim. Again, so sad! Especially since she was already painfully aware of the misery of her existence
Sad! I thought FL was so arresting yet so touching with her childlike faith in both her son and her beliefs as a shaman. It really conveyed how innocent she was, making the story all the sadder. Why did the son come back? 😭
Wow! What a trip. I can’t even compare it to anything else I have seen. It kind of sends you on a journey exploring ML’s life through the eyes of his family, friends and lovers, with wildly different perspectives and experiences. Shades of folk tale, fever dream, nonstop partying, ribaldry, meta narrative, and crammed with such diversity in scenes and characters it’s hard to remember everything that happened. Full of surprises and an interesting watch!
Wow, what a harsh movie. How did FL end up so overconfident in her judo skills to get beaten into submission by her judo teacher dad? It’s like he betrayed her twice. I did like seeing that the supposedly meek sister was just as powerful as the obnoxious FL.
Lots of creepy men in this, including FL’s husband (who was stupid as well)
Great cast and Go Soo gave such a touching performance! I liked how it explored the ethics of deciding whom to save, with a comforting resolution for ML. FL was all over the place; not sure why she was given such an awful unsympathetic situation in the first 15 minutes. The movie never really explained her hubris
Felt like an homage to old Hollywood romance with its earnest, bespectacled male lead, the glamorous actress he falls for and the melodramatic twists and turns
Another commentary on misogyny, male power and social apathy. But with a happy ending! I found the middle aged man interesting in that he derided the low morals of both sexes as he saw it (in a way rescuing the heroine at one point). He wasn’t prepared for dealing with the younger generation (strong willed, shrewd female lead and her valiant younger brother), which seemed to illustrate the promise of the future
The doctor was a creep from the very start: Hateful, controlling and barely containing his rage. The movie is a long illustration of how he takes this rage out on his wife and helpless women under his employment and under his scalpel. Seems to comment on misogyny, control and how men can stay in control as long as they remain ruthless and selfish (no matter how out of control they really are). Unpleasant watch that rewards evil
I felt the FL maybe seemed too one dimensional but that also might have been a comment on how we can never fully see people or their history; we always see what they choose to show us or what we invent. The way this idea plays out with the scientist and the writer is interesting; you don’t initially think they are similar but both are trying to prove themselves, their points of view (one with scientific truth and the other with artistic truth). While that happens we get to explore questions about authenticity and reality. Interesting watch!
IDK. The penis aspect seems purely metaphorical (portraying the horror a kid can feel having to inadvertently portray his family’s crappy dysfunction). And this is used to show how your pain from such trauma can amuse, comfort, torture or disturb others. We see humanity’s flaws in how people react to the son, and how the dad punishes himself for that.
The wordless aspect was so impressive to me. Perhaps I wrongly found the dad’s internet searches hilarious (what parent doesn’t go down a rabbit hole trying to find a way to solve their child’s problems?) The chase with the severed penis was also strangely amusing (especially when a truck ran over it). Feel like these aspects and the surgery illustrated how futile attempts to repair severe damage can be (whether physical or mental).
Not sure I’d recommend but it’s better than the comments suggest (I think most parts people are commenting about happen in the first 10 minutes and are implied rather than seen; and the end, though that didn’t seem real and to me seemed to depict the dad and son’s mental anguish through the specter of the mom)
I wish there had been more complexity with Su Yeon (she was so villainous that it was hard to understand what the other leads saw in her and I was really hoping she would have some moral breakthroughs that never came). The two sex scenes early on are graphic but if you can get past that, it’s an interesting story exploring why we get attached to certain people and accept their glaring flaws
As a side note, the scene with the wet nightgown features a very interesting visualization of the pastor’s inner turmoil, very creative and weird, unlike any other part of the movie
Sweet and not what is suggested by summaries I could find (Wikipedia is way off)
Lots of creepy men in this, including FL’s husband (who was stupid as well)
The wordless aspect was so impressive to me. Perhaps I wrongly found the dad’s internet searches hilarious (what parent doesn’t go down a rabbit hole trying to find a way to solve their child’s problems?) The chase with the severed penis was also strangely amusing (especially when a truck ran over it). Feel like these aspects and the surgery illustrated how futile attempts to repair severe damage can be (whether physical or mental).
Not sure I’d recommend but it’s better than the comments suggest (I think most parts people are commenting about happen in the first 10 minutes and are implied rather than seen; and the end, though that didn’t seem real and to me seemed to depict the dad and son’s mental anguish through the specter of the mom)