Blood Island

First things first.. I really don't know whether the people from the West who aren't that familiar with Asian culture, that too the rural culture would really relate well to this movie. But I think it's one of the most interesting movies I've ever seen, to be frank. I've seen the rural life in India and kinda lived it a bit too and I was kinda really surprised by the similarity that I could find in this movie, be it regarding the gender bias or the illiteracy thing or the domestic violence that illiterate women have to tolerate and just live as if they are born to bear that kind of treatment from sadistic husbands.

As much as I was amazed from the similarity that I could find, I was spellbound by the kind of story telling that this movie was. You would never feel bored although the story goes at a very slow pace, although towards the end it gets to your nerves. The acting by every one of them is appreciable as you never feel that they are really just playing the character in the movie.

I've been watching Korean movies for a while now and have become a big fan of them since, and I certainly think this's one of the best among them. For those who have watched 'Oldboy' or 'I Saw the Devil', you would know what's the kind of gory it would reach. It's truly "Korean", in every way.

If you are a K-movie fan then you would certainly love this one! This one is going into 'My Collection'!

It is difficult to describe the movie. Actually to describe what is attractive and/or exciting about the movie for me. You could say that it begins more than slow, but will build up and be very disturbing toward the end. I'm not gonna give anything away from the story, but if you have seen some Korean movies, you might know what you are getting yourself into here!

It is sort of a character study and a very weird and dark social commentary to (if you want it to be). I liked the group dynamic, I liked the grey tones, I liked that it was different. I can't guarantee though that you will like it. And it might not be the ideal choice to start getting to know Korean cinema. I'm sure though that somewhere along the line, there is an US Remake waiting to happen (if they can pull it off ... they don't seem to be able to do so with Old Boy either).

This movie crosses the borders of Drama and Horror with an intense story of a young woman who is mistreated and almost slaved by her husband and the rest of the (few) people who live in a small island near the mainland, in South Korea. However the movie doesn't really start with this character but with another girl who lived in that island when she was a child but now lives in Seoul and is a "modern woman" in opposition to the people of the isle who live like farmers. The plot begins when this second girl after some problems in Seoul decides to take a rest and visit the isle. Is in that moment we met the girl who is mistreated and the paths of these two women cross again like in the past…

It's a crossed story about friendship, about courage, vengeance and redemption. The movie is intense mostly on the psychological side and shows us that when one person is mistreated to the edge can one day search for revenge! I appreciated the end and its message of redemption.

As manipulative as a lot of Hollywood fodder, Bedevilled should be a sinker. That it isn't is testament to its beauty, committed performances and a fine feel for harshness, though overlong its powerful and occasionally savage stuff. We follow Hae-won, returning to her childhood home to visit old friend Bok-nam. High strung, frigid and apparently callous Hae Won isn't especially likable, but as things go on we see why she might be this way, for the small island where she grew up is a pretty terrible place. Her reunion may be sweet, but Bok-nam is in a bad situation, and things are building to a head…The plot summary on this page tells more than is strictly needed about the skimpy plot of this one, it's predictable stuff but I still recommend not knowing to much beforehand, all the better to get emotionally wrecked. Director Jang Cheol-so plays the audience like an instrument, highlighting the natural beauty of the location to better emphasise the nastiness, keeping the harsher moments just enough in the frame to be viciously effective but keeping the worst of it just out of view, conjuring jangling tension and a dash of sinister sexual menace, its taut stuff building effectively with tar black humour in its climatic release. Ji Sung-wong puts on a decent if distant show as Hae-won, implacable to the point of being a frustration, while Seo Yeong-hee is the more attractive as Bok-nam, lively façade in desperate conflict with her terrible treatment, a pleasant soul who doesn't want to face things but wrenched to a place where she can't hide. The notion of denial and the need to face up to things is what underlies events, unsubtly presented perhaps but a worthy message presented in jolting style, fortunately the film works as grim drama. There are problems though, none of the villains of the piece are well rounded, from crudely brutal and sex hungry men to cruel old ladies revelling in the status quo, everyone is so hissable that things are in constant danger of being overdone, and indeed sometimes are. Documented cases of similar isolated communities show that there is a bleak truthfulness to the pattern of events, but the characters of the villains generally lack psychological truth, hence they become less effective. The other trouble here is that the film draws out its finale with more climaxes than necessary, it doesn't lack for exciting or interesting events in its final stages but it becomes bumpy and feels overlong, it also hammers home the less subtle aspects of the film. Still, all in all this one had the required effect for me, I was gripped, appalled, dazzled and saddened, a veritable emotional roller-coaster. Worth a look for slow burning dark drama fans then, but be warned that things are a bit obvious.

"Bedevilled" is another and once again brilliant tale of revenge coming from South Korea which is in the vein of already now legendary masterpieces such as "Oldboy" and "I saw the devil".

What distinguishes this movie from the other ones and justifies itself to merit a place in the top notch of this genre can be told in three little points. First of all, this movie tells the tale of revenge from the point of view from a person that is neither the central evil nor the central avenger part of the movie. Thanks to many flashbacks and secondary story lines, the culpability and responsibility of the main actress is though revealed all over the movie and gives us philosophical and introspective insights while the person witnesses a tale of revenge.

Second, the movie takes its time to introduce all the important characters very slowly. This develops a dark empathy with the main victim that is treated and slowly becomes a monster. The movie creates cruel and gripping personalities and shows us the degree of culpability for all of them. The acting in this intense but slow paced movie is very well done and authentic and it's a very positive and refreshing aspect that the true revenge tale only kicks off after more than the half of the movie has already passed.

Third, this movie focuses especially on the relationship between the avenger and the person that introduces slowly us to the main story line. It's the first time I see two equally convincing female characters in this kind of tough, cruel and highly emotive roles in this kind of genre and they have done such excellent jobs that I'm looking forward to have a closer look at their filmographies.

As a fourth very positive point I might finally add that this movie is also intriguing because it takes places on an isolated island and is a huge criticism towards past and contemporary society in South Korea. This movie is much more than just a bloody tale of revenge, at first glimpse it's especially a very intense drama with gripping characters.

In the end, I highly suggest anyone that likes South Korean movies to watch out for this film that has only recently been released in North America. This is another masterpiece of a unique genre coming from a unique country and you won't find this kind of high quality in any cinema or contemporary American blockbuster. South Korea is the best place for original, gripping and extreme contemporary movies and this movie underlines the country's unique status and will hopefully inspire our culture to take some inspirations from them without dishonouring their creative pieces of art.