Hoa-cha

this is one of those movies that you know the characters didn't end the same as when they began. as more the film reveals its interesting plot, as more we get attached do all characters, who have different motivations and effectively sound as real people. the story line reminds me of french movie "ne le dis a personne" and also Canadian film "incendies" (mostly because of the flashbacks) but it has a value of its own.

if you want a good thriller, with characters you can sympathize, and a good intriguing plot (i think everyone wants) i really would recommend this for you. just don't expect to leave the movie with a smile on your face. i didn't. but it was a very good ride.

Helpless is a true "nothing is as it seems" type of mystery that takes you down the rabbit hole and never disappoints along the way. At it's core is a well organized plot that make you feel like you're investigating right alongside the characters. Their surprise is your surprise - Their dead end in is your dead end. When you think you have the missing girl all figured out, the story opens completely up and shows you exactly what you hadn't thought of. The action is both believable and unexpected, all the while making sense instead of how movies normally make you go "seriously?" As far as Korean flicks go in general, this one wasn't overly emotional. It was a GREAT watch. An intelligent mystery riddled with suspense and void of stupid mistakes. A must see for mystery lovers and Korean movie fans.

First of all, this is one of the best thrillers i have seen this year. I should say i did not move till the movie is completed.Probably the director Young-Joo Byun is one of the excellent mystery teller like agatha christie or Daphne du Maurier or Christianna Brand(Of course they are all writers). I was totally thrilled to watch this movie and came to know on information theft about credit card, house loan,insurance ...etc and identity masquerade.

Young-Joo Byun is feminist champion and took several documentary on women empowerment or suppression.

Not sure on directors view of her female lead character and her life style. It is not sure whether she approve of her lifestyle due to poverty and implying it is justifiable or condemning it.

By all means, this is a excellent movie. Being a mystery genre fan, i loved this entire movie all along. It is also sad the number of voters are less.

Found another gem.

It's getting to a stage where I'm perusing South Korean films and watching each and every one I'm able to get my hands on. I've seen a few bad ones but I've seen dozens upon dozens of brilliant ones.

This one starts of pretty simple but then twists and cycles into something complex and riveting. It shows a harsh world that shapes people into what they are and touches you with a background story that makes you want to forgive.

It's very well done.

I would not put it in my top ten of South Korean movies because we are looking at a massive amount scoring 9 and 10 out of 10 but if I had not seen any other Korean movies and watched mainly American Movies this would be close on the top of my list.

I watched this film not knowing anything about the plot. I think that was a good thing. The less you know the better in this case. If you are considering watching it, stop reading and just go, it's great. All I will tell you is that the movie is an excellent mystery thriller. While the themes can be violent or sad, it's not over the top or gratuitous. The impact comes from the way the story is revealed, piece by piece. The acting, I thought, was excellent. I only guessed one part of the mystery, otherwise the rest of the time I was glued trying to work out the answers. I know a film is good, when afterward I feel like the character were real, and this film gave me that sense of realism. A litte more character development and background would have been nice, as the pace gets going really early on. Otherwise fantastic Korean thriller that is well worth checking out.