Bi-mil-eun eobs-da

I have seen many Korean movies but that one was incredible. The twist is a killer, and as usual direction, cinematography, acting ... were all top notch. I don't understand why this movie was not talked about as much as The Wailing or Train To Busan. I saw The Devil and The Truth Beneath are now the best Korean movies ever. A MUST WATCH!

Fairly boring at the beginning, but turns out to be quite fascinating afterwards with unexpected twists. Great acting by son.

This seemed to unfold really slow but that didn't take away from the drama. I would categorize this as a dark drama more than a thriller. It is filmed well. The acting is on point and the story is solid by the end of the film. The pace is my only complaint. If you ride out those slow moments it pays off in the end.

The Truth Beneath Directed by Lee Kyoung Mi Lee got her start in films working with Park Chan-wook and from watching this film it seems she has taken his lead when it comes to violent revenge. When a Politician's daughter goes missing the scandal threatens to upset his ambitions for an important election. We soon learn that relationships between mother and daughter are not so great when Min-jin lies about who she is doing her homework with.

Rather than begin an investigation, Jong-chan is more concerned with winning the election. It's left to her mother Yeon-cheong to look for her daughter. Things take a tragic turn when her daughter's body is discovered dumped in woodlands. How much more can I tell you without spoiling it? Getting to the truth of the events takes the mother on a nightmarish journey where she must distinguish the truth from lies. After the first twenty minutes, in which the political candidates were introduced by way of flashing subtitles on the screen, I was totally absorbed by this film.

In flash-backs, we see how the relationship between Min-jin and Mi-OK. What was interesting was the way the girls' relationship was affected by the corrupt adult world. For example, Min-OK's noticeably poorer father works as a driver for Min-jin's father, and we were given a sense of how much poorer her family was when we saw she was living in a one room building, stepping over her sleeping family when she needed to leave in the middle of the night.

I didn't count a shot lasting longer than twenty seconds; truly a feverishly edited film. Indeed, it was so intense that I watched rooted to my seat, sometimes hardly believing what I was watching.

It showed as well that for all its recent modern developments, there are still many traces of the Chung-hee dictatorship in present-day Korea. Witness the schoolgirls who stay behind to clean the classrooms every day, and the name badges that every pupil must wear. Then, there is the cruelty and violence of relationships, where love can be used as a weapon. It's a thoroughly unsentimental film with many scenes of terrible violence. It's not a film that casts a good light on Korean society, but I'm glad I watched it nevertheless.

What worked: The overall watch was pleasantly surprised. The movie had it's moments. It's not a fast paced thriller , it's articulated slowly but softly making the experience satisfying. At times, the movie is overwhelming and sometimes it's a plain movie based on politics. Once the stage is set, the movie keeps its momentum and thrills us with an engaging and surprising series of events. We can say it's a well written and executed piece of cinema

What did not work: The though that I had while watching the first half of the movie is why is the movie running low on its intensity and the needed boost. If it was me, I would have expected the first half an thrilling and suspenseful ride in much bigger and overwhelming fashion. Although we have other agenda in the plate during this time, but it would have been much better if it was handled as equally as the second half in terms of the mood and the climate Final verdict: recommended