Ivanovsky

Here's a completely and utterly forgotten gem, evidenced by the fact that it has 52 votes on IMDb and took me 2 years to track down. This is what people should mean when they claim something is underrated or overlooked. TCM apparently showed it for the first time in 15 years last year, and I missed it, which made me upset. Ultimately, however, I enjoyed the search, and didn't end up watching it until I'd already owned it for a month or two, and I'd have it no other way. I enjoy watching movies when I have a sudden burning desire to watch a specific film, not jut an "Okay, time to watch a movie now."

There are exterior shots reminiscent of Jean Vigo's À Propos de Nice at the beginning of the film-the close-ups of the statues, and interior shots reminiscent of the silent Phantom of the Opera (1925) (one of my favorite movies)-the close-ups of the creepy props backstage, as well as the overhead shots of the rats underneath the stage. It would be unsurprising if the scene with the dancer overlaid with a nature shot was an influence on Maya Deren, particularly A Study in Choreography for Camera.

The movie's themes deal with the fact that children don't understand adults, and neither in general do adults understand children, despite having been a child. Karine, played by Mia Slavenska, whose unfortunate case of chronic bitch face doesn't inhibit her acting, surprisingly acts like an adult in the well-written screenplay, despite the horror she has inflicted upon her. Not everyone does act like an adult in real life, but this seems to be grossly over represented in films, so here is a breath of fresh air, and with reasoning behind it. Ballet provides a strict discipline for becoming graceful, which overflows into interpersonal relations. Children will continue to do evil things they don't understand the full consequences of, but they can be made to understand and become a better adult with proper treatment. Put your kid in ballet.

I went into this expecting a supernatural horror of some sort solely based on the title. What I got instead was a terrifying, powerful movie in regards to the emotional toll its depicted mental, physical, and sexual abuse take. The movie has an amazing build up, garnering much sympathy for Bok-nam before anything commonly defined as "horror" starts, and it ends up being the scariest part of the movie.

The director, Jang Cheol-soo, has worked as an assistant director for Kim Ki-duk, and the movie is reminiscent of him in many ways. It revolves around women ready to snap and evil men. One of the most obvious connections is the very ending, which is practically the ending of The Isle in reverse. A woman becomes an island, rather than an island becoming a woman.

What's really scary is that anyone could do this to you if they wanted. They could knock you out, take you home, tie you up, and abuse you however they wanted with you having no way to get free. Not everyone is born on a remote island where it's easier to do so with no fear of the law, and it's interesting to think about how much the fear of the police may hamper this. It obviously doesn't for some people. Watch the news. That could be you.