Audience Member
Beautiful,disturbing,sad and brilliant. A wonderful piece from Korea. If this was American it would be steeped in Oscars. The poor reviews on here baffle me.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
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Audience Member
This is a very well shot and acted fantasy film that people go into expecting a horror film. Ignore the bad reviews. The plot is a little bit odd at times but it helps contribute to the dreamlike feel of the film.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
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Audience Member
It might be one of the greatest darkly fairytale since pan's labyrinth but different ending.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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Audience Member
It's ingenious how this dark fantasy is crafted to bring out the theme of child abuse. Bitter-sweet.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
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Audience Member
wow....fantastic....brilliant....superb.....i have just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is such a wonderful movie 2 watch.....its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie......i think that Kyeong-ik Kim, Ji-hee Jin, Yeong-Nam Jang, Sim Eun-kyung, Jeong-myeong Cheon, play good roles/parts throughout this movie......i think that the director of this drama/horror/art house/international movie had done a great job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie......its got great special effects throughout this movie.......i think that this is such a fantastic movie 2 watch.......
The second time Eun-soo tries to get out, he came back to the house and asked the kids, who were playing, for help. Young-hee said, "You should've marked your way with breadcrumbs," pointing to the original story where Hansel would use breadcrumbs as marks to get back home. In the scenes after, Eun-soo is taking Young-hee's advice when following Man-bok into the woods.
Kyung-sook, after stopping into the house, noticed some jewels and whispered, "Then, there must be a pumpkin wagon and red shoes somewhere." Referring to the fairytales Cinderella and The Red Shoes (which coincidentally were both adapted into South Korean horror films).
There is another scrapbook which Man-bok had and it contained pictures of them playing in it, but until the end of the movie it didn't tell what the story had to do with the book. The book was shown in the flashbacks (when Man-bok told the new father about the scrapbook and showed it to him) and when the deacon looked over some pages and found a knife.
the characters throughout this movie were:::
Characters[edit]
Lee Eun-soo: the protagonist of the story. He got into a car accident and was found by one of the children in the nearby woods and taken to their home. He told the children how much he loved them and he wanted to stay, but his pregnant girlfriend and sick mother needed him. The movie centers around him trying to leave, and the events that keep him from going back home.
Kim Man-bok: He is the oldest of the children, an antagonist of the film. He'd lived with his sisters in the house since he was 5, and because his father used to beat him up, he's still a bit gloomy. He has the power to control things with his mind, or telekinesis. Each time he kills someone, he drew the death of the person in detail in his notebook. He always has a mysterious aura and very bad temper. Throughout the movie, Man-bok appears to be a 13-year-old. But apparently, as Eun-soo found out in an old book, he was born in 1959.
Kim Young-hee: She was the one who found Eun-soo. She has a tendency to keep Man-bok from getting too angry. She and her sister tried to run away from the orphanage but came back because they couldn't get out. She often sleepwalks and one time in her sleep, she told Eun-soo, "He always tells me that I'm pretty..." referring to the "Father" of the orphanage who would to rape young girls, like her. Young-hee was born in 1960, a year younger than Man-bok.
Kim Jung-soon: She's 7 years old by that time they killed the caretaker, and was told by every adult that she's a bit weak. She hates grown-ups. She liked to laugh and play with her dolls, which she always tortured. She can bring imaginary things alive much like her brother can. When Eun-soo told them a story of fairies, she put down a doll and suddenly it was alive and flew to the sky. She and Young-hee could see it, but Eun-soo didn't notice it at all, suggesting that adults are unable to see things like this.
Deacon Byun: another antagonist of the story. He and his wife get lost in the woods, eventually meeting Man-bok. He appears to be friendly, but is revealed to be a leader of a religious cult and a serial killer. He thought the children were Satan's children and ends up trying to kill them. It turned out when he was younger, he killed his own father or "I sent my father to heaven" as he put it. Finally he was stabbed by knife and died.
Kyung-sook: Byun's wife, who intended to take away the children's jewelry. After she blamed Jung-soon for her lost jewelry, Man-bok turned her into an oak tree.
its got a good soundtrack throughout this movie......i think that this is such a fantastic movie 2 watch its such a thrilling movie 2 watch its got a great cast throughout this movie i think that this is such a fantastic movie 2 watch with a great cast throughout this movie........
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
don s
This reworking of the fairy tale was wicked but easily figured out. The acting is of good quality considering much if it was handled by children. I couldn't get emotionally invested in the characters enough to really care what was going on, and there is very little in the way of effects. Stylishly shot, but it is all flash and no bang, like a dud firecracker.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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