Parasite

Directed by Bong Joon-ho and screenplay by Joon-ho and Han Jin-won from a story by Joon-ho, Parasite is the story of a poor family whose adult son gets a job as a tutor for rich woman and her family as they scheme to take jobs as highly qualified individuals. The film is an exploration of social classes where a poor family gets a look into the world of the rich and try inhabit that world while making an unsettling discovery. Starring Song Kang-Ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, and Chang Hyae-jin. Parasite is a riveting and intoxicating film from Bong Joon-ho.

The film is the simple story of a poor family whose son is given a job from a friend of his to tutor a teenage girl from a rich family as he would befriend the family and get his parents and sisters jobs pretending to be highly-qualified workers. It’s a film with a simple premise yet it is more of an exploration of different social classes and how one family yearns to have the life this rich family have as they still struggle with living in a small apartment in a poor environment. The film’s screenplay by Bong Joon-Ho and Han Jin-won follow the life of the Kim family as they share this small and cramped apartment trying to get by through odd jobs including making pizza boxes for a local pizza company. When a friend of Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) in Min-hyuk (Park Seo-joon) arrives with a gift for the Kim family in a scholar rock as well as giving Ki-woo his job as an English tutor for a teenage girl as he’s going away to study abroad. Ki-woo accepts his friend’s offer while Ki-woo’s sister Ki-jeong (Park So-dam) creates false documents about Ki-woo’s credentials as a tutor.

Ki-woo meets Yeon-gyo Park (Cho Yeo-jeong) whose husband Dong-ik (Lee Sun-kyun) is a revered architect while their teenage daughter Da-hye (Jeong Ji-so) is struggling in high school as Ki-woo helps her as he gets accepted by Yeon-gyo. Noticing the Park’s youngest son in Da-song (Jung Hyeon-jun), Ki-woo suggests in getting an art tutor/art therapist to help with Da-song as Ki-jeong poses as the art teacher. Through a series of events, Ki-jeong gets the Park’s chauffer Yoon (Park Geun-rok) fired so that her father Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho) can get the job while his wife Chung-sook (Chang Hye-jin) eventually becomes the housekeeper following a scheme to the get the Park’s longtime housekeeper Moon-gwang Gook (Lee Jung-eun) fired. Just as the Kim family seems to enjoy their new life and finding ways to improve their own lifestyle, a secret within the house starts to emerge as it would shatter everything they worked for. Even as it forces Ki-taek to come to terms with the life he wanted and the life he already has but also a growing disconnect between the two world of the rich and poor.

Joon-ho’s direction is definitely entrancing in not just the world and home the Park family live in but also the dilapidated environment of the Kim family. Shot on location around Seoul and parts of Jeonju, the film definitely play up to this world between the lower-working class of the Kims and the upper-class world of the Parks. Joon-ho does use wide shots to not just a scope of the locations but also how vast the home of the Parks is that includes a big living room and backyard while much of Joon-ho’s compositions are tighter with medium shots and close-ups at the home of the Kims. Notably in the lack of space as well as the fact that there’s always a drunk person who urinates in front of their home onto a pile of garbage. Joon-ho’s usage of tracking shots add to the atmosphere of the Parks’ home in the way characters move from room to room as well in some of the film’s suspenseful moments.

Joon-ho also adds this air of tranquility in the home of the Parks where the Kims would inhabit all of its splendor during a day when the Parks are out of town. It is a moment in the film as it play into the Kims’ desire for a life that is better but know that it is only fleeting when a major discovery occurs within the house as it changes everything. It also raises questions into the idea of social divide as it intensifies when the Kims come home and things go on as if nothing happened. All of the planning that Ki-woo had created with his family suddenly become questioned with Ki-taek also wondering about the Parks and their lifestyle in contrast to the life he and his family has. Joon-ho maintains this atmosphere of social disconnect as its climax is about a family trying to understand its identity as well as the identity of the home they’re inhabiting as it lead to chaos. Overall, Joon-ho crafts an evocative yet eerie film about a poor family inhabiting the world and home of a rich family.

Cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it help create some different color schemes such as the usage of low-key and grimy lighting for the scenes at the home of the Kims and their surroundings that is in sharp contrast to the more naturalistic exteriors at the Park’s home with some unique lighting for the interiors at their home. Editor Yang Jin-mo does amazing work with the editing as it help play into some of the drama and suspense with its usage of jump-cuts and other stylish cuts while using rhythmic cuts for some of the film’s humorous moments. Production designer Lee Ha-jun and set decorator Cho Won-Woo do excellent work with the look of the home of the Park family with its spacious living room, stylish kitchen, a highly-organized garage/basement, and clean bedrooms that is the opposite of the grimy and claustrophobic home of the Kims. Costume designer Choi Se-yeon does fantastic work with the costumes from the clean-cut and stylish clothes of the Parks to the more ragged look of the Kims while they would wear more posh-like clothing upon working with the Parks.

Hair/makeup designer Young Kim Seo does nice work with the look of the characters including the more refined look that the Kims would sport upon working for the Parks. The special effects work of Jung Do-ahn and Park Kyung-soo, with visual effects supervisor Jeong Ho Hong, do terrific work with the special effects that is mainly bits of set dressing that include some of the sunny exteriors at the Parks’ backyard as well as some shots from the cellphones the characters often carry. The sound work of Choi Tae-young is superb in creating the atmosphere in the film’s locations as well as the air of ambiance at the home of the Parks that is removed from some of the chaos in the city along with some of the more disturbing moments that would occur during its third act. The film’s music by Jung Jae-il is incredible for its somber piano-based orchestral score as it play into the sense of wonderment as well as some of the melancholia that occurs along with some eerie moments of suspense as it is a highlight of the film. Music supervisor Park Hyoshin provides a wonderful soundtrack that features some classical pieces as well as contemporary music that plays in the background including a song co-written by Joon-ho in the film’s final credits.

The film’s marvelous cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Park Seo-joon as Ki-woo’s friend Min-hyuk who gives Ki-woo his tutoring job, Jung Yi-seo as the pizza place manager, Park Guen-rok as the chauffer Yoon, and Park Myung-hoon as a mysterious man that Da-song thinks is a ghost. Lee Jung-eun is terrific as the housekeeper Gook Moon-gwang as the Parks’ original housekeeper who has a strange allergy while is also involved with a big mysterious secret at the house while Jung Hyeon-jun is superb as the Parks’ youngest child in Da-song who is fascinated by Native Americans and creates some unique drawings. Jeong Ji-so is wonderful as the Park’s teenage daughter Da-hye as young girl trying to learn English as she is pursued by Min-hyuk yet starts to fall for Ki-woo. Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Yeo-jeong are fantastic in their respective roles as Dong-ik and Yeon-gyo Park as the rich couple with the former as a revered architect and the latter as a simple housewife who is trying to run a household as she is easily swayed by the Kim’s scheme.

Park So-dam is excellent as Ki-jeong as the Kim adult daughter who is good at creating forged documents and such while also knows about art as she teaches Da-song about art while making observations about his work. Chang Hyae-jin is brilliant as Chung-sook as the Park matriarch who spends much of her time cleaning while being the one to discover a major secret at the house. Choi Woo-shik is amazing as Ki-woo as the Kim adult son who is smart but unable to pass exams where he takes the tutoring job for a friend while he would scheme his way to get his family to get work only for things to become troubling. Finally, there’s Song Kang-ho in an incredible performance as Ki-taek as the Kim patriarch who is hoping to get his family out of their life as he would eventually fill in as the Park chauffer where he enjoys the job but becomes troubled by what he discovered at the Park family home as he later deals with the disconnect between his family’s world and the Park’s family lifestyle.

Parasite is a tremendous film from Bong Joon-ho. Featuring an incredible cast, dazzling visuals, an intriguing study of social classes and lifestyles, a mixture of comedy and suspense, and an intoxicating music score by Jung Jae-il. It’s a film that explore this unique world of social classes as well as a poor family trying to inhabit the world of the upper class while being reminded of where they come from. In the end, Parasite is a spectacular film from Bong Joon-ho.

Bong Joon-ho Films: Barking Dogs Never Bite - Memories of Murder - The Host (2006 film) - Tokyo!-Shaking Tokyo - Mother (2009 film) - Snowpiercer - Okja - Mickey 17 - The Auteurs #44: Bong Joon-ho

© thevoid99 2020

Memories of Murder

Based on the play by Kim Kwang-rim, Memories of Murder is the story of two detectives who are trying to uncover the mystery of a series of real-life murders that occurred from 1986 to 1991 in South Korea. Directed by Bong Joon-ho and screenplay by Joon-ho and Shim Sung-bo, the film is a mystery that revolves around the real-life killings that gripped a nation as two men try to understand why these people are killed and who did. Starring Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roi-ha, Park Hae-il, and Byun Hee-bong. Memories of Murder is a gripping yet evocative film from Bong Joon-ho.

Based on the real-life murders that occurred in South Korea from 1986 to 1991 that gripped a nation into panic. The film revolves two very different detectives who work with each other to solve the case of these grisly murders that often occur on a rainy night where a young woman is wearing red as she is then seen dead and tied up. During the course of the investigation where false leads and incompetence lead to uncertainty, questions begin to arise about the motives as well as odd clues which then leads to a few breaks but also questionable tactics from these two very different detectives. It’s a film that isn’t just about an investigation but also two very different men who come from different backgrounds as they have to work together to do something right.

The film’s screenplay begins with this discovery in the middle of a very rural small town in South Korea as its local detective Park (Song Kang-ho) is trying to lead the investigation as his inability to really get anything going forces his leaders to bring in the more experienced Inspector Seo (Kim Sang-kyung) from Seoul to aid him and Park’s partner Cho (Kim Roi-ha). Though there’s tension between the more reasonable Seo and the more aggressive Park, the two do bond once it becomes clear that the crime is far more complex. It’s a script that is more about two men who come together in this investigation as both of them would use unconventional methods to try and get answers. Seo is a man who relies on documents, facts, and actual clues while Park is more about instinct as he and Cho are notorious for beating up suspects to get answers. Even as they target oddballs such as a mentally-challenged man (Park No-shik) which proves to be troubling as the media gets wind of these tactics.

Once the killings become more gruesome as it leads to various questions involving a major suspect (Park Hae-il) based on descriptions by a few witnesses. It plays into not just the film’s third act but also some major changes into the two detectives as they’re forced to deal with the impact of not just these killings but also in how some of their own methods can turn against them. Something that Seo would struggle with while Park would have a struggle of his own that becomes more existential as well as questions into what could’ve been.

Bong Joon-ho’s direction is truly mesmerizing for the way he opens the film in a very unconventional way. It starts off very innocently as it is shot in these plain fields in rural South Korea that looks like a very different and calm world until a group of kids run towards a police car where Park looks inside this drain where a body is inside. It sets the tone for what is to come as it also showcases Park as this very odd individual who is more driven by instinct rather than skills. Some of the direction involve some very dark yet comical moments involving Park and Cho who would often do things to get answers from suspects. Much of it plays into Park and Cho trying to be the badass cops that the media will love but their antics doesn’t produce results. Some of the compositions are straightforward yet have an ethereal quality in terms of the close-ups of the plain fields as well as some amazing wide shots with the use of crane cameras.

By setting it in this rural small town, Joon-ho creates something that is intimate not just in its police station but also in the small town while using some wide shots to create something that is also big. The moments of the killings are quite suspenseful where Joon-ho knows how to play with its rhythms and the impact of these scenes. Even as the film gets darker to the point that it becomes more about Park and Seo dealing with the consequences of these murders and their attempts to find answers. The film would then have this epilogue involving one of the men as it plays into many aspects about the real killings as well as the fact that some things don’t go away. Overall, Joon-ho creates a very captivating yet harrowing film about detectives trying to find a serial killer.

Cinematographer Kim Hyung-hu does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography from the naturalistic yet beautiful look of the plain fields as well as some of the lighting for the scenes at night including the interrogation room and the pathway where some of the killings occur. Editor Kim Sun-min does amazing work with the editing as it plays to elements of styles from slow-motion cuts to offbeat rhythms for its element of suspense and its dark humor. Production designer Ryu Seong-hie does excellent work with the look of the police station as well as some of the homes of the characters.

Sound editor Lee Seung-yeop and sound mixer Lee Byung-Ha do fantastic work with the sound to play into the sense of terror as well as the drama which includes some chilling moments in the murder scenes. The film’s music by Taro Iwashiro is superb for its mixture of soaring yet brooding orchestral music and some eerie electronic pieces that plays into the drama and suspense as well as a Korean pop song that becomes a key aspect into the mystery.

The film’s cast features some notable small performances from Go Seo-Hee as female officer who finds a clue that proves crucial to the cast as she would also talk to a witness while Jeon Mi-seon is terrific as Park’s wife who would also give him suggestions to find something. Park No-shik is excellent as a mentally-challenged suspect who seems to know more than the detectives realize while Park Hae-il is fantastic as another suspect who fits some descriptions as he is a very ambiguous character. Song Jae-ho is superb as a chief sergeant who leads the case early one while Byun Hee-bong is amazing as the new chief who runs the investigation as he wonders why they couldn’t get any more results.

Kim Roi-ha is brilliant as the crazed cop Cho Yong-koo as a guy who is very aggressive as he is so eager to get answers as he is this wildcard that proves to be a little much for his partner at times. Kim Sang-kyung is incredible as Inspector Seo Tae-yoon as this educated-based detective from Seoul who aids in the investigation as his methods prove to be helpful early on despite tension with Park while coming to terms over the gruesomeness of the murders. Finally, there’s Song Kang-ho in a phenomenal performance as Detective Park Doo-man as this detective who leads by instinct as he tries to figure out what to do as he starts off as this incompetent and aggressive detective while proving to have methods that work as he later copes with the events around him as he deals with his own future as a cop.

Memories of Murder is a tremendously dark yet exhilarating film from Bong Joon-ho. Armed with a great cast as well as some spellbinding technical achievements, the film isn’t just one of Joon-ho’s finest films but also a key film in the Korean New Wave of the 2000s. Even as it manages to take the mystery-suspense genre and add ideas that feels new and exciting. In the end, Memories of Murder is an outstanding film from Bong Joon-ho.

Bong Joon-ho Films: Barking Dogs Never Bite - The Host - Tokyo!-Shaking Tokyo - Mother - Snowpiercer - Okja - Parasite - Mickey 17 - The Auteurs #44: Bong Joon-ho

© thevoid99 2014

Snowpiercer

Based on the graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-Marc Rochette, Snowpiercer is post-apocalyptic film set in an ice age where survivors are living on a train as the poor and hungry rebel against the elite as they try to take over the train. Directed by Bong Joon-Ho and screenplay by Joon-Ho and Kelly Masterson from a screen story by Joon-Ho, the film is a futuristic dystopia where class is being separated as it all takes place inside a train. Starring Tilda Swinton, Chris Evans, John Hurt, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ewen Bremner, Alison Pill, Song Kang-ho, Go Ah-sung, and Ed Harris. Snowpiercer is a thrilling yet mesmerizing film from Bong Joon-Ho.

Set in an ice age in the middle of the 21st Century where survivors of the ice age live inside a train. The film is about a rebellion led by the poor who live on the tail-end of the train as they trek through their way to front to confront the mysterious creator of the train. It’s a film that explores not just class structures where the poor is forced to suffer and eat protein bars, unaware of its true substance, while enduring all sorts of abuse as the only person from the front they meet is the train minister Mason (Tilda Swinton). For a young man in Curtis (Chris Evans), it’s all too much for him to take as he would lead the rebellion with the help of his mentor Gilliam (John Hurt) where they free the gates designer Minsu (Song Kang-Ho) and his daughter Yona (Go Ah-sung) only to encounter all sorts of horrors of the train they’ve been living in.

The film’s screenplay does begin with bits of exposition about how the ice age had begun all due to an experiment, that was to combat global warming , suddenly went wrong and led to this dystopia where its survivors live on the train. Yet, that is only in the first few minutes as it fast-forwards 2031 where Curtis and his friends Edgar (Jamie Bell), Tanya (Octavia Spencer), and Andrew (Ewen Bremner) are planning a revolt where both Tanya and Andrew want to retrieve their respective child who had been taken by an associate of the train’s creator Wilford (Ed Harris) who is seen by Mason and the elite as a god. For Curtis, seeing friends die and children taken away as well as the horrors he had experienced has him wanting to confront Wilford as the journey he and his friends take becomes an arduous one where they see things that don’t make sense as it shows how oppressed they are.

Yet, Mason is just a spokesperson for the elusive Wilford as she is eventually taken hostage to take Curtis and his band of rebels to the train and its different compartments. Upon these encounters with the compartments, there are these strange ideas of satire in the way Wilford’s teachings are handled as it has this very offbeat approach to dark humor. A lot of it is quite absurd yet it adds that film’s approach of dystopia where everyone has to be in the train in order to survive or else endure the horrors of what is outside as the ice age is still happening. There are images of what is outside the train as it on the same track for an entire year that spans all over the world in this massive track that goes from continent to continent. All of which plays into a world where there maybe no hope yet Curtis believes the answer to that hope is at the front of the train and its engine.

Bong Joon-Ho’s direction is very chilling in the way he maintains a sense of atmosphere as it’s shot almost entirely inside a train. There are a few wide shots in the film yet much of the compositions that Joon-Ho creates are focused on medium shots and close-ups along with some unique camera angles to play into the sense of terror and suspense. At the same time, there’s an element of claustrophobia as some of the compositions are very tight as is the train compartments where the poor cluttered inside to showcase the tension that is building up. Some of which involve these very gruesome images of violence where Joon-Ho brings in a lot of shooting styles from hand-held to more controlled approaches of action and suspense while also creating some moments that is all shot in one take

There is that sense of build-up into each compartment that Curtis and his character go through as Joon-Ho creates these set pieces inside the train compartments that are very surreal as well as off-putting. Some of which is played for laughs such as this very strange scene where Curtis and his gang encounter a schoolteacher (Alison Pill) who is a very cartoonish character just like Mason in some respects. Of course, things become more dangerous and deadly where it would play into not just Curtis’ motivations into meeting Wilford but also the chance to know why he was put into these situations. Curtis’ meeting with Wilford is very climatic but also filled with a lot of revelations into Wilford’s own motivations that showcases a lot about humanity and its fallacies. Overall, Joon-Ho crafts a very intense and provocative film about a revolt inside a train in a futuristic ice age.

Cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo does amazing work with the cinematography from the grimy look and lighting in some of the compartments such as the tail end to the array of lighting styles to play into the different look of the compartments to showcase its offbeat and surrealistic tone. Editors Steve M. Choe and Changju Kim do brilliant work in the editing in creating some very unique rhythms to play into the film‘s action, drama, and dark humor along other stylish cuts from slow-motion and such to play into its action. Production designer Ondrej Nekvasil, with set decorator Beata Brendtnerova and art director Stefan Kovacik, does superb work with the design of the train compartments from the very drab and stuffy look of the tail compartment to the very different settings of the compartments to play into its offbeat tone.

Costume designer Catherine George does excellent work with the costumes from the ragged look of the poor to the more colorful and cartoonish look of the rich. Hair/makeup designer Jeremy Woodhead does nice work with the look of the Mason character in her very weird presentation from her hair and teeth that makes her more like a cartoon than a serious authority figure. The visual effects work of Kang Changbae and Eric Durst is spectacular for not just the look of the train in its exteriors but also in some of the action set pieces as well as what Earth looked like in its ice age. Sound designers Sung Rok Choi, Timothy Nielsen, and Dave Whitehead do fantastic work with the film‘s sound from the way the train sounds inside and out to the some of the atmosphere in the different train compartments. The film’s music by Marco Beltrami is wonderful for its orchestral flourishes along with some bombastic, electronic-based pieces while some of the film’s soundtrack includes a classical piece by Johann Sebastian Bach as well as a song from Cream.

The casting by Jenny Jue and Johanna Ray is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Paul Lazar as the maker of the mysterious protein bars, Tomas Lemarquis as a Wilford agent known as Egg-head, Marcanthonee Reis as Tanya’s five-year old son Tim, Steve Park as an officer of Mason, Emma Levie as a strange associate of Wilford, Clark Middleton as a poor painter who makes portraits for his friends, Vlad Ivanov and Adnan Haskovic as Mason’s muscle-men, and Luke Pasqualino as the mute fighter of the rebellion known as Grey. Ewen Bremner is terrific as the angry yet resourceful Andrew while Alison Pill is very funny as the offbeat teacher who tries to teach children the ideas of Wilford.

Ed Harris is excellent in a small yet very memorable role as the mysterious Wilford as a man who runs the train as he believes that he can save the world. John Hurt is amazing as the aging rebel leader Gilliam as he would guide Curtis into leading the rebellion as he hopes to confront Wilford himself. Octavia Spencer is brilliant as Tanya as the woman of the group who aids Curtis so she can retrieve her son. Tilda Swinton is great as the train minister Mason as she is this very cartoonish and offbeat character that tries to assert authority but is really a slimy coward. Jamie Bell is superb as Curtis’ sidekick Edgar who aids him in every way while doing a few funny things yet proves to be very reliable in every situation. Go Ah-sung is fantastic as the clairvoyant Yona as this young woman who can see through the gates while being an emotional compass of sorts in the film as she deals with the different worlds she’s never encountered.

Song Kang-ho is phenomenal as the drug-addicted gate designer Namgoong Minsu as a man who can open gates while making some realizations of his own about what is happening in and out of the train. Finally, there’s Chris Evans in a remarkable performance as Curtis Everett as a rebel leader who had seen and endured so much as he decides to take charge and confront Wilford as it’s a role filled with command but also anguish over some of his decisions as it’s a truly Evans in one of his best roles to date.

Snowpiercer is an outstanding film from Bong Joon-ho. Armed with a great ensemble cast as well as captivating themes on humanity, dystopia, and class structure. It’s a film that manages to do a lot of things where it’s not just an action film with brains but it’s also quite funny at times as it hits all of the marks and more. In the end, Snowpiercer is a sensational film from Bong Joon-ho.

Bong Joon-ho Films: Barking Dogs Never Bite - Memories of Murder - The Host - Tokyo!-Shaking Tokyo - Mother - Okja - Parasite - Mickey 17 - The Auteurs #44: Bong Joon-ho

© thevoid99 2014

2013 Cannes Marathon: Secret Sunshine

(Winner of the Best Actress Prize to Jeon Do-yeon at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival)

Based on short story The Story of a Bug by Lee Cheong-jun, Secret Sunshine is the story of a widowed piano teacher who relocates to a small town with her son following the death of her husband as things get worse through troubling circumstances as a woman tries to start over. Written for the screen and directed by Lee Chang-dong, the film is an exploration into grief and faith as a woman struggles with the new challenges she faces in her life. Starring Jeon Do-yeon, Song Kang-ho, and Kim Young-jae. Secret Sunshine is a tremendously harrowing yet mesmerizing film from Lee Chang-dong.

The film is the story about a woman named Lee Shin-ae (Jeon Do-yeon) coping with loss as she decides to start all over with her son by relocating to her late husband’s hometown. With the help of a kind mechanic named Kim Jong-chan (Song Kang-ho), she becomes part of this small city until something tragic would happen as she descends into despair where she would go into a journey to find some idea of salvation. It’s a film that plays into the life of a woman as she is eager to make a new life for herself but things don’t go her way as she would descend into madness where she seeks to find something that can save her. It’s a melodrama that is told with such restraint as it doesn’t just explore loss but also faith as a woman begins to ask questions about the will of God.

Lee Chang-dong’s script takes its time to explore the trials and tribulations of Lee Shin-ae as she is this very gifted piano player who comes to the small city of Milyang that is translated as “secret sunshine” in Chinese. With her son Jun (Seon Jung-yeob), the two are hoping to find a new life in this small town until something happens where Lee faces some of the most devastating moments of her life. The script has a traditional structure where the first act is about Lee’s attempt to start over and her encounter with tragedy while the second act is about Lee’s desire to find salvation with Kim joining her to become a Born-again Christian just to support her. The third act is about Lee’s disillusionment with God and faith as she starts to act out while confronting Kim about his feelings for her as it all comes down to the loss that Lee has endured.

Chang-dong’s direction is very understated in its approach to melodrama as he shoots everything in location in Milyang and some of its nearby locations. The direction is filled with some very simple yet exotic images of the city and some of its places including Christian churches where people are trying to find some salvation. Though Chang-dong is aware that the people who are trying to help Lee have good intentions, they are definitely oblivious to how deep her pain is. Even as the direction does have some elements of style including some scenes where Lee is trying to see if God will talk to her as an act of defiance. Still, Chang-dong is willing to follow Lee in every moment she’s in while giving some time towards Kim who is eager to help her and win her over though it would prove to be complicated as Lee becomes more erratic and in despair. Overall, Chang-dong creates a very chilling yet powerful film about loss and faith.

Cinematographer Cho Yong-kyu does excellent work with the film‘s very colorful yet naturalistic cinematography to play up the world of Milyang as well as some stylish lights for some interior scenes at night. Editor Kim Hyun does terrific work to the editing as it‘s mostly low-key and straightforward with a few jump-cuts to play out some of its drama. Production designer Sihn Jeom-hui does nice work with the set pieces from the piano place and home that Lee lives in to the churches she and Kim attend.

Costume designers Cha Sun-young and Kim Nuri do fine work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual to play up the personality of the characters. The sound work of Steve R. Seo is superb for the setting it creates in the church scenes as well as the more intimate moments at Lee‘s home. The music of Christian Sasso is quite serene to play up the sense of melancholia with its heavy, string-based score.

The film’s cast is brilliant as it features some notable small roles from Kim Young-jae as Lee’s brother, Cho Young-jim as Jun’s schoolteacher, Song Mi-rim as the schoolteacher’s troubled daughter, and Seon Jung-yeob as Lee’s son Jun. Song Kang-ho is great as the very kind mechanic Kim who falls for Lee as he tries to help her get back on her feet as he does whatever to win her over. Finally, there’s Jeon Do-yeon in an unforgettable performance as Lee Shin-ae where Do-yeon displays a performance that is just entrancing to watch as a woman whose sense of hope to start over becomes lost in grief and despair while descending downward into a state of madness as it’s a truly haunting performance.

Secret Sunshine is an incredible film from Lee Chang-dong that features a magnificent performance from Jeon Do-yeon. It’s a film that explores the world of death and tragedy as well as one woman’s yearning for salvation. It’s also a very mesmerizing film that also explores the fallacy of faith and how it can take someone into the wrong direction. In the end, Secret Sunshine is a phenomenal film from Lee Chang-dong.

Lee Chang-dong films: (Green Fish) - (Peppermint Candy) - (Oasis (2002 film)) - Poetry - Burning (2018 film)

© thevoid99 2013

The Host (2006 film)

Directed by Bong Joon-ho and written by Joon-ho and Baek Chul-hyun, The Host is the story of a family trying to rescue a young girl from a monster that was snatched up just as their city is being ravaged by this monster. The film is a monster movie of sorts as it’s also a story about a family coming together to save their one of their own while dealing with the chaos surrounding their city with claims of a viral epidemic happening. Starring Song Kang-ho, Byeon Hee-bong, Boona Dae, Park Hae-il, and Go Ah-sung. The Host is a thrilling yet captivating monster film from Bong Joon-ho.

On a typical day near the Han River in Seoul, Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) is a narcoleptic man who runs a snack bar with his father Hee-bong (Byeon Hee-bong) while caring for his adolescent daughter Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung). While delivering food to some customers near the river, Gang-du and fellow locals notice something coming out of the river as a monster appears wreaking havoc around the area as Hyun-seo was suddenly taken by the monster as Gang-du tries to save her. The monster reaches national attention as Gang-du and Hee-bong are taken to a building where a mass funeral is held as Gang-du’s former activist brother Nam-il (Park Hae-il) and national archer sister Nam-joo (Boona Dae) arrive as they’re consumed with grief over Hyun-seo. The family is then taken to the hospital as Gang-du has come in direct contact with the monster believing that the monster is carrying a virus.

While in quarantine, Gang-du receives a call from his cell phone as he hears Hyun-seo’s voice as he realizes that she’s alive as he wants to leave the hospital to save her. The rest of the family wants to join in as they learn that she’s somewhere in a sewer as they all make an escape from the hospital as they buy weapons to track down the monster. With the help of a map of the sewers near the Han river, the family tries to find Hyun-seo and the monster. Meanwhile, two brothers in Se-jin (Lee Jae-eung) and Se-joo (Lee Dong-ho) look for food in the area as they’re attacked by monsters where Se-joo is at the sewer with Hyun-seo as they’re the only survivors. After an encounter with monster that leaves the family splintered and Gang-du captured, all hope seems to be lost until Nam-il finally traces Hyun-seo’s call. When Gang-du learns some revelations about the virus and what the government is going to do, he makes another escape to rejoin the family to save his daughter.

Since the film is a monster movie of sorts, it’s really about a family coming together to save one of their own as it strays from a lot of typical premises with the genre. By focusing on this very dysfunctional family where it’s led by an aging snack-bar owner, the family consists of a not-so-bright man who often sleeps a lot, a college graduate who used to be an activist as he’s turned to alcoholism, and a young woman who is a skilled archer but is very slow in her delivery. When they come together to save a young girl, they do whatever they can to find her and kill the monster while they’re being surrounded by this chaos about a viral epidemic around them.

The film’s screenplay does play with a lot of the schematics that is expected in a monster movie but it’s also a movie that also plays into satire about the way governments handle crazy incidents and these viral epidemics that makes people go crazy. In the midst of all of this craziness is a monster on the loose that is eating up people while eventually taking two kids that are still alive from the attack as they try to escape from the monster. Aside from the victims, the family end up becoming the most rational people as they try to find Hyun-seo anyway they can as they later deal with all sorts of tribulations in their quest to find her.

Bong Joon-ho’s direction is definitely vast in its ambitions as he shoots the film on location in Seoul and at the Han River. While it is clear that he’s making a monster movie, Joon-ho is interested in making something that is typical as he’s more concerned about the family where he often has intimate moments where the family gather around to discuss their plans and also about each other. Even as there’s scenes in the sewers where Hyun-seo tries to see what is going on and to find a working cell phone to talk to her family. Joon-ho would employ a lot of stylistic shots to create these moments that includes close-ups, group shots, and some very telling moments such as Nam-joo walking under the bridge to continue her search.

The direction also has a lot of moments that involve TV news reports as it establishes a lot of what is happening as it indicates that something isn’t right where it leads to a climatic moment involving protesters. It’s part of the film’s political commentary that reveals the sense of negligence that is involved with these situations as it is further established by the film’s opening scene involving an American doctor and his Korean assistant. Even as another American would end up playing a key part of the story that would drive Gang-du to escape a second time and save his daughter leading to a much bigger climax involving the monster and family. Overall, Joon-ho creates a truly intense and engaging film that does a lot more than what it is expected in its genre.

Cinematographer Kim Hyung-ku does wonderful work with the film‘s photography from the brooding lighting schemes in the sewer scenes to the exterior settings in the rain to play out the film‘s melancholic mood. Editor Kim Sun-min does brilliant work with the editing to play up the element of suspense and drama as well as using some stylish jump-cuts in a scene between Hyun-seo and Se-joo. Production designer Ryu Seong-hie does nice work with the few set pieces created such as the hospital rooms and the snack bar trailer that Gang-du and his father work at.

Visual effects supervisor Kevin Rafferty does some excellent work with the look of the monster as it does have this larger-than-life presence that plays a lot into the film‘s story. Sound designers Coll Anderson and Sean Ganhart do terrific work with the sound from the chaos that surrounds the crowd scenes as the monster attacks to the more intimate moments between the family. The film’s music by Lee Byung-woo is fantastic for its orchestral-driven score to play up the suspense and drama as it features swelling string arrangements and bombast as it’s definitely one of the film’s highlights.

The casting by John Jackson is superb for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Scott Wilson as a U.S. military doctor, Yoon je-moon as a homeless man Nam-il meets, Lee Jae-eung as Se-joo’s older brother Se-jin, and Lim Phil-sung as a friend of Nam-il who lets him into the building to trace Hyun-seo’s phone call. Lee Dang-ho is very good as the young boy Se-joo who deals with being captured by the monster as he starts to get ill from hunger. Go Ah-sung is excellent as Hyun-seo who deals with being captured by the monster as she tries to get out and help Se-joo.

Park Hae-il is wonderful as the frustrated Nam-il who tries to deal with his own alcoholism and the screw-ups that happens as he later becomes a more competent person as the film progress. Boona Dae is great as Nam-joo who tries to deal with her own flaws as an archer while becoming more determined to get the job done. Byeon Hee-bong is terrific as the family patriarch Hee-bong who rallies the family to come together while ensuring that they have to stick together for the sake of Hyun-seo. Finally, there’s Song Kang-ho in a marvelous performance as Gang-du as he is the one character that many believe couldn’t get things done but his determination to save his daughter makes his performance an unforgettable one as he goes through everything to find the monster with the help of his family.

The Host is an incredible film from Bong Joon-ho that features an outstanding ensemble cast and a premise that is truly compelling to watch. It’s a film that definitely does a lot more than what the monster movie promises while it’s also a film that explores the world of family and the political corruption they have to deal with while trying to save one of their own. In the end, The Host is a remarkable film from Bong Joon-ho.

Bong Joon-ho Films: Barking Dogs Never Bite - Memories of Murder - Tokyo!: Shaking Tokyo - Mother - Snowpiercer - Okja - Parasite - Mickey 17 - The Auteurs #44: Bong Joon-ho

© thevoid99 2012

2012 Cannes Marathon: Thirst (2009 film)

(Co-Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Chan-wook Park and written by Park and Seo-Kyeong Jeong, Bakwji (Thirst) is the story of a priest who turns into a vampire after a failed medical experiment where he falls for a woman who lives with a cruel family. Inspired by Emile Zola’s novel Therese Raquin, the film marks a shift towards the horror genre for the Korean filmmaker who takes on a different spin for the vampire film genre. Starring Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin, and Shin Ha-kyun. Bakwji is a visually-spectacular and extremely fun vampire film from Chan-wook Park.

After experiencing doubt working as a volunteer at a hospital, Father Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) decides to volunteer for a program to find a vaccine for a mysterious virus in Africa known as the Emmanuel Virus (EV). Taking a risk for a blood transfusion, Sang-hyun nearly dies but manages to survive despite having leprosy blisters in his skin. Returning home as an idol for someone who can bring in miracles, he is asked to help an old childhood friend named Kang-woo (Shin Ha-kyun) who is suffering from cancer. Kang-woo manages to recover though he remains ill as Kang-woo’s mother Lady Ra (Kim hae-sook) invites him for dinner and to play mahjong where Sang-hyun finds himself attracted to Kang-woo’s wife Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin). Suddenly feeling ill at his home, Sang-hyun realizes his illness has returned where he wakes up the next day learning that he’s now a vampire.

Not wanting to kill someone, Sang-hyun decides to drink the blood of comatose patients so he wouldn’t have to deal with blisters and to deal with his thirst. Yet, he finds himself attracted to Tae-ju who is dealing with the cruelty of her mother-in-law and the demands of her ill husband where she and Sang-hyun have an affair. Still, Sang-hyun remains conflicted as he turns to his blind mentor (Choi Jong-ryeol) for answers as his mentor becomes interested in Sang-hyun’s blood to be able to see. After revealing to Tae-ju on who he is, he gives up his role as a priest to live with Kang-woo and the family to be close to Tae-ju as he notices the bruises on Tae-ju’s legs.

Tae-ju makes claims that Kang-woo abuses her where the two plot to kill him where the results would create moral complications for Sang-hyun. After the decision to make Tae-ju into a vampire, Sang-hyun gets more than he bargains for as he also to deals with the shell-shocked Lady Ra and her friends. Notably as Tae-ju starts to enjoy her new life forcing Sang-hyun to make another drastic decision about their fate.

The film is essentially a vampire love story where a confused priest falls takes part in an experiment where he becomes a vampire while falling for a woman who feels trapped in her dreary family life. If one was to take a premise like this, it would’ve been more about the idea of vampires with a lot of emphasis on sentimental love. Well, that is not one of those films as it’s a Chan-wook Park film where there’s no stupid teenage girl who is in love with a vampire and a werewolf. Nor is it some story about a fairy who is in love with two vampires. What Park and co-writer Seo-Kyeong Jeong create is a film where it’s about a man confused by his role to do good as he falls for this troubled woman as he hopes to save her. Instead, things become more complicated as he goes into conflict about the idea of killing people as if taking blood from them was bad enough. Yet, he also has to deal with own role as a man of faith and morality when his lover has become a vampire with none of those attributes.

It’s a story that explores the fallacy of being a vampire told from a man of God who tries to live the life of men but with vampire powers. The love story that Park and Jeong creates is one of passion as Tae-ju is a woman that just wants to escape from her dreary life though she still remains attached to her family for saving her from being an orphan. Yet, they don’t treat her very well as the son is kind of demanding man-child and her mother-in-law is this extremely critical woman who is more concerned about her son than her daughter-in-law. Since Tae-ju is the only person he seems to connect with, it would cause the kind of moral confusions in Sang-hyun. The decision he would make for Tae-ju in her desire to become a vampire is one that he does that would have awful implications for his desire to control things.

Park’s direction in the film is truly in tune with the visual style that’s created in the films he’s made in the 2000s as there’s a newfound maturity to the way he can create humor and romance. A lot of the humor Park creates is presented with more simplicity but also with an offbeat rhythm as he’s not afraid to a scene involving blood seem creepy. There’s gore in some of these violent scenes and vampire buts it’s not overt as Park is more interested in how Sang-hyun wants to take blood and later on, Tae-ju who takes things to certain extremes. The violence does intensify a bit in the third act once Tae-ju becomes a vampire yet it plays to the quirky humor that Park wants. Then there’s the romance where Park really finds a balance in creating a story that involves vampire myths, morality, and dark humor. Notably in the way Park decides to frame Sang-hyun and Tae-ju during a meeting when Tae-ju is having a run late at night barefoot while Sang-hyun is already trying to come to terms with this new role.

It’s all about how they would interact physically at first as he notices the bits of blisters on her feet. It’s a very understated scene that shows Park really just trying to understand these characters as they would eventually become attracted to each other in all sorts of way including in some very intense sex scenes. By the time they’re both vampires, there’s an amazing sequence where they both bounce on buildings as if they’re having a dance of sorts. There’s a lot of great wide compositions and stylized shots that Park creates throughout the film that keeps things exciting but also have the audience pay attention to some of the smaller things that is going on. Overall, Park creates a truly dazzling film that does more for what is expected in the vampire film genre.

Cinematographer Jeong Jeong-hun does incredible work with the film‘s very stylish cinematography from the gorgeous nighttime textures for many of the film‘s exteriors to some stylish lighting for some of the film‘s interiors including its third act. Editors Kim Sang-Beom and Kim Jae-Beom do amazing work by creating an array of stylish cuts to play with the film‘s rhythm that includes jump-cuts and an amazing montage for Sang-hyun‘s transformation. Production designer Seong-hie Ryu and set decorator Jiyeon Song do great work with the set pieces such as Kang-woo‘s home that is later re-decorated into something far more stylish to represent Sang-hyun and Tae-ju‘s new life.

Costume designer Sang-gyeong Jo does nice work with the costumes from the priest robes that Sang-hyun wears early in the film to the stylish old-school robes that Tae-ju and Lady Ra sells. Makeup/hair designer Jong-hee Song does very good work with some of the hair styles created such as Lady Ra‘s look and the look for the more sexualized Tae-ju during the film‘s progression. Visual effects supervisor Jeon-hyeong Lee does fantastic work with the visual effects from the way the wounds are quickly healed to the way Sang-hyun and Tae-ju bounce on buildings in far away scenes. Sound designers Chang-seop Kim and Suk-won Kim do brilliant work with the sound from the intimacy of the mahjong games to some of scenes involving the couple thirsting for blood.

The film’s score by Jo Yeong-wook is marvelous for its orchestral-driven score that features soaring themes to play with its romance and suspense to more rhythmic pieces to help emphasize the film’s quirkiness and romance.

The film’s cast is superb for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable small performances from Oh Dal-su, Mercedes Cabral, and Song Young-Chang as a trio of Lady Ra’s mahjong players, Hwang-woo Seul-hye as a young woman who camps out the hospital that Sang-hyun has left, Choi Jong-ryeol as Sang-hyun’s blind mentor, and Eriq Ebouaney as a man who is trying to find a vaccine for the disease that Sang-hyun wants to take on early in the film. Kim Hae-sook is great as the very cruel Lady Ra who abuses Tae-ju while displaying a great sense of physicality when she goes into a state of shock. Shin Ha-kyun is pretty good as Tae-ju’s husband Kang-woo who is trying to recover from cancer while being a cuckold to everything that is happening around him.

Kim Ok-bin is brilliant as the unhappy Tae-ju who seeks an escape from her dreary domestic life in the form of this mysterious man she falls for as she later manipulates him into doing deeds. It’s a very fun and lively performance from Ok-bin who definitely seems to relish in playing a vampire as she provides a lot of dark humor to the film. Finally, there’s Song Kang-ho in a fantastic performance as Sang-hyun who is trying to deal with his new role as a vampire as well as growing sense of doubt. It’s a role that has Kang-ho display some amazing physicality in the way he tries to cope with his situation as a vampire by displaying some humility as he and Ok-bin have chemistry that is electrifying to watch.

Bakwji is a truly stylish yet thrilling romantic-vampire film from Chan-wook Park. Featuring outstanding performances from Song Kang-ho and Kim Ok-bin, it is a film that is really one of the best vampire films that refuses to play into conventions while giving audiences something to laugh at and be grossed out by. For fans of Park, this is definitely his most mature feature to date in the way he presents violence, humor, and romance to create what is one of more accessible films. In the end, Bakwji is an engaging yet entertaining film from Chan-wook Park.

Chan-wook Park Films: (The Moon Is… the Sun’s Dream) - (Trio) - Judgment (1999 short film) - JSA: Joint Security Area - Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - (If You Were Me-Never Ending Peace and Love) - Oldboy - Three Extremes-Cut - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - I'm a Cyborg But That's OK - (Night Fishing) - Stoker - The Handmaiden - (The Little Drummer Girl (2018 TV series)) - Decision to Leave

© thevoid99 2012

JSA: Joint-Security Area

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 8/22/09.

Before getting the attention of the film world with his Vengeance Trilogy, particularly 2003's Oldboy, Chan-wook Park was just a South Korean director trying to break through in the Korean film scene. With two films to his credit by 2000, Park was also a film critic until he decided to make a film that would give him his first taste of success in and out of Korea. The film revolves around the border between North and South Korea in a political-drama of sorts about an illegal shooting in the border entitled JSA: Joint Security Area.

Directed by Chan-wook Park with a screenplay written by Park, Seong-san Jeong, Hyeon-seok Kim, and Mu-yeong Lee based on the novel DMZ by Sang-yeon Park. JSA: Joint Security Area tells the story of two North Korean soldiers killed on the border supposedly by a South Korean officer. Investigating the shooting are a team of Swedish/Swiss officers as they interrogate camps from both countries as another party could be involved in part of a cover-up. Starring Lee Young-Ae, Lee Byung-Hun, Song Kang-ho, Kim Tae Woo, Shin Ha-kyun, and Herbert Ulrich. JSA: Joint Security Area is a provocative, smart, haunting film from Chan-wook Park.

Arriving into Seoul, South Korea for an investigation on the death of two North Korean soldiers on the border is a Swedish officer (Herbert Ulrich) and a Swiss-Korean officer named Major Sophie E. Jang (Lee Young-Ae). Under the instructions of a Swiss-based German U.N. official (Christoph Hofrichter), Jang must make sure she stays neutral in the investigation where a South Korean officer named Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeok (Lee Byung-Hun) is charged for the deaths of the two North Koreans. What is known was that during some work at the border, Lee was kidnapped by three North Korean officers in which he killed two of them with one wounded as a near-battle ensued. With Lee currently in a state of shock, Jang and her Swedish partner go to North Korea to investigate the bodies of the dead soldiers while trying to interrogate the wounded soldier Oh Kyeong-pil (Song Kang-ho) who revealed a different story of what had happened.

Jang, having never been to Korea in her life, talks to Lee's girlfriend who is revealed to be the sister of one of Lee's friends in Pvt. Nam Sung-shik (Kim Tae Woo). When Lee is starting to talk but revealing very little and Nam's gun was found with bloodstains. Nam attempts suicide where a story revealed Lee's first encounters with Oh and a North Korean officer in Private Jeong Woo-jin (Shin Ha-kyun) during an exercise by the South Koreans where Lee was stuck on a land mine. Lee became friends with Oh and Jeong where he also invited Nam, who was reluctant to meet with the North Koreans as the two parties believed these meetings would involve a possible reunification between the two countries. Yet with the conflict between North and South rising, Lee and Nam decide to make one last visit to the North Korean border station to celebrate Jeong's birthday where an officer makes an appearance that would change everything.

With Nam now in a coma and Lee awoken from his state of shock, Jang realizes that there's something more in what is going on. What she later finds out following a disastrous meeting between North and South Korean officials including Oh and Lee that she is now set to leave because things are becoming two close. With her superior revealing some harsh stories about the North-South Korean conflict during the Korean War that included a war in a concentration camp for North Korean POWs. The end of that conflict had prisoners choose side where 76 of them decided not to choose sides. The superior reveals that reunification will cause trouble as she has no choice but to leave. Yet, she decides to continue the investigation where she learned the truth and its implications for the survivors involved over what had happened.

The film is a traditional whodunit kind of film of sorts with elements of political drama. Yet, it's really about the conflict between the two Korean factions and why the possibilities of a reunification might seem impossible due to political ideals. At the center of the story is this Swiss-Korean woman who had never been to Korea in her entire life where not only she would learn about this conflict but also herself in relation to her own background. A background that could help or hurt her involvement in the investigation. What she would also discover is how these four men would come together at night in the North Korean border station and just have fun while talking about the idea of reunification. Then comes an incident that would change everything with different stories.

The screenplay Park and his team of writers creates is definitely full of intrigue and the fallacies of the political climates that North and South Korean each are involved in. At the same time, there's a lot of character and political motivation that goes on during the investigation and its objective. Particularly since South Korean is influenced by the idea of American capitalism that also has the involvement of the American military around this fragile border area. It is clear that the four men involved this exchange between the two factions that there is a clear disdain towards American involvement. The political intrigue and dramatic elements into the investigation makes the story to be quite mesmerizing though it starts out clunky at first during the first act due to Park's direction.

Park's direction is truly haunting from his eerie visuals that would set the stage for later films to follow. Yet, it starts out a bit slow while the acting in English isn't that great either since you have actors from different nationalities seemingly uncomfortable in speaking English. Yet, when the investigation goes on what starts to unravel scene by scene, it becomes a far more provocative film. There's an entrancing quality to the camera angles and intimate scenery that Park presents at the border station while allowing bits of humor and such to happen. Park's approach to action and how he creates the idea of what had happened reveal in its different stories to add an aura of mystery to the film. Despite a slow, clunky beginning, Park's work in the film is truly fascinating as he engages the audience with provocative ideas and haunting images.

Cinematographer Sung-Bok Kim does excellent work with the film's eerie photography with the dark, blueish color of the nighttime scenes at the border area in the forests and bridges. Kim also has some more colorful, grainy looks for some of the scenes of a nearby town and bright colors for the daytime scenes at the buildings near the border as Kim's work is solid overall. Editor Sang-Beom Kim does fantastic work with the editing in creating a leisurely-paced feel to the film while playing with the film's structure in moving back and forth to what is going on in the investigation and what happened where the second act is all about what happened leading to the events. Art director James David Goldmark along with cinematographer Sung-Bok Kim, as an art director, do brilliant work in the re-creation of the station borders and bridge along with the buildings of the Joint Security Area to reveal the dark political feel of the film.

Costume designer Sang-hoon Park does excellent work in the creation of the uniforms that the characters wear from the distinguished suits of the North Korean and other international personnel to the more infantry uniform look of the South Korean soldiers. The sound work by Seok-weon Kim and Wong-Yong Kim is very good in the tense atmosphere of possible conflict along with scenes of gunshots and things that go on for dramatic elements of the film. The music by Jun-Seok Bang and Yeong-wook Jo is very good in its elements of suspense and chills with eerie orchestral arrangements and soothing, dramatic pieces for some of the film's calmer moments.

The cast is excellent with small roles from Herbert Ulrich as the Swedish officer accompanying Jang and Christoph Hofrichter as their superior who is more interested in making sure things stay the same without any kind of disruption. Kim Tae Woo is excellent as the South Korean Pvt. Nam who at first is reluctant to take part of the exchange only to become a pawn in the investigation consumed with guilt. Shin Ha-kyun is really good as Pvt. Jeong who is fascinated by American products as well as a girl both factions seem to be fascinated by. Song Kang-ho is great as Sgt. Oh, a North Korean officer who whistles when he exhales cigarette smoke who is loyal to his country but also frustrated as he befriends Sgt. Lee. Lee Byung-Hun is really good as Sgt. Lee, a South Korean who is saved by Sgt. Oh from a landmine as he shares with about his own ideas of a reunification between the two Korean factions. Finally, there's Lee Young-Ae as Major Jang. While her performance in English is at times, awkward and uncomfortable, she's in her element in maintaining a calm, observant performance where she uncovers what happens while dealing with what has happened.

The film drew massive acclaim in South Korea as it was later seen in 2007 by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il by South Korean leader Roh Moo-Hyun. The film would be Chan-wook Park's first international success winning several awards while being presented at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival and awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival. The film would mark as a breakthrough for Park's career as his next three films would give him massive international attention.

JSA: Joint Security Area is a brilliant, provocative film from Chan-wook Park and company. Fans of Park's films, particularly the Vengeance trilogy, will see this film as a great example of Park's early work while being a nice introduction of sorts to the famed South Korean directors. Fans of political thrillers and dramas will see this as a refreshing film about murder and intrigue while getting insight into the fragile relationship between North and South Korea. In the end, JSA: Joint Security Area is fascinating, entrancing film from Chan-wook Park.

Chan-wook Park Films: (The Moon Is... the Sun's Dream) - (Trio) - Judgement (1999 short film) - Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - (If You Were Me-Never Ending Peace and Love) - Oldboy - Three... Extremes-Cut - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - I'm a Cyborg but That's OK - Thirst - (Night Fishing) - Stoker - The Handmaiden - (The Little Drummer Girl (2018 TV series) - Decision to Leave

© thevoid99 2011