★《蔷花，红莲》★集中讨论帖

阿韩

相关链接——:
韩片《蔷花红莲》（《鬼魅》/《姐魅情深》）专集

1999年，金知云凭处女作《死不张扬离奇失魂事件》（The quiet family）一举夺得葡萄牙国际奇幻电影节的“最佳影片”大奖的！五年后的今天，这个韩国的cult片大师再次笑傲葡萄牙！2004年2月20日开幕的第24界葡萄牙国际奇幻电影节(FANTASPORTO’2004 /)全部奖项已于3月1日揭晓。韩国电影《蔷花，红莲》成为该电影节上的最大赢家，囊括四个大奖——“最优秀电影大奖”、“最佳导演（金知云）”、“最佳女主角（林秀晶）”以及亚洲电影单元的“评审团特别奖”。

《蔷花，红莲》最近喜讯频传。上个月（2月4日）刚刚在/法国格拉德梅奇幻电影节/大获全胜（2004格拉德梅电影节最优秀作品奖”、“第13街奖”、“洛林区青年评审团最优秀作品奖）。刚结束不久的柏林国际电影节的/青年论坛单元/里也有它的身影。《蔷花，红莲》自上映以来便一直活跃于欧美的电影节市场，更早前的去年10月，它在美国洛杉矶的Screamfest上也是最大赢家（“最佳影片”、“最佳导演金知云”、“最佳女主角林秀晶”、“最佳剪辑”、“最佳摄影”）。

03年凭《蔷花，红莲》及《…ing》强势冲击韩国电影屏的新人演员林秀晶，本次已是第二回在国际电影节上拿下最佳女主角奖。此前她一直默默无闻，幸得金知云慧眼赏识，在《蔷花，红莲》中以过人的演技和惊人的爆发力，卷走了去年底韩国各种电影节颁奖典礼的新人奖，成为忠武路最受影人期待的电影新星。韩国权威电影杂志《Cine21》第433号发表的［2003韩国电影总结］系列连载文章的第4篇，以［当今的最佳演员BEST 4］为题，将影坛新人朴海日和林秀晶视为两位实力干将宋康昊和文素丽的接班人，并称朴海日和林秀晶是2003年“韩国电影界的最高发现”。下部电影尚未选定的林秀晶，今年1月份曾在忠武路与奉俊昊导演（〈杀人的追忆〉）促膝长谈，此番惺惺相惜的谈话将很有可能促成他们将来的合作。
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
附：本次电影节的获奖英文资料——
获得四项大奖：
Grand Prix BEST FILM AWARD FANTASPORTO 04: A TALE OF TWO SISTERS -Kim Jee-Woon- (Kor)

BEST ACTRESS : IM SOO-JUNG - A Tale of Two Sisters- (Kor)

BEST DIRECTOR: KIM JEE-WOON - A Tale of Two Sisters (Kor)

SPECIAL AWARD OF THE JURY ORIENT EXPRESS- A TALE OF TWO SISTERS- Kim Jee-Woon (Kor)

更多获奖名单见官网：http://www.fantasporto.online.pt/

--------------------------------------------

相关报道：
Two Sisters' Takes Top Prize at Portugal Fest


The domestic horror film about a family of four in a haunted house received four awards at the fantastic film festival in Portugal.
The film ``Changhwa, Hongryon (A Tale of Two Sisters),’’ directed by Kim Ji-woon, won the top award for ``Fantasy Cinema,’’ the competition section at the 24th Oporto Film Festival, the film’s international marketing company Cineclick Asia reported.

The film also received the award in the Orient Express section for Asian films. One of the film’s stars, Im Soo-jung, won the festival’s best actress award.

Three other local films _ ``Acacia,’’ ``H’’ and ``Tube’’ _ were screened at the festival, which is also known as Fantasporto 2004 and ran from Feb. 20 through Saturday.


a> (in Korean). mailto:sohjoo@koreatimes.co.kr

@koreatimes.co.kr<


03-01-2004 19:54

------------------------------
ps：BTW,Fantasporto起源于20多年前，时至今日，已成为葡萄牙相当重要的影展。它以奇幻电影为主题（fantasy films）而闻名世界，官方竞赛单元为奇幻电影类型。这是一个充满了想象力的电影博览会，导演与编剧们的狂想将在此得到最佳鼓励，在相互观摩和交流间，激发彼此的灵感。除了奇幻类型，此电影节也为其它各类的创意电影提供参展空间。Fantasporto也是新锐导演出头的机会，只要有实力有创意，都可在此电影节中被拔擢。它的举办地在葡萄牙的奥波多市，所以它的原名其实叫做“奥波多国际电影节”（OPORTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL）。国内有人还称它为“葡萄牙梦想之港电影节”（是因为它简称叫“FANTASPORTO”，但为何翻成“梦想之港”？><）。一般都称它为“葡萄牙国际奇幻电影节”，偶觉得这个译名也比较贴切！
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[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-6-17 at 11:18 AM ]

阿韩

『薔花、紅蓮』ファンタスポルト映画祭で「４冠」

                               
登录/注册后可看大图

     金知雲（キム・ジウン）監督の『薔花、紅蓮』が第２４回ファンタスポルト映画祭で最高賞の作品賞など４部門を受賞したと、同映画の海外マーケティングを担当するシネクリック・アジアが２９日に伝えた。

　『薔花、紅蓮』は映画祭のメインコンペ部門の「ファンタジーシネマ」部門で作品賞に選ばれたほか監督賞、主演女優賞（イム・スジョン）を受賞し、アジア映画を対象にした「オリエントエクスプレス」部門でも審査員特別賞に選ばれ、４冠に輝いた。

チョソン・ドットコム

朝鲜日报

2004/03/01 13:53
http://japanese.chosun.com/site/ ... 20040301000008.html

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-3-3 at 11:02 AM ]

阿韩

相关链接——:
韩片《蔷花红莲》（《鬼魅》/《姐魅情深》）专集

注：本帖为《蔷花，红莲》英文影评的精选集，往后回陆续新增...（影片英文名：A Tale of Two Sisters）

——————————————————————————————
A Tale of Two Sisters

作者：Kevin Teo Kia Choong（the National University of Singapore）

You wish to let go of them, but they refuse to leave. You want to move on in life, but you cannot achieve this desired end because they cling onto you like a ghost. This message uttered by the stepmother of Su-Mi, the elder-sister figure, in the film A Tale of Two Sisters, becomes the tagline to which we must cling, if we are to understand the boggling mind-twists and meandering scares in the film directed by Kim Jee-Won, formerly director of the Korean segment, Memories, in the international Asian collaboration Three. The true horror lies not in the apparitions that are sighted in the film, but rather their import as significations of the gamut of innate existential feelings running from guilt, remorse, through responsibility to hatred and vengeance.


The film starts at the end of things, in a mental asylum as a pathologist interrogates Su-Mi by the acronym of "Janghwa"(Rose), telling her to retell him what transpired before she entered into the asylum. A sounding cue with loud orchestral music in the background signals a flashback into the past, a sketchy terrain of memories haunting her consciousness as she takes us-the audience-through the torturous experiences of her and her younger sister, Su-Yeon, being rejected by their father in affection and abused by their stepmother. Inverting chronological time sequences, which are essential to the structure of denouement laid out in Classical moviemaking conventions, pertinent especially to the West, and commercial Eastern cinema, this initial move but represents the first step in the film towards de-familiarizing the audience's sense of time present and time past.


Indeed, in the light of the direction in which the plot unfolds, this de-familiarization promises more than just cheap scares; instead, the audience is forced to reconstruct the various time sequences and to figure out for themselves which ones are real or imagined. Amidst a plot of a neurotic stepmother who is always thinking that the two sisters have invited some unfriendly spiritual presence into the house, and the two sisters each having their own visions of ghostly apparitions of their late mother, ending eventually in Su-Yeon's brutal murder by her stepmother, the alternate plot of Su-Mi having hallucinated all these as a part of her split personality unfolds. The audience, however, is not allowed to realize this until the very end of the film, where the director keeps the suspense with the constant sighting of apparitions by Su-Mi and her sister, the stepmother and other members of the family, as well as the unfolding imaginary plot of a murderous stepmother. First creaking doors with pale hands holding onto them, then ghastly bodies of women dressed in green, black or blue with disheveled hair and bleeding menstrual blood dripping grotesquely over their legs and bodies. First Su-Mi's dream of her late mother clutching her right arm with a bloodied palm before she "wakes up" to another horrid nightmare of a menstruating she-ghost, then flowing trails of blood on the floor traced out by a bag containing a bloodied corpse which the stepmother seemingly drags through the living room. Constant dissolves of the scenes one into another, sudden jump cuts and alternating narrative sequences, become disorientating to the effect that the line between hallucination and psychological sanity, as experienced in these various reflections of Su-Mi's tortured psyche, becomes blurred out.


Yet beyond being a mere psychological tour-de-force, shocking the audience and throwing them into disarray by suturing together disjunctive and violently sharp images of blood and gore, the film moves itself into the exploration of what it means to live in the shadow of the past. The true ghosts are within, not without the self; they are not in the environment one lives in, but projections of one's fears and desires onto the environment. Photos of the past, which Su-Mi obtains from the warehouse located at a distance from her home, bear reminders to us that her dementia is hardly occasional but almost a premeditated result of her father's extramarital affair with his medical assistant, the stepmother-to-be. An uncanny contrast created between happier birthday photos with her younger sister, her father and her late mother, and others where the stepmother-figure starts to intrude like a strange nanny figure into the picture lie among these jarring images that remind us that the director is dealing essentially not just with a self that sees images it wants to see, but that sympathetically, it is victimized by its family past. Even the physical presence of her younger sister Su-Yeon throughout the whole film is another construct of her imagination, created in order to handle the implacable guilt she feels at being unable to save her sister from dying of shock at the sight of their late mother's suicide. Tied inseparably to her younger sister by a sibling bond, as they enter and trudge together through the dark alleys and chambers of their Victorian-Korean style mansion, these series of sisterly images become representations of the past, namely the sibling she lost, which become attached to her as her shadow-ghost.


Similarly, it is bizarre that for all the efforts of the film to affix the names of"Jang Hwa"(the Korean for "rose," or "qiang hua" in Chinese) and "Hong Reon"(the Korean for "red lotus," or "hong lian" in Chinese)  to the elder and younger sisters respectively, through the numerous advertisement posters and trailers, little or no mention is made of these two names at all inside the narrative proper. The motive of the director could have been metonymic more than literal, insofar as the two flowers ironize the emotional and psychological poises that his two characters have to undergo. While beautiful and exuding a sweet fragrance, the rose flower pricks the fingers of its holders and is also a fragile flower at the mercy of the elements. The red(or pink) lotus, ironically a common symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism for its representations of a passivity that transcends the mundane human condition, highlights similarly the inability of Su-Mi as the elder sister to transcend the condition of her abuse by the stepmother as much as she resists with hatred and vengeance. For she is left to the bars of the asylum like the very parrot reared by her stepmother and which she killed, doomed to existence within a cage forever.


The psycho-sexual elements prevalent in the narrative plot of a dysfunctional family add to the colour of the film in portraying obsession on a familial scale. It is not surprising in the light of other blockbuster films which have been released years back on the cinema screen in South Korea years back, such as Whispering Corridors (Yeo-Go-Kwei-Dam, 1998), and Memento Mori (Yeo-Go-Kwei-Dam 2, 1999), both of which deal with the theme of lesbian obsession and unusually obsessive friendships between high school girls and their classmates and teachers. By contrast, A Tale of Two Sisters brings this theme of obsession to a feverish pitch, filling in the gaps of narrative to suggest an Electra complex between the sisters and their father. We see one scene as Su-Mi's father slips off to sleep by himself, and Su-Mi, hearing footsteps below her room, steps out into the kitchen. Passing by her father, she covers him with a blanket and then tried caressing his right cheek with her hand while he is asleep. The appearance of the stepmother at this point is no less startling, as she drifts in like a ghost with unheard footsteps, and tells off Su-Mi, "I told you not to disturb him!" Suggestions of a rivalry between the stepmother and Su-Mi are rife in such scenes of confrontation as the plot(s) unfolds.


Also, the sibling bond between Su-Mi and Su-Yeon borders uneasily on a lesbian relationship of narcissistic self-reflection and domination. Su-Mi wakes up from multiple nightmares of menstrual blood and gore associated with her late mother to find that Su-Yeon is going through a period as she sleeps alongside her, and she rushes secretly into her stepmother's room to find tampons for Su-Yeon. The stepmother speaks uncannily with an airy laugh, "Strange, that we actually have periods on the same day," this a self-reflexive indication within the film that her presence as the evil stepmother and Su-Yeon's presence as the weaker-willed sister are both imaginary constructs of Su-Mi's tormented psyche.


"Every family has its own dark secrets"-the clichéd advertisement thus goes to promote an image of a plot revolving around a dysfunctional family trapped in the space of a Victorian-Korean mansion. Yet above the common clichés of a haunted house, two ghostly sisters, a neurotic stepmother, and various apparitional sightings, the film A Tale of Two Sisters unveils profounder meaning with its themes of a family betrayal ending in implacable guilt and remorse, and the desire to end it all through false hallucinations and concocted plots of gruesome murder. The true burden here lies not in dying or being killed by paranormal presences as in most conventional horror films replete with their fair share of ghastly faces and bodies, but in the knowledge that living is the true horror, where one is unable to cathartically exorcise one's fears and own inner demons. In that final freeze frame image of Su-Mi stepping out of the mansion in a fit of rage against her stepmother, the devastating sense of existential guilt and resignation is best shown: Su-Mi, as we all know by now, has to return to the dour news of her sister's death on top of her mother's suicide, and her escape from the house is but a short respite-an imagined liberation found only in death.

fm:http://www.thefilmjournal.com/issue7/sisters.html

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-6-14 at 02:01 PM ]

阿韩

A Tale of Two Sisters
作者：Chris Hyde
December 2, 2003

After the success of The Ring, the Hollywood attraction to Asian horror properties increased hugely. One example is a recent Korean psychological horror film -- A Tale of Two Sisters -- for which DreamWorks has already acquired remake rights.


How long Tinseltown will continue to rush to scarf up the latest scary pictures from the East and run them through the corporate whitewash process so that they'll play for an American audience is anyone's guess, but for now at least developing these projects remains a popular pastime for the studios. It's unfortunate that perhaps the most promising of these remakes -- Wes Craven's take on Kiyoshi Kurosawa's brilliant Kairo -- has now been killed due to its purported similarities to The Ring, but there's still a Tom Cruise-produced remake of the Pang Brothers' The Eye as well as a new version of Hideo Nakata's Dark Water starring former Dario Argento ing?ue Jennifer Connelly coming to the megaplex in the future. Whether any of these attempts to de-obfuscate the slower and more ambiguous feel of the Asian horror film and translate it into popcorn fare for a typically more literal minded domestic audience will actually be successful remains to be seen, but there's no doubt that at present the studios are certainly keeping at least one eye fixed on the frightening films coming out of Korea, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong.


The story that forms the basis of A Tale of Two Sisters is a Korean folk legend that has been the raw material for five previous films, though here the director has altered the tale pretty substantially. Previously known for his comedies The Quiet Family and The Foul King, filmmaker Kim Jee-won is a noted horror film buff and first turned his directorial eye to the film of terror by directing the Korean segment of the 2002 Hong Kong horror anthology Three. Following the general success of that venture, he then decided to helm a film that is at least nominally horror in form, though the thrills ensconced in this one tend to be more of the psychological variety than any out and out supernatural phenomena.


The movie opens with two young sisters returning to their rural Korean abode after an absence whose nature is not at all delineated clearly. The pair appear to have an unusually close relationship, with the older sister fiercely guarding her seemingly hapless younger sibling from any potential harm. At first it appears that the threat that Su-mi (Lim Su-jeong, in a performance for which she was awarded the Best New Actress prize at the recent Korean Film Awards) is most worried about comes from the girls' apparently evil stepmother (Yeom Jeong-a). But, as the fractured narrative is pursued the nature of that threat is called into question -- with its ultimate reality becoming the central focus of the movie. The plot here really revolves around the true nature of the violent cloud of menace that seemingly hangs over the heads of this star- crossed family, and which character is responsible for the version of events that unfold onscreen remains in doubt until the final frames of the film.


Along the way there are plenty of intriguing moments to engage the audience and keep them guessing as to just what exactly is happening. Scenes of ghastly horror intersect with quietly pastoral moments that still somehow reflect the gut churning tension that constantly casts a pall over the family's day to day existence. The filmmaker also intentionally uses his setups to confuse and mislead the viewer, lending the proceedings an air of mystery that only adds to the film's attraction. One would suspect that in the Hollywood version to come much of what is befuddling in this Korean narrative will be replaced with straightforward plot explication, as American studios have always been loathe to allow their audiences the leeway to try to figure things out on their own. Here, however, the disorienting manner of storytelling allows the movie to unfurl in a restive light that reflects the discomfiting fog in which all the film's characters are enveloped. While some may find this approach slightly puzzling, the choice in style is truly what makes the movie such an appealing and mysterious stew of parts and the lack of lucidity is to these eyes one of the film's best characteristics.


Beyond the pleasing complications of its jumbled narrative style, A Tale of Two Sisters has a number of other enjoyable attributes that contribute to its overall success. The small cast of actors is uniformly excellent, with lead Im Soo-jung being especially noteworthy in the lead role. The film's direction is also steady throughout, with the capable hand of the filmmaker keeping the story interesting while at the same time occasionally alluding to recent films that must have served as his inspiration (an echo of Takashi Miike's Audition is pointedly obvious, for one). Additionally, special note should be made of the quality of the film's production design and cinematography, both of which combine to give the movie a gorgeous look that underlines the unsettling nature of the story in brilliant fashion.


With its eerie style, shattered storyline and top-notch dramatic performances, A Tale of Two Sisters can now confidently enter the pantheon of recent Asian horror triumphs-both monetarily and artistically. Unlike many of its uncanny celluloid brethren, this one is more of an intellectual enterprise that involves the cerebral machinations of its characters rather than a standard horror trope; yet this disturbing but engaging trip into the ominous Korean countryside where two strange sisters dwell still makes for fascinating viewing. Whether or not DreamWorks can find another hit here as they did when they had Gore Verbinski take on the popular Ring franchise, only time will tell. But while you're patiently waiting for that version to appear at your local twentyplex, why not try and seek out the original for comparison purposes at the very least? Films such as this one quite often have a very different look once they've passed through the pasteurizing process of the Hollywood widget factory, and so it might be well worth the trouble to at least get a taste of the first version before the studio execs transmute the sharp flavors of this authentic cinematic kim chi into a bland lump of American mall cheese.

fm:http://cineclickasia.com/renew/l ... p?idx=53&num=30

阿韩

Tale of Two Sisters, A

作者： Janick Neveu

A Tale of Two Sisters is not your conventional supernatural horror movie. The scares maybe few, but the movie will haunt you long after the credits have passed. Not only will the clever story catch you off guard, but the tense atmosphere and beautiful cinematography will get you hooked for sure. Kim Jee-woon, director of two other KFCC favourites, The Quiet Family and Foul King, has surpassed his previous works without a doubt.


I hope you like movies that make your brain work as the story unfolds, as this one has had everyone interpreting key plot points in many different ways. That same aspect of varying possibilities insures that most viewers will have the desire to re-watch the film with hopes of unravelling the mystery even further. That rare aspect also makes this film special when one considers the present tendency of the “disposable film” where you watch the movie once and send it off to the DVD graveyard to rot.


This kind of movie is also perfect for multiple viewing as there are a lot of subtle hints and suggestions in the movie that you might not catch the first time. Don’t be too impatient as the answers wont come so fast during the development of the story, but don’t worry, you will find what you are asking for eventually, well at least most of the answers. In fact, not since Save The Green Planet and Ichi The killer do I remember so much thought provoking conversation occurring discussion occurring on the KFCC Message Board. People have had many different impressions on the story, and most of them can actually make sense, considering the clues the film makers leave in the movie. For those who already saw the movie, I included my personal analyse of the events in a chronological order at the end of the review. The story will not leave you indifferent, and the mix between the fantasy/supernatural element, and reality, is perfectly harmonized to create an atmosphere rarely achieved in cinema.


The performances of the actors are also up to the level of the story. It is really fascinating to discover the intricacies of the two sisters and their relationships with both themselves, and their parents. They both have a totally different personality and during the development, if you pay close attention, you will notice some key changes in their emotions and behaviour, which were marvellously played. Not only did the two young actresses perfectly fit their roles, but the character of the step mom is also frightenly well played by actress Yeom Jeong-A, who also appeared in other Korean thrillers such as Tell Me Something and H. However, this time her character was much more interesting than her previous roles and I’m sure that we can expect to see her more often in Korean thrillers, after the success of this one.


Even one week after the viewing, some elements were still floating in my mind. Trying to find the key elements is one of the best parts of experiencing this movie. Don’t expect a fountain of gore and guts, as everything is on the psychological level here. You have a few great scary moments here and there, but like most Asian ghost movies, certain traditional imagery is present, such as the involvement of spirits and frightening ghosts. This time the effect works very well, fortunately, and the great atmosphere will help you to feel like you are right in the movie. Fans of psychological horror will be delighted for sure.


It is not surprising to see that an American company has already bought the rights for a remake. Whether or not the remake will compete against the original, I don’t know, but A Tale of Two Sisters is with a doubt one of the best Korean movies of this year and I strongly recommend it for a great midnight viewing.


End of Review:


Chronological Explanation

*****WATCH OUT! SPOILERS*****

Take note that this is only my personal interpretation of the story. The following time line is not in the order in which the viewer originally perceives it, but instead, in a “reality based” chronological order. Also, bear in mind that parts of the following will make little or no sense to those who have not seen the film.

- Su-mi and Su-yeon’s mother is sick, perhaps with cancer, which is also causing her to experience severe depression.

-With the strain placed on the relationship between the father and the mother, the father presumably begins having an affair with a co-worker, who will later become the dying mother’s personal nurse.

-The mother decides to commit suicide as she probably suspects the relation between the nurse and her husband. Su-mi discovers her mother and tries to help her, but ends up trapped under the weight of a stand alone closet and her mother’s hanging corpse.

-After the shock of experiencing the aftermath of the dual death of both her sister and her mother (from crushing/suffocation and suicide respectively) Su-Mi suffers a nervous breakdown and is admitted into a mental hospital where she proceeds with psychological treatment.

-One can assume that the father and the nurse marry sometime after the death of the mother. Upon Su-mi’s release, the nurse (who will now be referred to as the stepmother) and the father decide to take their distance for a while until Su-mi has some time to re-adjust.

- Su-mi gets released and comes back home (beginning of the movie). During that time only Su-mi and her father occupy the house.

- The ghost of Su-yeon and her mother come back to haunt the house. (The ghost were probably present the entire time, but we are given nothing to indicate their presence before Su-mi’s return).

-Add one maniacally schizophrenic episode after another and you have the majority of the rest of the film, until....

-The father finds Su-mi wandering around the house on her quest to kill a stepmother who doesn't exist.

-Father calls his friend (the nurse/step mother depending on whether they were married or not) and we find that Su-mi was indeed fabricating the presence of the stepmother all along.

-Su-mi returns to the hospital and reassumes her hallucinations from there. (The hospital scene at the beginning of the movie).

-The stepmother goes back home, probably feeling guilty for what has happened. She returns to Su-Yeon's room (the original place of the death of both Su-Yeon and her mother) and finding it cold, she is then killed by Su-yeon's ghost pouring out of the closet to avenge her death.

As I said, this is only my personal interpretation of the movie. In fact, there are so many different ways to interpret the movie that it is very easy to come up with different ideas on the matter and still have those views completely fit. That is why this movie works so well.

Chronological Explanation by Brandon Fincher and Janick Neveu.



DVD [ NTSC, Region 3 ] :

Nothing can beat Korean Special Edition. This one comes in a digipack with two DVD, one for the movie, second DVD for the numerous extra. The movie features a perfect anamorphic widescreen transfer with the original Korean language in DTS 5.1 ES and DD.5.1 EX. The English sub are also of excellent quality, except that they didn’t translate the writing in the movie, such as the paper sheet that Su-mi find in her room. The movie also features a commentary audio only in Korean with no sub. The second DVD contain a Making Documentary Film, Mun Geun-Yeong and Im Su-Jeong Movie Essay, Introduction to the Movie, Test Shooting, Interview with Casts, Interview with Staffs, Open Set and Location, Psychologist’s View, Still Gallery, Theatrical Trailer, Music Video.

Reviewed by Janick Neveu


fm：http://www.kfccinema.com/reviews/horror/taleoftwosisters/taleoftwosisters.html

liunan_nan

我是咬着牙看了两次才看完的，想再看一遍的时候还是没有勇气，不过我当时只知道妹妹是蓝色生死恋中的女孩，并不太喜欢姐姐，只觉得妈妈还不错，不过真够恐怖，我现在也不知道妈妈在橱柜下看到了什么，因为我那一段打开别的窗口了，哦呀怕死我了

阿韩

《蔷花，红莲》—不能接受的现实
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发表时间：2003-11-4 20:55:39 来源：DVD导刊论坛 作者：此情不再 点击：390 次

从影片开始父亲“（你）怎么不下车”的困惑到父亲道
出“秀莲已经死了”的顿悟再到影片几近结束所谓真正
“继母”的出现，终于使我的逻辑思维苏醒，锁定在了
房子里的唯一的两个人—秀薇和她父亲两个人身上。为
什么她的父亲一直都只和她一个人说话？为什么父亲要
离床独睡？为什么继母姐妹三人都同时来了例假？为什
么父亲对继母那么冷淡等等————这些都释然了。我
的思想被无情的大颠覆了！父亲和前来拜访的叔叔家的
种种不合理的诡异行为变成了正常的反应，开始对于我
都诡异不正常的每个人也都再正常不过了，而唯一我认
为正常的秀薇反而是造成我一切混乱的罪魁祸首，而她
也是影片中最痛苦的！在仇恨，后悔，自责中生存的她
造成了她精神的分裂，她的分裂的精神和幻想反而使她
和她父亲更加痛苦！现实是她不能接受的！也许活在其
分裂的精神世界中是她最好的选择。。。

阿韩

观影:<姊魅情深>
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发表时间：2003-11-27 12:51:33 来源：福建DVD论坛 作者：忽而今夏  

.......
金知云说喜欢英国画家米勒画中和希区柯克的影片中的
那种伤感、美丽而恐怖的感觉，而这部 《姊魅情深》也
带给了我一样的感受——伤感而美丽，我想这才是导演
想诠释的意图吧，金知云曾说： “世上每一种美丽的生
物，都有它伤感之处。比如花开的时候最美，但也是它快
凋落的时候。生活总是无法如人所愿。”

看到那一对美丽的姐妹花互相关爱的脉脉温情却一直沉没
在生母的死亡和继母的虐待的双重阴影中，年轻而脆弱的
生命确实犹如花朵般娇艳，但是也同样的易凋……

《姊魅情深》的视觉影象铺张华丽，那座木屋在夜幕中的
景象简直可以入画，屋内的装修精致古典，然而和《闪灵》
一样，就在这华丽的郊外别墅、昏暗的过道里，透出的却是
一股阴冷的死气，那古色古香的木质地板、衣柜及整片的昏
黄色调，无不让人心生恐惧，中间那一段鬼魂出现的镜头，
在我失眠的时候简直是必杀的梦魇……

片尾，姐姐愤然甩门离开，身后的木屋里，妹妹的呼救声
已渐弱。这个时候，她还不知道一颗恐怖的种子已经在她
心中种下了。

姐姐站在荒野里，风吹乱她的头发，披散在她尚稚嫩的脸
庞边，丝丝轻扬。

我想，这就是所谓“伤感、美丽而恐怖”罢。

听说梦工场已经用以高价买下版权，说是《姊魅情深》的美
国版2004年即会面市，可是老美能不能拍出东方恐怖片的
那种神秘与美感？希望不要像像《午夜凶灵》那样了~~~~

阿韩

by JJ
不是每部電影都需要詳細交待劇情和內容才算是好戲,
每個不同的導演有自己不同的風格.以"姊魅情深"為例,
整個劇本設計非常周密,導演金知雲利用不同角度在片
中去說同一個故事,使觀眾在幾個不同的角度看和分析
都可自完其說,為觀眾提供更大的思巧和觀影空間.
http://www.cinema.com.hk/

阿韩

by Clement
星期四, 十月 16, 2003   v  『姊魅情深』   v   

下午去看了『姊魅情深』這部韓國片，和預料中的一
樣，導演依然保持他一貫的風格，可是應該不是普羅
大眾會喜歡的，所以不明白為甚麼在馬來西亞依然可
以創下高票房成績．

我相信大部分去看這部電影的人都是趕潮流的，因此
可以預見會有一些人會不喜歡．好像今天和朋友去看
這部電影，看完就埋怨聲連連，彷彿有誰要逼他去看
似的．其實大家應該都知道韓片無論是電影或電視劇，
節奏都偏慢，不像西片那樣緊湊，賣弄效果，結果大
家看慣了西片就很難適應一些個人風格比較強烈的電
影．

大概很多人都期待這部片會有多嚇人，可是它偏偏並
不恐怖，只是氛圍稍微陰深．故事講一個患了精神病
女孩，娓娓道來讓人漸漸沉溺於故事的悲哀裡，耳際
偶爾傳來主角的喘息聲，加上那無奈又無助的眼神，那
沉重的無力感，使人不禁也為她歎氣．

fm:http://www.c-daily.net/weblog/archives/2003_10_01_archive.html

阿韩

haisan
Member since Nov-22-01
Jun-05-03, 01:19 AM (Seoul Time)
   
"A Tale of Two Sisters"

   Let me be the first to say that I've seen A TALE OF TWO SISTERS and that I think it is such a winner. Gorgeous film, with an ornate, Victorian style design throughout. Great colour. And seriously creepy-scary at point.
On the negative side, the film does lose focus toward the end ... if the last 20 minutes were re-edited and cut down to 10 minutes, it could have been much more satisfying.

If you get a chance to see it, and some stuff seems kind of dorky at first, stick with it ... the film does pan out and a lot of strange things make sense later on.

--Haisan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darcy Paquet
Charter Member
Jun-06-03, 00:53 AM (Seoul Time)
     
1. "RE: A Tale of Two Sisters"
In response to message #0

   A quick second on Haisan's comments -- it's gorgeous, scary and sad at the same time. No laughter in this film.
I find it interesting that the horror genre sometimes allows you to do weird, almost radical things with narrative that you can't do in other genres without losing most of your audience (a la RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL). I'm not sure why that is, but it makes for interesting filmmaking.

As for the latter part of the film, it required a lot of patience for me because there was a scene towards the middle that dropped my jaw onto my lap, and I was trying to make sense of what was happening, but the film continued on for quite a while before giving you any more clues. Also, like Kim Jee-woon's other films, the ending doesn't give you the emotional punch that we've been trained to expect... It stimulates your thinking, but doesn't give you that warm and fuzzy feeling which is almost a rule of modern filmmaking.

I hear that some of the critics and other people at the press screening felt a little let down by the movie. But that may have been a case of mismatched expectations. Kim apparently commented during the interviews after the screening that his goal was to make a beautiful, artistic horror film, and I think he succeeded in that. It will be interesting to see if it's too difficult for mainstream audiences' tastes -- I'll be optimistic and predict it will do okay at the box-office.

--Darcy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. "RE: A Tale of Two Sisters"
In response to message #2

   Wow, I didn't expect this... A TALE OF TWO SISTERS just had the biggest opening weekend for a Korean film ever (nationwide, not in Seoul). About 760,000 tickets sold in its first three days, which is about $4m. That's pretty amazing, and pretty exciting too. It tops the opening weekend for MY TUTOR FRIEND by a healthy margin.
Could this be a hint that the producer-centered comedy boom is losing steam? First MEMORIES OF MURDER, then A TALE OF TWO SISTERS. Both are films with a distinctive directorial style and challenging elements to them. A couple months ago everyone was saying that films like this couldn't work with young audiences.

Meanwhile REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, which feels very formulaic (but is exactly the type of film which is seen as a sure thing these days) had a pretty weak opening at #4 or so. I'm sure that slight comedies will make their comeback (CRAZY FIRST LOVE looks like a good candidate), but it's nice to see the likes of Bong Joon-ho and Kim Jee-woon ruling the box-office these days.

--Darcy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joseph Lim
Member since Nov-19-01
Jun-18-03, 09:37 PM (Seoul Time)
     
7. "RE: A Tale of Two Sisters"
In response to message #3

   LAST EDITED ON Jun-20-03 AT 03:11 AM (Seoul Time)

Well, young audiences are getting older.
Kim Ji-woon chose not to wrestle with cliches, which is a plus, although the film is cliche-laden to some extent. Kim is the most claustrophobic (i.e. theatrical) of all Korean directors, and I enjoyed obvious parallels with THE QUIET FAMILY. And foot fetishes! I knew Kim liked ingeunes, but I frankly didn't expect THAT. (laugh) Overall, quite clever and lovely. And hurray for Yeom Jeong-Ah, whom I always liked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. "RE: A Tale of Two Sisters"
In response to message #0

   LAST EDITED ON Jun-17-03 AT 02:18 PM (Seoul Time)

I've seen this film last sunday.
Well, my comment is "Just go watch it"
It will be a landmark in korean horror film history without doubt.

Sometimes damn scary, everytime beautiful. Overall very attractive.
But it is a very unkind film. We never know the truth until we come out of the theater or even when we are on the way going home. The director Kim Ji-Woon did cast many clues to audiences in a very unkind way. So we have to find out the truth through a hard work similar to a puzzle solving. And then we say "Oh-ho! That scene meant it!" But for some stuffss we never know the truth.

About the actings of 4 people, I should say they were great. And especially Yeom Jeong-Ah and Moon Keun-Young, they were more than great. These two actresses were perfect for the roles.

The only one problem with me was that its rating was made too generously. This psychologically-complex film has gotten the age grade "12 or higher".(Yeah, this movie has surprisingly few violent or bloody scene for a horror movie.) This might have helped the box office number. But because of this generous rating, I suffered from endless middle school girl talks throughout the whole screening. -_-;

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tofuman
Member since Nov-14-02
Jun-17-03, 08:16 AM (Seoul Time)
     
6. "RE: A Tale of Two Sisters"
In response to message #5

   Yes. Peolple in the theatre kept talking when I watched the movie.
The movie was very unusual. I especially liked the scene when the Yeom Junga's brother visited her. Yeom laughing out loud and suddenly saying "Are you crazy? Why don't you remember it?" It was funny and unexpected.

My only complaint is that the movie was too loud. I would've like the movie more if it was more like 'Under the dark water'. There were too many 'scary' sound and surprises. Too many bells and whistles.

Anyway it's very good to see many interesting movies keep being made in Korea and received very well in the box office. I only wish the little match girl and save my green earth had had the same luck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joseph Lim
Member since Nov-19-01
Jun-20-03, 03:26 AM (Seoul Time)
     
8. "RE: A Tale of Two Sisters"
In response to message #6

   In addition to the jaw-dropping scene mentioned by Darcy, the dinner scene with Yeom Jeong-Ah's brother and his wife...is more than what it seems. There are certain clues that work like a slow fuse, you know. Some of them are even color-coded. Ah, there's a vomit, possibly ectoplasmic, scene in this film, Adam.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`````
9. "RE: A Tale of Two Sisters"
In response to message #0

   I just saw this movie today. I enjoyed a lot. I think this is a beautiful film first and with some horror elements in it.
My another thought, if "The Quiet family" by the same director and "The Happiness Of The Katakuris"(a japanese remake of "The Quiet family) are put together in one DVD set, that will be great. I am not sure if this kind of the arrangement happened before though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2. "RE: Tale of Two Sisters - Questions"
In response to message #0

   I thought the older sister is psycho ,she has multi personality.She was her younger sister who died and she was her stepmom ' coz she hate her stepmom at the same time.
1. The girl in black dress is her real mother ,I thought she saw 'coz the mother died in that room.No matter what you do is innocent so if you have ghosts in your house ,you 'll see it.No matter who are that ghosts,
enemies or friends
2.That sequence is elder sister.She imagined that she is her stepmom. You can know it by the flashback sequence that she wiped away her lip in front of the miror.
3.The meaning of hairclip is that hairclip belong to her younger sister who died and when she imagined that she is her stepmom,so she 'll see it.It 's a sin that her stepmom didn't help her younger sister when she almost die.
4.Yes,stepmom never live in that house while she and her father go back their house.Stepmom just go to that house when her father call her to go to take his daughter to the hospital.
5.In that sequence stepmom think younger sister kill her birds,so it's a punishment.But it seem like the elder sister is debating with herself 'coz she ,younger sister and stepmom are the same person.The elder sister is the broken girl because of the death of her mother and younger sister.
6.I thought she may go to the hospital follow her stepdaughter and become to a psycho.
7.Yes ,he is stepmom's younger brother and his wife.
8.I thought that's same day.The scary story happened in 2 or 3 day ,from daughter and father go back home until daughter have to move to hospital.
Finally,I think this movie is so sad for me, but for sure it 's a perfectly ghost movie.I cannt sleep for 2 nights after I saw it .
Sonin

阿韩

I can make sure that all the beautiful and terrible events did not occur at all and it was all Sun-woo's imagination. One scene at the end can explain everything!After we heard a voiceover by Sun-woo"I
dreamed sth.....but why you are crying?....because they are not true",and then the shot quickly switch to the scene that Sun-woo standing in front of a window, where we saw he stare at his reflecting shadow for a seconds，then he started boxing himself.Please pay attention to this scene,it appear twice in this movie.the first is in near the opening,before the boss called him to dinner;and the second one is in the ending,and we see more in this second one.

Juse like Sunwoo's shadow on the window,it's not true!and since the scene what I just mentioned, all the events juse happened in the mind of Sun-woo.All the story is a bittersweet dream in Sun-woo's a bittersweet life.

it is important to keep in mind what the Master's word tell
According to this scenemeans that there's another sunwoo




TomG
Member since Aug-7-02
Oct-26-03, 00:48 AM (Seoul Time)
     
4. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #3

   Warning!!! Major Spoilers ahead!!!
Ok, here is what I think, take it for what it's worth....

First, it is important to keep in mind that the entire story as we see it occurs only in the mind of Su-mi in the hospital. That is, all events except for a brief segment near the end that explains what really happened. Most of the story is Su-mi's silent response to the doctor's question about what she remembers happening--and her memory is a mixture of scattered facts and a heavy dose of deranged fantasies brought on by the tragedy of losing her mother and sister on the same day and of not being able to save her sibling.

Why are all the clothes the same? Su-mi is now in a hospital. There she is wearing the same hospital gown all the time and presumably the staff is also constantly in their uniforms whenever she sees them. Su-mi has just incorporated the realities of her daily life into her fantasy. Now, I haven't seen this movie for almost six months, so correct me if I'm wrong--but isn't Su-mi's hospital gown white with blue flowers? That would make her closet full of clothes (dark blue with white flowers) the negative of what she wears everyday in the ward.

The birds represent the two girls. This is best demonstrated by visiting the film's homepage and viewing the music video there (called 'Can You See Me Now?) as well as some of the stills. In the music video, a scene where the sisters are standing close together hand in hand is super-imposed over the birds sitting in their cages. Later, we can see images of the girls behind various bars in the house (like the banister of the stairs) or behind the main gate to their yard. Su-mi certainly killed the bird, most likely out of hatred of her stepmother. If the birds represent the sisters, then Su-mi's unwillingness to let go (taking the dead bird to bed with her, much like her sister used to share her bed) makes sense.

I do not believe that the black woman/ghost of Su-mi's real mother exists. She is simply Su-mi's revenge fantasy. I do not believe Eun-ju meets any kind of supernatural justice (or injustice--after all, her only real crime that I am aware of is having an affair with a married man. I don't believe she should be dragged off by a ghost for that).

Actually, I am willing to bet that, although there may have been a dinner party, none of the events as we see them (through Su-mi's sick imagination) actually happened including the off-color joke, the fit, or the thing under the sink. Again, this was Su-mi's hatred of her step-mother creating a wish-fulling fantasy.

This wish fulfillment spilled over into reality which led to the event that resulted Su-mi being admitted to the hospital. Su-mi began role-playing what she imagined happened. For that, she had to act as both herself and her step-mother which is why she thought she was Eun-ju when her father and step-mother came home and caught her in the act.

This is just my theory about what happened. I have to say that I really love this movie. I think I will try to pick up the DVD tomorrow and watch it again.

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Kevin
Member since Jul-23-02
Oct-26-03, 01:09 AM (Seoul Time)
   
5. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #4

   Very interesting analysis, Tom. I may have to give it a second viewing soon.
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joyce
Member since Oct-23-03
Oct-26-03, 07:55 PM (Seoul Time)
      
6. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #4

   thanks for the analysis. however i disagree with your point that it all didn't happen and sun mi was just telling all the stories to the doctor in the asylum. from my point of view, sun mi went back after staying a few days in the mental hospital. she was with her father and the stepmom wasn't there. sun mi played the role of her, her sister and the stepmom in the house when she began to see horrible things. i believe that all this really took place because sun mi's father kept on asking her to tell him what happened and during these times, the father only looked at her but not at her younger sister or stepmom.
good analysis on why sun mi's clothes were the same in the closet. think i have to watch it again if i want to verify that. another question, why were there two diaries?

i really like the soundtrack. have any idea where i can download the tracks?

thanks.
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TomG
Member since Aug-7-02
Oct-27-03, 00:08 AM (Seoul Time)
     
7. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #6

   Spoiler Warning (Again)
I think that there are two diaries because, as I see it, there are two versions of the same story--the truth and the one Su-mi is carrying with her.

I did not get the impression that Su-mi got out of the asylum at all--and she won't for a very long time. I think the opening scene in the asylum and the scene near the end when her parents are visiting are in the 'now'.
There is a reason why her father would be asking her 'what has happened' or 'what is the matter' rather than Su-yeon or her stepmom. Su-yeon was already dead when the movie begins and there isn't anything the matter with the stepmom except that she cannot get along with her step-daughter. I also think that the questions he asked had more to do with her state of mind rather than any supposed supernatural events. For example, "What's wrong (with you)" or "What has happened (to you)" are questions he might ask of Su-mi if she was walking around pretending that her sister was still alive. My memory is a little fuzzy here though---like I said earlier, it has been months since I've seen it. I will have to hear what he's saying again when my DVD arrives.

What I just wrote above got me thinking.....I think this would have been a hard movie to translate for subtitling. Word choice would be very important to get the director's meanings across rather than the subtitler's interpretation of events.
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Kevin
Member since Jul-23-02
Oct-27-03, 10:24 AM (Seoul Time)
   
8. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #7

   I haven't given it the second watching yet, hope to do it tonight. But one more question for you. At some point in the movie, the father "reminds" Su-mi that SuYeon died. If this isn't the real father, then why would Su-mi suddenly remember this? Perhaps because, as the stepmother says, you can try and try to erase something from your memory, but you can't--it follows you around like a ghost?
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TomG
Member since Aug-7-02
Oct-27-03, 12:26 PM (Seoul Time)
     
9. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #8

   > If this isn't the real father, then why would Su-mi suddenly
>remember this? Perhaps because, as the stepmother says, you
>can try and try to erase something from your memory, but you
>can't--it follows you around like a ghost?

Yes-- I think that it is exactly. I think that Su-mi's 'memory' is scattered with facts which she incorperated into her fantasy. It is the audience's job to sort out what's real and what is not.

Also, I think Su-mi's memories of her father are the ones most grounded in reality. This may be because her hatred is directed entirely at her stepmother. If there really was a vengeful spirit, wouldn't its anger be directed at him as well? Yet he remains entirely outside of any supernatural event.
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joyce
Member since Oct-23-03
Oct-27-03, 04:54 PM (Seoul Time)
      
10. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #9

   Well, there's a reason to believe all the horrible events did not occur at all and it was all sun mi's imagination. however, if that's the case, why sun mi kept on imagining that the father talking to her asking her what had happened? i think the scenes below are important to judge whether she was in the asylum or at home:
1) the father walked to sun mi outside the house and told her that it's cold outside and asked her to go in. this couldn't be her imagination because it's something which is not related to the past.

2) the bird. the scene that sun mi killed the bird and later her father buried it in front of the house shows that it did really happen.

3) the scene when she wiped her lips in front of the mirror. i think the director is trying to show us sun mi's multi-personality disorder. in the house, she acted as the stepmom and walked around the house talking to herself. that's the reason why her father didn't want to sleep with her in the same room.

4) the hitting the big bag scene: towards the end, we could see that it was not the stepmom dragging a bloody bag around but it was sun mi dragging a bag with a doll inside. This is actually to differentiate the real scene and the sun mi's imagination.
a) sun mi's imagination: it was the stepmom who hit the bag and dragged the bloody bag all around the house
b) the reality: it was sun mi who acted as the stepmom and did all the horrible things.

towards the end... a lot of scenes were showing that sun mi was doing all the things alone although in the initial scenes we thought the sister was with her. this shows that she was there in the house and her imagination was just that the stepmom and her younger sis were there in the house although they weren't.

5) the last scene when the real stepmom arrived:
this is when the secret in the entire story is revealed..that the stepmom was not even in the house when we thought she was.

hence, i believe that the storyline is something like this:
sun mi was shocked when she found that her mom and sis died. she was in the hosp a few days. then her father brought her back. at that time, she was already mentally ill and couldn't accept the fact that her sister was already dead. so, she kept seeing her sister around her in the house. she also blamed herself for arguing with the stepmom as we could see that the stepmom would have turned back to save the younger sis if the fight did not happen. that's the reason why in all the scenes, she kept blaming herself and imagining that she always came late to the younger sister's rescue. the story took place for a few days in the house and we could also see the father talking to somebody on the phone..which might be the stepmom. in the end, the father called the stepmom to come over to help him as sun mi's disease(mental) was getting more serious each day. that was the day when she hurted herself and poke herself with the scissors. then sun mi was sent to the asylum once more.

that's my point of view. i've just watched it last few days in cinema. it's just launched here in malaysia. so this movie had been launched a few months back in korea? cool. i think korean movies are really nice. this movie expecially, has kept me thinking about it for a few days. i don't think it's a horror movie. instead, they should have grouped it as a thriller as it's not horrifying but keep somebody guessing until the truth is revealed.

This debate is getting more interesting. hope more reviews are coming in. maybe we can see more things from other perspectives. same question: where can i download the soundtracks? the songs are playing in my head everyday and i'm very desperate to listen to it.

thanks.
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A Lee
Member since Dec-12-01
Oct-27-03, 05:25 PM (Seoul Time)
     
11. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #10

   LAST EDITED ON Oct-27-03 AT 05:30 PM (Seoul Time)

Visit the official site:
http://www.twosisters.co.kr

Click "Multimedia" -> "OST"
There's 3 songs.
And, there's OST for sale.
It's not released even in Korea.

Another way:
mms://cdn.joycine.com/media/ost/1/1_02.wmv
mms://cdn.joycine.com/media/ost/1/1_04.wmv


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

joyce
Member since Oct-23-03
Oct-28-03, 10:48 PM (Seoul Time)
      
12. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #11

   hei
thanks for the website address. the official website is so cool!! the soundtracks are also very nice. i was playing it again and again on my computer.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
hwang
Member since Jun-3-03
Oct-30-03, 12:39 PM (Seoul Time)
     
13. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #12

   LAST EDITED ON Oct-30-03 AT 12:45 PM (Seoul Time)

hey everyone.
i just watched this movie. i'll forgo the questions and questions within questions-- quite frankly, you guys made me more confused whereas before, i thought i had some basic coherent idea of what went on.

anyway, i just watched the movie, loved it. i thought it was going to be utter crap after the first 30 min but then the story does a complete 180 and suddenly it's an intriguing and stylish maze and it's much much more than what it seems.

good movie.  

i might get around to watching Memories of Murder soon.

--

ps: about the note. my korean is not that good, and i have a difficult time reading it casually penned on a paper, but the note is basically one by her father. i'm guessing it's by the father since he later comes back home.

basically it reads this:

soo mi ya,

i'm going out for a while
i'll be back in the afternoon.

((i couldn't read the last line))

--

hope that helps.

by the way, if anyone is interested,

http://kr.engdic.yahoo.com/searc ... %C8%C4&lang=kor

it's an online korean-english dictionary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TomG
Member since Aug-7-02
Oct-30-03, 12:53 PM (Seoul Time)
     
14. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #13

   My DVD came and I re-watched it last night too. There were some scenes I did not remember the rapid cuts near the end that basically explain everything that went on. Paying attention to them makes the movie much easier to understand....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mjcampagna
Member since Feb-4-03
Oct-30-03, 05:00 PM (Seoul Time)
   
15. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #0

   LAST EDITED ON Oct-30-03 AT 07:20 PM (Seoul Time)

I just watched the film yesterevening, and this is my go at it. Major spoilers ahead for those you have not seen it.
There are two things going on in the film.

1) Since the death of her mother and sister, Su-mi has been "sick". Specifically, she hallucinates and suffers from a split personality, her alternate self being that of her stepmother. Hallucinations include scenes with her sister as well as her stepmother, and she then assumes the identity of her stepmother at other times.

One key to making sense of this is knowing that Su-mi and her father are the only two inhabitants of the house. The actual stepmother doesn't make an appearance in the film until the end (Su-mi is in the room, stepmother comes in wearing a blue suit).

2) The house IS haunted. The ghost of Su-yeon still dwells within the house, and is the "little girl under the sink". Su-mi's aunt sees her because she is actually there, and is not a part of Su-mi's hallucination. As for the fit, I think we must assume that she suffers from a sort of seizure condition; that she has a seizure at that time could be coincidence or it could have been incited by the presence of the spirit. Hard to say, really, but I think that the grand purpose of the scene is to show that Su-yeon's spirit does, in fact, haunt the house and exists outside of Su-mi's mind.

Su-mi's father returns to the house because he believes that Su-mi is well enough to do so. But she gets worse, possibly due to Su-yeon's lingering spirit. Su-yeon is still in the house and is still bitter about her death. Su-mi is either insane of her own illness, or she is extra sensitive to Su-yeon's lingering anger and is further affected by it.

Why Su-mi's father doesn't get rid of the closet or anything else could be attributed to his being a bad father, as he says. Nor does he fully understand Su-mi's condition, as he continually asks her to tell him, and she never does. I don't think he understands her at all.

Answers are to be found in the final flashback of the film. The mother is mentally ill. The father begins to have an affair with her nurse. The mother dies. I need to watch it a second time before I figure out how. She might have committed suicide. But then I wonder why she's stuffed in a closet, and also it looked to me as if her hands were bound. Maybe she was murdered? I'm not sure yet. What we do see, however, is this:

Su-yeon finds her mother in the closet, which then falls and crushes her. The stepmother sees her pinned beneath the closet, but doesn't help her. An oblivious Su-mi and the stepmother have an argument in the hall, in which the stepmother tells her, "You may regret this moment someday." Su-mi leaves the house, and her sister dies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kevin
Member since Jul-23-02
Oct-30-03, 05:25 PM (Seoul Time)
   
16. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #15

   Amazing how vastly different the interpretations run here. Has anyone watched the deleted scenes of listened to the commentary yet? Do they shed any light?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
wuken
Member since Oct-16-02
Oct-30-03, 06:37 PM (Seoul Time)
     
17. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #16

   I'm curious about that too, most especially the psychiatrist's viewpoint.
I agree with a lot of what has been said so far, about Su-mi roleplaying her stepmom and hallucinating Su-yeon (who I also believe exists physically as an angry ghost within the house). While watching the film a second time I got the impression that Su-mi doesn't want to remember the accident because she feels incredibly guilty about not hearing Su-yeon's cries for help in time, but can't shake the memory out of her head no matter what she does, which includes creating the stepmother personality as a means to shield herself from blame. Hallucinating Su-yeon and acting like the accident never happened is helping her cope, but the hairpin, Su-yeon's cuts on her arms, her father reminding her that Su-yeon is dead, long looks at Su-yeon's room, the closet, and many things the audience sees in the house all accumulate to destroy her coping mechanisms until eventually she can't hold her fantasy together and we begin to see it shatter (shown while she is searching for scissors, two very quick flashes of her doing the things we saw the stepmom do earlier). Finally, when the real stepmom arrives, it all falls apart.

The first time I watched this film I was genuinely scared, a bit confused, and awed by the clever twists in the narrative. The second time, armed with the knowledge about what is really going on, the film feels like a different beast altogether, and evolves into a very sad story about a girl who misses her sister dearly and is trying to deal in any way possible with the fact that she is gone forever.

I love this movie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kevin
Member since Jul-23-02
Oct-30-03, 07:34 PM (Seoul Time)
   
18. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #17

   I love this movie.
The first time I watched it, I was tempted to fault the director with failing to make the story clear. I appreciate having to work at the story, but with all the vastly different interpretations here on the board (we can't even agree if it's a ghost story or not!), something is not being communicated.
But only "tempted." All in all, I have to agree with you: I love this movie too. Trying to figure it out and discussing our different ideas is at least half the fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mjcampagna
Member since Feb-4-03
Oct-30-03, 11:33 PM (Seoul Time)
   
19. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #18

   I also love this movie, and I've been looking forward to seeing it for a very long time. I spent the summer in America, and A Tale Of Two Sisters was at the top of my list of things to see when I got back to Korea. As soon as I found out the DVD had been released, I ran out to buy it. Immediately after watching it, I too was ready to fault the director for leaving things so unclear, but the more I think about it, the more I like the movie. I'm looking forward to watching it again.
And I like that we can't even agree on whether it's a gost story. It's one of the things that I love about Asian horror films, so far, based on the few that I've seen. Most American horror is very cookie-cutter, scary and cheesey. But films like this, that arouse terror, while simultaneously telling a very touching tale . . . this, I like.

Memento Mori, a film which I will love eternally, pressed the same sort of buttons. It wasn't terrifying, but creepy in places, and all of the horror was weaved around a very sad and touching love story.

I've just today watched Wishing Stairs, but I intend to address that in a separate message.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
cria
Member since Nov-1-03
Nov-02-03, 01:41 AM (Seoul Time)
     
20. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #19

   LAST EDITED ON Nov-02-03 AT 02:11 AM (Seoul Time)

According to the director's audio commentary track on the DVD, the diaries and same clothes represent a repetition. That means it's not the first nightmare of Su-mi.
Yes, The house IS haunted. In an extended scene, you can actually see Su-yeon's face. There is some hints of possession too. But director thought it was too obvious. BTW, the green dress is Su-yeon's. It was in her closet and there is a photo of her in it too.

There is an explanation of the hair clip. In a deleted scene, Stepmother really beat Su-yeon in their kitchen. Su-yeon lost her hair clip at that moment. Of course director thought it was too obvious too. ^^;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q
Member since Apr-16-02
Nov-02-03, 11:43 PM (Seoul Time)
   
21. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #20

   LAST EDITED ON Nov-02-03 AT 11:44 PM (Seoul Time)

* A Tale of Two Spoilers *
My my, this movie is generating a lot of interest. I actually think Kim Ji-woon was overambitious in the last 20 minutes of the film. He should have stuck with his focus on Su-mi. The film became weak when the focus shifted to the stepmother and when the screenplay contorted itself to somehow make the stepmother "share the guilt" with Su-mi (Kim Ji-woon's own explanation in the commentary). Whereas I think it would have been far sadder and more devastating if Su-mi was the only one who bore the guilt... the movie would have been a true masterpiece if it clocked at one hour forty minutes instead of one-hour fifty-seven, with some trimmings.

Brilliant acting. Stunning cinematography and music score.

Most importantly, this is the most beautiful Korean film I have seen since... ONE FINE SPRING DAY?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dk_Schneider
Member since Oct-16-03
Nov-03-03, 05:32 AM (Seoul Time)
     
22. "RE: A tale of two sisters"
In response to message #0

   Our local Korean Association just screened this movie on Halloween night - perfect timing!
I have to say, this is one of the best horror films I've seen in a while. Seeing it in a theatre with a large crowd makes all the difference in the world!

I'm really thankful for this thread, as it's answered a number of questions I've had, but leaves a couple unanswered.

First, did the mom commit suicide? Or was she murdered? If she committed suicide, how did she end up all bound up in the closet? And the bonds were not taught. The body started falling out of the closet before the bonds stopped the body, implying that hanging/self-strangulation was not the cause of death. Also, a friend mentioned that a bottle of pills fell out of the closet too (I can't remember), so maybe she overdosed on pills?

Second, Su-mi's first nightmare. Where she thinks that Su-yeon is bed with her, and then someone seems to be crawling on the floor. The person is dressed in black, with really messy hair. Who is this person? Possibly the mother? And what was the significance of seeing the hand/arm come down the leg of this person?


Other than being really confused, this was a great movie. I love movies that really make you think. I just bought it off of Yeon's DVD shop too! But, any thoughts on the above questions would be appreciated!

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2005-8-8 at 11:29 ]

阿韩

相关链接——:
韩片《蔷花红莲》（《鬼魅》/《姐魅情深》）专集

台湾版DVD一向作得非常棒!菜单虽然不如韩国版有意境~收录的花絮也没有韩国版多,但也够分量。不像香港版的，竟然是零花絮，而且菜单真是单调得可以，主菜单是静态的，简直是零菜单em22。
至于国内的D版，虽是韩国原版的翻版，不知为何花絮却不肯盗足，飞马的D9也只收了一条花絮，少得可怜，不过这条花絮倒是台湾版没收录的，正好互补。这次的D5属丽晶的翻译最好，飞马翻得粉糟糕~
可惜的是台湾版也没收预告MV和OST，此片的配乐真是经典。韩国影迷又有耳福了，听说最近音乐人李秉宇要发专集，《蔷花，红莲》这三首配乐也会收录进去。曾看过《蔷花，红莲》的一次Fan meeting，他在台上吉他独奏那首插曲<难以回头的路>，真的好好听喔这曲子无论是吉他、钢琴还是小提琴版的都粉有味道的说！！
李秉宇也是《丑闻》的音乐制作人，很优秀的作曲人。
==============================

鬼魅  
文/黃適真  
一棟幾乎遺世獨立的陰暗大宅，告訴我們一個關於人
倫、懊悔、幻想的故事。你可以說，一切都是想像，
也可以說，一切都是真的。
兩個美貌的青春姊妹，從外頭陽光處一踏入屋內，立
刻就帶來一股壓迫、厚重得化不開的陰鬱氣息。古怪
的後母、沈默寡言的父親、內部極紅、極綠，華豔凝
重的色彩布置，在後母與姊姊第一次在餐桌上的爭執
之後，「三更」導演之一的金知雲，便帶領我們正式
進入了一個與自己想像力與視覺驚悚相容相鬥的世界。
姊姊見到的女鬼、客人發現水槽下躲著的小女孩、禁
忌的衣櫥，似乎宣告著鬼怪之說就是本片的題旨；然
而姊妹情深的感人描寫、後母與姊姊爭寵、後母將父
親奪走的片段，卻又轉移著觀眾注意的焦點，指揮著
我們的想像力。當我們一步一步小心翼翼地伴隨著孤
軍作戰的姊姊，等待著導演抽絲剝繭，並且讓正義得
以伸張、鬼物之怨得以平息，沒想到在前方的是急轉
直下的情節安排，讓觀眾除了愕然還是愕然。也讓我
的觀影情緒，直到影片結束，還是感到那樣的不真切。  

「鬼魅」發行DVD是件好事。解答了我在戲院觀看時
的疑惑，並且還邀請導演講述拍片動機以及特效人員
講解CG製作。而一般碟片收錄的遺珠片段於我而言，
許多時候是導演一時間的敝帚自珍，然而，本片的遺
珠片段卻是劇情發展的補充與諸多解答。精神科醫師
的評論，讓本片除了可信度之外，也多了那麼一些學
術理論深度─就算是不懂佛洛伊德、精神現象學與易
雍的心理學。飽和的色彩與DTS音效，讓本碟片有幾
分大氣。推薦給喜愛驚悚片的朋友─特別是已經在戲
院觀看過本片的朋友。
==================================


以下台湾版花絮截图感谢感Scott大大的分享
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-9iae9SFE7o.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-HBbLqt2KKR.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-p$FH!ZVFar.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-GAqzfR$9$l.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-wtAEPk7Qwt.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-7B2p1a1gQg.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-Ia3F!rCRhq.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-KNkZML4Ngq.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-M2oSzA!7wj.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-5HkR!gRq3O.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-Vt8Nl6o5c4.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-ermcQ5vMae.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-IF53PLMOiQ.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-KeAfkgVhnF.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-oAkdiGLMB7.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-eLBOEAO1sA.jpg
http://photo.gznet.com/photos/1285269/1285269-!AIHwv6fk3.jpg

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-7-9 at 02:54 AM ]

阿韩

香港版做得粉失败！！没有花絮，菜单乏味！
http://myhome.hanafos.com/~yuril1/hk.jpg
http://myhome.hanafos.com/~yuril1/hk7.jpg
http://myhome.hanafos.com/~yuril1/hk9.jpg
http://myhome.hanafos.com/~yuril1/hk8.jpg


上排的是香港版，底下的是韩国导演版：
http://myhome.hanafos.com/~yuril1/hk3.jpg

阿韩

[mid]mms://cdn.joycine.com/media/ost/1/1_02.wmv[/mid]

[mid]mms://cdn.joycine.com/media/ost/1/1_04.wmv[/mid]

这就是偶前面所说的插曲<难以回头的路>，吉他乐谱。
会弹的去试一试，真的很好听的！！！
点击看大图：
http://myhome.hanafos.com/~nginjun/gt01.gif
http://myhome.hanafos.com/~nginjun/gt02.gif
http://myhome.hanafos.com/~nginjun/gt03.gif
http://myhome.hanafos.com/~nginjun/gt04.gif



================================



这个是钢琴乐谱：
点击看大图
http://blogfiles.naver.net/data1 ... 8%AB%B7%C31-253.jpg
http://blogfiles.naver.net/data1 ... %AB%B7%C32-9929.jpg
http://blogfiles.naver.net/data2 ... %AB%B7%C33-8905.jpg

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2005-1-10 at 01:44 AM ]