【三言两语】★《女高怪谈2：交换日记》★集中讨论帖

阿韩

                               
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注：以下为译文，水平有限，仅供参考。原文在下贴第六楼和第七楼：
http://www.krdrama.com/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=66556

作者：FergusSKOng
在墨尔本国际电影节上，《Memento Mori》我看了两遍------一部很
出色的电影我觉得。我对这部电影的最初印象是感觉很像《Virgin
suicides meets Carrie》，而且我敢断言这部电影非常成功的做到
了在浪漫和恐怖的类型之间穿梭。我没有看过第一部的《女高怪谈》，
但我猜它大概纯粹只是恐怖片而已。

由于是跨类型片，《Memento Mori》在死者（若仙）重返校园
的恐怖主旋律下，增添了一种悲伤和阴柔相融合的奇异氛围。但若
仙横尸操场和灵魂萦绕校园的可怖画面又有力的渲染了影片的恐怖
气氛。我真的非常喜欢这里面的爱情故事，但我觉得还是应该把它
看成一部有关青春期爱情的恐怖片。

在那次电影节上，我被特许跟其中一位导演Min Kyu-Dong谈话。
他说这部电影被认为是反映处于青春期的孩子的恐惧心理 ，这点
我觉得他和另一位导演做得非常到位。学校女生的那几幕戏也非常
有实感,有些部分还很幽默，但恐怖中的幽默成分毕竟是微不足道的，
事情很快就发生了转变……

必须先来称赞一下电影道具的设计。我特别喜欢片尾的那台钢琴。
至于那本日记，虽然我认为它真的是非常棒了，但事实上导演
Min Kyu-Dong却说他们调查了大量韩国女生的日记本，许多都比
为电影设计的这本精巧细致得多。这只是偷窥的一角。

还有就是电影的拍摄手法也值得称道。影片中有一大部分拍摄都突
出白色、黑色、深绿色，这就非常有效的渲染了诗韵和若仙学校生
活的空虚落寞。但也正是因为这样，两个女生在阳光满泻的屋顶上
的美丽画面才会如此吸引我。当你在影片开头看到这个时——她们
一左一右漫步于屋顶，耍弄着手中的短袜，还有所有的一切——都让
你感觉到这是洋溢着爱的温馨画面。但当你在片尾看到这相同的场景
时，它又变成了让人留恋回味的怀旧画面。

最后，我还要表扬一下三位女主角的演技。金敏善的确就像明雅一
样的可爱。朴艺珍对这个活着和死去的女孩都演绎得很好。李英真
在表演和故事发展方面也都有目共睹的把握了整部电影。

我真的非常喜欢《Memento Mori》。到目前为止它是我今年最
喜欢的三部电影之一。它并没有什么过人之处，没有像其他电影那
样有着让人产生视觉刺激的异想天开的画面，也没有什么复杂的剧
情或者深刻的哲理。事实上，除了我上面所说的原因外，我也不知
自己为何如此喜欢它。但我就是喜欢它。如果让我再看一遍这部电
影，我愿意——90%的可能性。
*********************************************
作者:mpm74
不用花太长时间你就会了解到《Memento Mori》是部很美的电影。它
的美来自各个方面：卓越的摄影技巧（Slamdance电影节上的最佳摄影
奖）、杰出的导演，还有最重要的是三位女主角对这部电影的贡献。赋予
这部电影生命的大部分人（包括导演Min Kyu-Dong和Kim Tae-Yong，
还有三位女主角）都是初出茅庐的新手——这简直难以置信，因为他们对
《Memento Mori》的创作和演绎使这部电影堪称杰作。

伴随着影片开头的咒语起伏，我们就被暗示了在这99分钟电影里的某个时
间某个地点，一件毁灭性的事情将会发生。我们无法忽略片头所听到的那
些咒语：
第一天，一个女孩因脑浆干枯而死，或许她曾记得真相。
第二天，一个女孩因双腿被砍而死，或许她曾靠近真相。
第三天，一个女孩因双耳被割而死，或许她曾听到了真相。
第四天，一个女孩因双眼被挖而死，或许她曾听说了真相。
第五天，一个女孩因舌头被抽拉而死，或许她曾说出了真相。
第六天，一个女孩因双手被劈而死，或许她曾写下了真相。
第七天，一个女孩即将死去，或许……

《Memento Mori》（在拉丁文中是“牢记死者”的意思）大概发生在一
所女子学校里，好像是所私立学校（电影在中并没有提到年级和相关信息，
但这些女生看起来都是17、18岁的年龄）。

影片一开始，我们就被介绍给了明雅——在金敏善的非凡演绎下的一个好
奇的女生。有一天在去学校水池的路上明雅发现了一本被遗失的本子，她
毫不犹豫的捡起这本手工做的本子，随便翻了几页后突然看到这么一句话：
“初吻，犹如苹果的香味……”。明雅相信这本本子决不仅仅只是一本
“本子”，于是她带上它走向教室。

她很快发现了这本本子实际上是本日记——不是别人的，正是若仙和诗
韵（朴艺珍和李英真饰演）的日记。关于幻想、诗歌、爱情的感情浓烈的
言辞和那一张张手工精美的纸片，让这本日记显得非常有趣。就因为这样，
明雅对它爱不释手。她瞒着所有人包括它真正的主人收起了这本日记。明雅
现在以一个不同的角度来观察若仙和诗韵，在看日记的过程中发现了她们之
间越来越多的秘密。

若仙和诗韵在同学眼中都是古怪的边缘人，这是电影一开始就让我们知道
的。她们常常受到嘲讽和玩弄，因为“两人世界”，也因为那些微弱的暗
示——她们之间关系不仅仅是朋友，而且还是爱人。

有一次，同学们一起用喝完的空牛奶盒丢向若仙的脸——没有任何理由。
两个女生如果同时出现在教室或者走廊也会招来同学们厌恶的目光。

随着时间的流逝，明雅越来越沉迷于那本日记和它的主人。为了能更加了
解若仙和诗韵，她还偷窥了她们在屋顶的秘密约会。很快的，这一切成了
能让明雅觉得满足的乐趣所在。

悲剧降临后，事情的发展便越发吸引人了。此时观众会震惊不已，头脑中
会没完没了的浮现出许多问号：“是这样的吗？不，还是那样的？……”载
着满脑子疑问，我们只能希望下一分钟自己将会明白到底为何会发生那样的
事。我们也开始意识到这部电影可能需要2至3遍的反复查看和品味才能理解
片头几段倒叙间的微妙联系。

《Memento Mori》我现在已经是看了三遍了。老实说，在目的和动机方面
我还是不怎么明白。头脑中仅存的一些东西是：超自然现象、爱的占有和渴望。
无论如何，这部电影将让你满意的以一种抽丝剥茧的方式去思考问题。

影片中的女同志内容是备受争议的，许多戏份和情节都遭到删剪，留下的只
有若仙和诗韵同性接触的几抹淡淡的痕迹。然而，这部电影真的是太美太吸
引人了，以至于即使知道戏中有同志之恋的场面也显得无关紧要了。

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-12-6 at 11:46 PM ]

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2005-10-1 at 10:03 ]

阿韩

[这个贴子最后由阿韩在 2003/06/14 11:15pm 第 3 次编辑]

就是下面几张(若看不到图可多刷新几下)~~~没记错的话偶们看的版本里并没有这些情节~~可见是被cut的~

先看这张：

                               
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偶记得剧中明雅和若仙并没有正面接触。这似乎可以解答偶后面的一个疑问：那本日记在明雅昏倒的时候若仙不是拿走了吗？怎么剧末大礼堂里又跑到明雅手中？~~~~偶想就是在图中的这个时候若仙又交给了她。

再看这张：

                               
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偶想还有许多像这样细腻的亲密镜头都被砍了吧~
但不知是在韩国砍的还是来中国才砍的~
不过关于她们相处的镜头偶还是最喜欢屋顶的那几段~纯纯的感觉~

                               
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上面这张显然是她们拍大头贴的戏~~~居然连这个也砍~~太过分了~

还有一张是偶贴在上一帖中的~~明雅帮诗韵擦汗的镜头~~偶也没看到。可见她们之间
有发生了什么事，所以才有一场戏是明雅和先前的死党吵架。

偶还有个疑问~~偶以前贴的那个台湾人的影评里有这么一段：“但情感內斂的芝恩早已
喜歡上別人，並且開始另一本交換日記的書寫”~~~~这是什么意思啊？是这个作者自己看错理解错咧？还是偶们又错过了一些镜头？？
http://61.139.44.68/discuz!/view ... B%B0%A2%BA%AB%2B%2B

还有很多地方明显有被砍的痕迹，因为一些情节的转接感觉有点突兀，好象中间少了些什么。虽然被砍了这么多，但只要不深究下去，整体上感觉仍然是部很美的电影！！

PS：偶粉喜欢下面两幅图的感觉，也粉喜欢那片让偶遐想无限的屋顶！
    不知是在哪所女高拍的，有机会真想去看看这个屋顶。
    这所学校也很美，建筑古朴神圣，应该是所历史悠久的基督教学校。
   

                               
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[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2003-7-3 at 10:38 PM ]

月夜河

是的~~~
真的是一部很特別的片子,不像恐怖片...
是一種很曖昧的情緒在片子裡面到處遊蕩...
[交換日記]其實比較點題,女孩們的心思全被紀錄在那本交換日記裡...
女孩和女孩相戀.相知...或許或許會比異性戀更多了一份細緻.透明的美!!
這些台詞也讓我想起一些殘酷的童謠詩...
誰殺死了知更鳥啊???
第一天，一个女孩因脑浆干枯而死，或许她曾记得真相。
第二天，一个女孩因双腿被砍而死，或许她曾靠近真相。
第三天，一个女孩因双耳被割而死，或许她曾听到了真相。
第四天，一个女孩因双眼被挖而死，或许她曾听说了真相。
第五天，一个女孩因舌头被抽拉而死，或许她曾说出了真相。
第六天，一个女孩因双手被劈而死，或许她曾写下了真相。
第七天，一个女孩即将死去，或许……
這好像是我看過的第4部韓國電影...
雖然其中也些許瑕疵,但也有許多讓我驚艷之處..海報也好看!!
一年前看的片子吧!!
謝謝阿韓熱心翻譯,讓我重新回味一次...^^

[这个贴子最后由rebornangel在 2003/06/17 01:34pm 第 2 次编辑]

牺牲了半瓶眼药水这才啃完~~~~~辛苦！~~~~~~~（恨不得把天下文字都改为汉字！`）
还要赞赞今天的大功臣——阿韩，多谢你的肥礼啦！！不过先说“偶英文一向粉烂”，而后突然砸出一篇无论文字语法都超娴熟优美的译文（偶一干人顿感矮了半截~~~~`），这就分明是在羞辱咱们嘛，该打！
几篇英文评论都相当不错。特别是第一篇，作者认为虽然他很喜欢这个爱情故事，但仍会把它看作反映青春期情感的恐怖片（既不是纯粹的恐怖片，也非纯粹地描写爱情），以及提到对那台钢琴的偏爱，还有the two girls on the roof during sunset 的那个场景，第一次看到时，是那么地温馨美好，而when you see it at the end of the film, it becomes a nostalgic scene.———这些竟然都与我的想法不谋而合，看来东西方文化，特别是青年学生的思想还是有许多共通之处的。
另外，关于片子的疑问还是有很多，比如明雅、书韵、若仙是否同班，如果是，为何片商的介绍又说书韵和若仙是明雅的学姐，而且仔细看片中的细节不难发现，书韵与若仙也有不在同一个班上课的时候；还有关于片头那段反复吟咏的咒语，与若仙的死和学校死七人即封校的规定之间到底有何联系？  现在最希望的是看到cut down前的原片，如果加上被cut掉的部分，也许能为我们对片子的理解提供帮助，而现在只有将问题封存在此处，等待某位高手某天能点破玄机了。
阿韩，你的关于那个台湾人的评论的疑问，我想是这样的。这篇影评的作者认为若仙死后，书韵已将感情对象转向了明雅，她最后登上天台前说的那句“我们可以重头写起”实际上是对明雅发出的感情信号。但我并不同意这个理解——-先前明雅在混乱中产生的幻觉其实就是若仙的感觉，她所见所想即是若仙所见所想，也就是“幽魂附体”，而书韵与明雅的最后一次对话也是借助了若仙与书韵之间的“传心术”才完成的，所以那句“我们可以重头写起”实际上是书韵对若仙说的话，也正因为如此，我才一直怀疑书韵最后走上天台是选择了自杀，这样也正应了影片前面若仙曾说“假如我们有人先死，先死的会在两天内来接走另一个。”不过还好导演并未让观众知道最后结果如何，究竟怎样，留给你去想象。

阿韩

下面引用由rebornangel在 2003/06/15 06:15pm 发表的内容：
牺牲了半瓶眼药水这才啃完~~~~~辛苦！~~~~~~~（恨不得把天下文字都改为汉字！`）
还要赞赞今天的大功臣——阿韩，多谢你的肥礼啦！！不过先说“偶英文一向粉烂”，而后突然砸出一篇无论文字语法都超娴熟优美的译 ...

比你更惨些哦，偶没有眼药水，眼睛可是大遭殃了。看得粉辛苦，翻译起来更痛苦了，rebornangel居然还说什么“羞辱”的，真是冤枉偶啦~~~~偶的英文真的是粉烂嘛~~~书到用时方恨少，偶这回可是深刻体验到了。如果平时多学点英文的话，就不用像偶这样一边看屏幕一边还要压着文曲星那么累啦！
Rebornangel，原本偶对这个结尾挺迷惑的，看了你的解读后，终于脑袋开窍啦！看来片中许多小细节都是暗藏玄机的，偶没你看得仔细，有时间偶一定要再好好复习几遍。同意你的看法，偶也觉得诗韵最后是选择了自杀，这样才能与你说的那几处细节相吻合。或许，结尾处那个倾身一坠的体验，就是诗韵和若仙共同的感觉吧！我也很喜欢导演对结尾的处理，他没有说破，给偶们留下一个想象和回味的空间。
看来那个台湾人真的是理解错了啊~~~~呵呵，还是rebornangel厉害咧！谢谢答疑！
关于她们三人的班级问题，偶觉得是导演的小小失误。若仙在课堂上读诗的时候，我确定她和诗韵是同一班的。可送牛奶的那场戏又说明她们不是同班同学。还有明雅，电影开头那几场戏看得出她和诗韵是同班的，但为何她对诗韵和若仙的关系却全然不知，还要通过日记才知道以前她们在班里发生的事情，甚至还要向那两个朋友打探诗韵和若仙之间的事，~~~莫非她是转校生？至于那两个朋友，有时是跟明雅同班，有时又好象是跟若仙同班。可能是因为有两个导演，所以两人的做法和拍戏的思路产生错位吧，而且两人都是第一次执导，这种小错误还是值得原谅的。其实也都是些不痛不痒的问题，不仔细看可能还发现不了呢。
片中曾经两次出现的那只红雀偶也觉得难以理解。第一次出现得太突然了~~吓偶一跳，感觉好象是前面有戏被砍了。第二出现时它已死在洗手间。这两段细节有什么涵义吗？这只红雀到底代表了什么？还是导演纯粹只想制造些诡异气氛吗？如果是这样偶觉得没有必要。
不管怎样，瑕不掩瑜！这部电影还是有很多出众之处的，真的是蛮特别的片子，不同与以往的韩片。是偶目前最喜欢的几部韩片之一。

阿韩

注：因为要做主题整理，先把这些英文评论放到一起来方便以后做链接

MEMENTO MORI (1999)

"...a teenage girls' horror flick that has to rank as the most inventive and eerily beautiful film of the year." - Darcy Paquet

There is no subject matter more potentially salacious than lesbian schoolgirls, and if this was an American film we could expect the softcore "I gotta be me" psuedo-porn that features prominently in such syrupy Lifetime Lite fare as THE INCREDIBLY TRUE STORY OF TWO GIRLS IN LOVE or BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER. MEMENTO MORI provides an alternative to gentle sapphic murmurrings, with something dark, something tenebrous, something wet and scary. This is a gay love story with all the fear and horror, all the throat-scraping, skin-ripping screaming that accompanies adolescent love, be it queer or straight, left intact. Because this flick's onto something that Hollywood isn't: teenagers aren't scared of masked psychos wielding machetes, they're scared of being driven out of their caves and exposed to ridicule. They aren't scared the boogeyman will chop them up - they're terrified he'll read their diary. What's worse than being stabbed to death by Jason or Freddy? Showing up for school and no one will talk to you.

The first film by two male directors, MEMENTO MORI is, ostensibly, a sequel to the high school horror hit WHISPERING CORRIDORS, but with a totally new title, new directors, and a new cast (all first-time actors). The first gay film from Korea, the movie smuggled the love affair at its heart under the eyes of social censors by disguising it as a horror movie, and in the process it became a cult hit. A kaleidoscopic love tragedy things kick off when Min-Ah pilfers the baroque joint diary of two of her classmates who are falling in love. Fascinated, and horrified, she can't tear her eyes away from the literally page-turning high drama of these girls' lives. To her, all the clubs and activities, classes and coursework, look like window dressing next to the high-blown passions of this couple



Beautiful, backstabbing monsters, these girls in uniform flash their claws, fall in love, and rip out each others' hair by the roots. Sort of like all the friends you ever had in high school. And here, high school isn't the source of dreamy, golden memories but a hothouse pressure cooker where sweaty young things are sprayed down, stuffed into uniforms, and subjected to endless athletics and clubs in a vain attempt to siphon off their sexual energy somewhere, anywhere, just so it doesn't grow into an appetite for the girl sitting next to you. Love and resentment flow forth in alarming quantities, and a kiss that stops the world is followed up by the iciest rejections and most hideous insults. If you were ever in love in high school it'll be a familiar feeling. Like driving a car off a cliff, you just aim, press the accelerator, and hold on. It's not a question of "if" you'll hit the bottom, but whether or not you'll survive the impact.

Love and hate this strong doesn't stop with death, and as time twists itself up into knots and past and present lose their meaning, so does living and dead and old ghosts come back to settle scores and take back what is owed to them. Deny them a kiss while living, and they'll insist on it after they're dead. Scored with some of the most head-splittingly surreal imagery ever put onscreen, this movie is like falling down the rabbit hole. Coded, veiled, told in frightened, fascinated whispers, MEMENTO MORI is a movie for anyone who was ever so in love that they thought breaking up would mean dying. It's a remembrance of a time in all our lives when there was nothing more entrancing than another person, and we walked a thin emotional rope, where one misstep would strip us out of our shell and expose us to the jeers and ridicule of all the frightened, terrified people around us. Like reading a stolen diary it's a movie that's passionate, outrageously sincere, horrifying, embarrassing, and beautifully strange.


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Awards: Winner, Best Cinematography, Slamdance Film Festival  

Production Notes

The main interest of the filmmakers in MEMENTO MORI is the unique sensibility of a 17 year-old who is coming-of-age. The filmmakers' quest to grasp the world of these teenagers sent them off on a field study, seeking out the popular hang-outs, participating in class with students, interviewing them. The filmmakers also read numerous case studies on teenage suicides, and collected various shared diaries to understand the dynamics behind such behavior.

MEMENTO MORI is based on this intensive research focusing on a teenage girl's irresistable sensibility suppressed and hidden beneath the highhanded system of the school institutions. As the small pleasures and pains are unraveled from each page of a shared-diary, the tension that lurks around the experience of girls' high school disguises itself as the horrific. Accordingly, this film tells the tale of what it is to be a student in the high school in Korea, of being 17 year old woman in a man-oriented society and of what it is to fall in love and to experience coming-of-age....  
http://www.subwaycinema.com/frames/archives/kfest2001/memento.htm

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-5-16 at 01:13 PM ]

阿韩

Memento Mori

December proved to be full of surprises: first the critical and popular success of Happy End, and then the showstopper: a teenage girls' horror flick that has to rank as the most inventive and eerily beautiful film of the year.

This so-called sequel to the 1998 film Whispering Corridors actually has very little in common with it, employing different directors, a different cast, and a completely different storyline, locale, and aesthetic. The screenplay borrows from the original work only the general notion of a student haunting a school, making for a film with a very different focus. It is directed and written by Kim Tae-yong and Min Kyu-dong, two men who collaborated on several short films and are now making their feature debut. For actors they use three teenage models who give intense, compelling performances in their first cinematic roles: Lee Young-jin, Park Eh-Jin, and Kim Min-sun.

Memento Mori （from Latin, translated as "remember that you must die"）revolves around three students at an all-girls' high school. When Min-ah finds a diary, she gains a glimpse into the relationship between two ostracized students named Hyo-shin and Shi-eun. As the film progresses we witness Hyo-shin's suicide and descend into a vortex of flashbacks, revelations, and supernatural vengeance. In the original screenplay the relationship between Hyo-shin and Shi-eun contained very strong lesbian overtones; some of this was toned down in the course of production and then several scenes were cut by the ratings board just before release in order to receive a 12+ rating. Nonetheless the nature of their relationship remains clear and central to the film.

This is not your typical horror movie. With its splintered narrative and hardly a drop of blood, the film lingers instead on the dynamics of the classroom and the intensity of its young heroines. The forces that govern the film seem to care very little about the ultimate fate of its characters, preferring instead to ruminate on the past. Eventually we realize that these filmed episodes at the high school do not make up a story; they are more of a memento. And for a film that so completely reinvents its genre, perhaps we can best learn what to expect from it by opening our dictionary:


memento.

(1) either of two prayers in the Canon of the Mass, one for the living and one for the dead, beginning "Memento;" (2) anything serving as a reminder or warning; (3) a souvenir.
http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm99.html#mori

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Memento Mori Soundtrack

review by Yun Mi-Jeong
February 05, 2000
Read: 306
Music composed and directed by Jo Seong-Wu
Produced by Cream Records / CKC-0086 / Showtime: 39'

"It heightens the class of Korean Music"

Released two summers ago, and tremendously popular, Whispering Corridor was not only popular in its freshness of genre, "horror" rarely found in Korea before, but it also was praised highly in terms of the level of its completeness. It evoked physical and psychological horror with no special effects or any organized script. Its effective story line and consistent performances by its actors were factors that deserved praise.

The soundtrack enhances the gruesome effects. Music mania complained seriously about the fact that there was no movie soundtrack release while key players in the movie assumed that the demand for such a soundtrack would not be high and did nothing.

Soundtrack of Whispering Corridor: Memento Mori was released
simultaneously with the first movie; however, it contains enough completeness to satisfy people who dislike sequels. The movie itself is set in a context of fresh composition and beauty of form horror together with eccentricity. The soundtrack itself is no less significant than the movie in terms of uniqueness.

This soundtrack released by Cream Records has a running time of about 40 minutes. But, the reason to pay attention is that this soundtrack relies on a score produced by 100% of the musicians of movie music and the scores interact very well with the horror movie in its diverse forms.

Jo Seong-Wu, the master of Korean movie music industry, takes the overall responsibility for the soundtrack. He takes charge of 8 tracks including the main theme out of 14 with the remaining six tracks done with characteristic scores by new composers like Kim Sang-Hyeon, Ju Hye-Jeong, Kim Dae-Heung, Kim Jun-Seok, Kim Yang-Hee, Park Gi-Hyeon. Critiques of some of the tracks follow:

Track 1 Main Theme 3:30 - Choi Sung-Woo

With the start of simple piano 3/4 beat, this melody plays while two girls take a rest on a roof top. In the beginning, it feels like the chamber music of Schubert or Mendelssohn along with a string performance but the atmosphere changes to the simple music of soundtrack of Omen by Geri Goldsmith as one code passes by. The previous melody, implies something is going to happen soon rather than giving an image of horror. The final music of incomplete sounds is considerably unique.

Track 2 Kyrie Eleyson 3:04 - Kim Sang-Hyun

It was a great surprise when it was found that a domestic composer produced this music. It seems that this music represents Catholic mass music using extremely powerful harmony of choirs and piano strings and delivers frustrating melody by counterpoint in the composed music. This is very textbook kind of music, which can be found by music students. The meaning of "Kyrie eleyson" is "May God save us" and the choir repeats the phrase throughout the piece.

Track 4 Memento Mori 2:09 - Jo Sung-Woo
The expression, "Remember the death..." was found in a diary in the movie and had a great impact on its story line. It proceeds slowly, together with a depressing harmony. The distinctiveness can be found in the female soprano and alto rather than in the male voice.

Track 5 Memorandum from 17th century 4:47 - Kim Dae-Hong

This track begins with a gloomy piano solo. Though it has a simple structure like the melody from the right hand and support from the left, the depressing melody is performed once again as the performance reaches a climax accompanied by stringed music instruments. In the latter half, the vague sound of Cindy and that of an oboe are heard with the likely form of the previous melody. It is my personal favorite.

Track 8 Eyes of Hyo-Shin 2:34 - Jo Sung-Woo

A constant, melodious harmony is performed consecutively and each musical instrument performs the same tones continuously. It is heard in the suicide scene and its effect is tremendous. A most memorable piece of music!

(translated by eCollege)
http://www.asiandb.com/browse/mo ... e=review&num=70

阿韩

Memento Mori

review by Jeong Yu-Jin
December 01, 1999
Read: 846
The sensational movie, Whispering Corridor: Memento Mori from the summer of 1998 had been entitled, An Acacia during filming to reflect a story about pure love and friendship between girls. However, there was no need to change anything in the sequel, because both of the success of the first and plot itself - much like an acacia. In fact, when two young directors, Kim Tae-Yong and Min Gyu-Dong, were chosen to make the movie, they were given no guidelines at all for the second story. They willingly accepted the conditions to come up with whatever story matched the title, so they filmed it with added inspiration. They had already dealt with the emotions of high school girls in their short film, The Seventeen, which focuses more on high school girls than on horror - exploring the roots of the restlessness and angst of adolescent girls. The "Exchanging Diary" among the students take a particularly important role in the main motive. One girl had committed suicide and the aftermath permeates the school. This death reminds us of the anxiety which will never be dealt with after adolescence. Consequently, love is the main theme in the sequel. The ghost's presence in the school resonates disappointment in love, yet is as pure and fragrant as an acacia.

阿韩

Memento mori
review by Derek Elley

Dubbed locally as "Whispering Corridors 2," due to its meld of sapphism and the
supernatural at a girls' high school, "Memento Moil" is in fact a very different kettle of fish from the surprise Korean hit of 1998. Less viscerally creepy and with no subtext on the stifling rigidity of the country's education system, this debut by two young writer-directors is an impressive blend of style and innovative structure that's let down by a ragged finale. Result looks likely to haunt the lest circuit during the coming months, especially in buff-oriented slots.

Helmers Kim Tae-yong and Min Kyu-dong, who previously collaborated on several shorts, have taken an established genre -- teenage femme sexuality and its destructive force -- and turned it on its head with a fresh approach. Through flashy use of whiplash visuals and digital sound, the movie mixes flashbacks with the present in a way that becomes clear only after a while, creating a female hormonal hothouse that makes for compulsive viewing most of the time.

Pic is largely shown through the eyes of the virginal Min-ah (Kim Min-seon),
who discovers an elaborate diary-cum-scrapbook that appears to chart an intense friendship between fellow classmates Shi-eun (Lee Yeong-jin) and the dour-faced Hyo-shin (Park Ye-jin). The 17-year-old pair also have some kind of telepathic relationship.

When Hyo-shin apparently commits suicide, it turns out hers is the sixth death
at the school, and one more death will cause the school to be closed. Min-ah
finally shows the diary to two classmates (Kim Min-heui, Kong Hyo-jin) and starts to investigate Hyo-shin's death. Gradually becoming spooked by Hyo-
shin's ghostly presence, she uncovers a tale of sexual jealousy that also
involves Hyo-shin's relationship with a male teacher, Goh (Paek Jonghak).

Helmers have gussied up a basically simple story of love and betrayal with an
off-center mix of handheld camerawork (for emotional moments) and highly worked visuals (for supernatural effect), creating a seamless suspension of disbelief that works well until they have to resolve the plot in the final act.

Last reels, with the pupils trapped in the school by the vengeful spirit of Hyo-
shin, seem hollow after the careful, atmospheric build-up.

Performances by the young cast are all good, with the hatchet-faced Park particularly memorable. Technically, the movie is top-drawer in all departments. Korean title simply means "Girls' High Ghost Story."

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-5-15 at 04:43 PM ]

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review by FergusSKOng
Melbourne
Date: 23 September 2001
Summary: I don't know why I love it so much, but I do.


I have seen Memento Mori twice at the Melbourne International Film Festival and I think it's a very good film. My first impression of it was that it's quite like Virgin Suicides meets Carrie. And i maintain that it weaves between the romance and horror genres very effectively. I have not seen the original Yeogo Goedam but i assume it was more of a straight horror.


Because of it's genre crossing, Memento Mori adds to the horror theme of Hyo-shin's return a sadness and tenderness that coagulates very strangely, but effectively with the terror-filled images of Hyo-shin body on the ground, and her haunting of the school. I really like the love story, but i see it as a horror film about adolescent love.


I had the privilege to speak to one of the directors, Kyu-Dong Min at the festival, and he said the film was supposed to tap into the horror of being an adolescent. Which i think he and his co-director do very well. the school-girl scenes are all extremely realistic. Some parts are humorous but humour is placed so tightly in the middle of horror that things shift so quickly.


the production design must be commended. I particularly love the piano design at the end of the film. With the diary, however, (i know, it's really good), but Kyu-Dong Min actually mentioned that they researched heaps of teenage girls'diaries and many were much more elaborate than the one they made for the film. just a sneak.


The cinematography too, should gain praise. Most parts are shot with stark whites, blacks and deep greens and it's really effective in bringing out the emptiness of the school in the lives of Shi-eun and Hyo-shin. But it is also the photography of the two girls on the roof during sunset really got me. when you first see it, it's a love scene - they walk left and right, playing with socks and all. And when you see it at the end of the film, it becomes a nostalgic scene.


Lastly, i must praise the acting of all three leads. Kim Min Sun is really likeable as Min-ah. Park Yeh-jin showed great control as the living dead girl and Lee Young-Jin arguably holds the whole film's acting performances together, both in terms of performance and narrative.


I really like Memento Mori. So far, it's in my top 3 films of the year. It's not exceptional. It's not one of those films with fantastically rapturous visual imagery, complex structure, or profound philosophical narrative. In fact, i don't know why i like the film as much as i do - apart from what i've just mentioned above. but i do. if i could see it again, i would. 9 out of 10.

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-5-15 at 05:43 PM ]

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review by mpm74

It doesn't take long to realize that "Memento Mori" is a beautiful film. Beautiful in every aspect: it's brilliant cinematography (Winner, Best Cinematography, Slamdance Film Festival), distinguished direction, and above all, the who lesomeness of the film's three leading ladies: Lee Young-Jin, Park Yeh-Jin and Kim Min-Sun. It's hard to believe that most of the people responsible for bringing this film to life are all first-timers (directors Kim Tae-Yong & Min Kyu Dong and the film's leading trio), because what they have created in "Memento Mori" is very close to a masterpiece.


As the film's credits roll, we are hinted that something fatal will happen somewhere, sometime during the film's 99 minute duration. How can we ignore the words that are heard over the credits:


The first day, a girl dies with her head emptied out, perhaps she had remembered the truth...
The second day, a girl dies with her legs hacked off, perhaps she had stood near the truth...
The third day, a girl dies with her ears cut off, perhaps she had heard the
truth...
The fourth day, a girl dies with her eyes gouged out, perhaps she had seen the
truth...
The fifth day, a girl dies with her tongue pulled out, perhaps she had spoken
the truth...
The sixth day, a girl dies with her hands chopped off, perhaps she had written
the truth...
The seventh day, a girl is GOING to die, perhaps...


"Memento Mori" (which means "remember the dead" in Latin) mostly takes place in an all-female campus, which appears to be a private High School (no grades or info is suggested in the movie, but the students appear to be 17-18 years of age).


At the beginning of the film, we are introduced to Min-Ah, a curious student played remarkably by Kim Min-Sun. She comes across an abandoned book while taking a routine trip to the school's drinking fountain. Without hesitation, she picks up the nicely crafted book, flips through the pages and comes across a few words: "The first kiss, like the smell of apples...". Convinced that this book is more than just a "book", she keeps it and heads for class.


She immediately discovers that this book is actually a diary. A diary by not one, but two students named Hyo-Shin and Shi-Eun (played by Lee Young-Jin and Park Yeh-Jin ). What makes the diary interesting are it's intense words of obsession, poetry, love and handcrafted art pieces. From this point on, Min-Ah can't put the book down. She keeps the diary a secret from everyone including it's rightful owners. She now looks at Hyo-Shin and Shi-Eun from a different angle, discovering more and more about them as she reads their diary.


It is revealed early on in the film that Hyo-Shin and Shi-Eun are two students who are labeled as "outcasts" or "weirdos" to the rest of the school. They are often mocked and picked on due to their "in their own world" presence and slight hints that they are indeed more than friends -- but lovers. At one point, a few students throw empty milk cartons at Hyo-Shin's face for no reason at all. Both girls also get wicked stares as they make their appearance through classrooms and hallways.


As time goes on, Min-Ah becomes more and more immersed in the diary and it's authors. She begins to sneak on Hyo-Shin and Shi-Eun during their private meetings on the school rooftops hoping to get a better idea about them. For a short time, they become satisfying entertainment to her.


When tragedy strikes, things start to get even more interesting. From this point the viewer's minds will boggle. There will be endless "that's what happened... No, this is what happened..." statements being whipped around in our minds.As it flows, we can only hope that in the next minute we will figure out why certain events have happened. We also begin to realize that the movie may require 2nd or 3rd viewings to catch links in some of the short flashbacks at the beginning of the film.


I've seen "Memento Mori" three times now. To be perfectly honest, I still don't know what to make of it in terms of "point" and "reason". The few things that do come to mind are: supernatural, possession and the anxiety of love.Whatever it may be, this film will leave you thinking in a satisfied, disclosedkind of way.


There has been much controversy over the film's lesbian content. Much of the film has been toned down and cut, leaving only traces of sexual contact between Hyo-Shin and Shi-Eun. However, this film is way too interesting and beautiful to even notice that any point of lesbianism is present.

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-5-15 at 04:57 PM ]

阿韩

review by Adam Hartzell

I wrote a new review of this flick. I think I like this one better and, no need for a spoiler alert. I don't think any surprises are ruined by what I've written below.So, with that no further ado about nothing . . .


TUESDAYS WITH MOMENTO MORI


I don't like Horror films. I don't like being scared. My student loan debt is frightening enough, thank you. So although I had heard the buzz over the Korean film Momento Mori and I trusted the opinions of the buzzers, I was still skeptical.


I like being scared now.


Momento Mori, directed by MIN Kyu-Dong and KIM Tae-Yong, has helped me understand what can be powerful about Horror films. Suspense works well when it works off universal fears, fears placed in the everyday rather than the otherworld.


And where is fear more universal than in high school.


The obligatory 25 words: Student finds the diary shared by a lesbian couple and while paralleling through their journal, one member of the coupling suicides and scary shit happens. I could tell you more about the scenes where ghosts appear and the supernatural gets all freaky, but wouldn't that ruin it for you? Let's just say the scenes are indeed frightening in their telling of this tale. A nice touch is the claustrophobia induced by our never leaving the school's grounds.


However, it is the universal fear of ostracism within that most interests me.


Even before Columbine, high school was horror; the fear, ridicule. What's more mortifying to a growing boy than being asked to stand at the blackboard while another part of his sweatpants-covered body is already standing at attention against his will? We can hear the laughter surround him like a thousand thunderous slaps of closed textbooks. What's more horrifying to a growing girl than her friend making an unexpected visit during swim class? The laughter suffocates her like the waves within the pool as she wishes she had sat this one out with her friend's friends in the pool's bleachers. Our adolescent bodies are otherworldly spirits, entering our lives on their terms at the most inopportune times.


The fear of ostracism reaches its height in high school. And who's more ostracized than the child who does not fit into the hetereosexual scheme of things. The young lovers Shi-Eun (played by PARK Yeh-Jin) and Hyo-Shin (played by LEE Young-Jin) are subjected to constant glares and verbal lashes by their fellow students. The regular classroom physical exams, where breast size and height are town-criered to be duly noted within medical and social records, underscore the expectations of the hetero-orthodoxy. When Shi-Eun and Hyo-Shin publicly express their feelings for each other, it is their teacher who gives the sternest lesson in tauntology. Just as there is no escape from the school's grounds, there is no escape from the heterosexist grounding of society.


Minh-Ah, played spectacularly by KIM Min-Sun, entering Shi-Eun and Hyo-Shin's world first through their diary, goes beyond being their ally: she is a Hetero
Traitor. Refusing to prove her hetero-status by joining in on the alpha-femaling,she riot grrrls in the face of her friends, telling them she doesn't want to play in their reindeer games of excluding difference.


I left the theater thinking, 'I want to be Minh-Ah when I grow up.'


Momento Mori is a surprise. Such a progressive film with complex, non-stereotyped lesbian leads is not something my Western media prepares me to discover from the Korea they've conservatively cloaked. Too Bad. Too many Westerners are missing out on one more cinematic momento.

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-5-15 at 05:08 PM ]

阿韩

review by Simon

I've found Memento Mori to be one of those hauntingly beautiful movies that gets better each time I watch it. Beside from the gorgeous cinematography and soundtrack, a close viewing reveals a wealth of subtle background detail. (Spoiler alert: if you haven't seen it, you may want to stop reading now.)



For example, I'm fascinated by the character of the girl with the turtle, who sits by the window in Room 2-11. We first see her when Ji-won's fooling around with the camcorder and saying "there are so many weirdos in this class", and she always appears alone (except for her turtle) and kind of sad. She may not be a target for abuse the way Hyo-shin is, but in her own quiet way she's obviously a fellow outsider.



Maybe that's why she senses things the other girls don't: she's the only one to see Min-ah struggling when Hyo-shin's ghost touches her, and at the end when everyone else is running and screaming she stands still, looking up through the roof and perhaps seeing Hyo-shin herself. I think this sensitivity to what Hyo-shin went through is one of the themes of the movie - you also see it in Min-ah, like when she drops the empty drink-can out of the window to where Hyo-shin fell, and it's so obviously lacking in Yeon-ahn.



But the best part about turtle girl, which to be honest I missed until recently, is how she carries the birthday cake into the auditorium (at least, I'm 99% certain it's her). I think her facial expression in this scene is just perfect: she has the quiet, sad dignity of one who looks in from the outside and truly understands, and it's somehow so right that she should have this honour. I don't know much about Korean traditions, but I wonder if in another time this young woman would have had the makings of a shaman...



On a less mystical note, I was wondering if any Korean speakers could help clarify a few points that got lost in the subtitles:



1. Just before the teacher catches Ji-won filming him with Yeon-ahn's camcorder, he's writing on the board and saying "After the desperate scud, and the last sperm shouted: it isn't how you live, but how you die that counts!" At first I thought this had to be a mistranslation, but what's on the board does look kind of fitting, and later, when Hyo-shin barges into his class to give Shi-eun milk, he's pointing to what could almost be a diagram of the female reproductive tract. What on earth is this guy teaching them? Is he the biology teacher's answer to the Dead Poets Society?


2. In the scene where Hyo-shin cuts the piano wires, she says "If one of us diesbefore each other, promise to come for the other on a rainy day." Even correcting "before each other" to "before the other", the English is still ambiguous: is she saying the dead one should come for the living, or the other way around? The fact that the pills are supposed to help makes me wonder if they're poison, and that the living one is expected to take them to join the dead. Is the Korean any clearer on this?



3. Just before the end, when Shi-eun is alone in the gym, she says "Hyo-shin you're so terrible. Really terrible. I've never hated you before but now I'll hate you forever." I interpreted this to mean that Shi-eun hates Hyo-shin for committing suicide and leaving her alone to cope with the guilt and pain. After all, a common theme of teen suicide seems to be that it's done to hurt others ("wait until I'm dead, then you'll be sorry!"). However, someone on this board once translated Shi-eun's words as "Hyo-shin, you're so evil", which would change things quite a bit. Is this what the Korean actually says?



Gamsahamida！



P.S. Sorry this ended up so long... If you've read this far then I'm guessing you must be a big fan of the movie, so here's a recommendation for you: check out the 1994 New Zealand film Heavenly Creatures, directed by Peter Jackson (who went on to do an obscure trilogy about a magic ring) and starring Kate Winslet before she boarded the Titanic. It's based on a real event from the 1950s, about a relationship between two teenage girls that ended with the murder of one of their mothers - personally I think it taps into the same dark passion underlying Memento Mori...

[ Last edited by 阿韩 on 2004-5-15 at 05:15 PM ]

阿韩

Review by Wiltshire
I actually kind of enjoyed this film - I thought it was pretty brave and tackled some traditionally "awkward" issues such as lesbian relationships between schoolgirls very sensitively. The horror aspect of the story was pretty well lost under the romance/tragedy part though, unlike in Whispering Corridors, where it was more of a mystery-thriller type story throughout.


That said, it's well worth watching, though I seriously recommend you see Whispering Corridors first.