Director: Kim Ji-woon
I remember first watching this film late one summer night, in the basement of the house of the woman I was living with. Was it back in 2007...? No, I think it was the summer of '06. Well, my sleep deprived brain (it was well past midnight) was absolutely befuddled by this film, at times seeming to get it fully only to realize that no, that part didn't make sense.
Watching it again, I realize how unsensical it managed to appear to me. I can also see more reasons to be confused, but I'll try my best to comprehend it all.
Based off of a Korean fairy tale, Su-mi, the older of two sisters, has taken on a motherly role to Su-yeon, her younger sibling. While Su-mi seems to be utterly bitter and tired of the world, only striving to be there for her sister, Su-yeon is the innocent breath of niave light in her life. The two are practically joined at the hip.
They live in an isolated, gorgeous area with their father, an aging man who is almost clueless and helpless in the matters of his daughters, and stepmother, who takes on the stereotypical wicked role in a prim, proper manner. Su-mi shows indifference to her father, and utter cold contempt to her step-mother, who Su-mi feels has snuck in and stolen her late mother's role.
As the movie progresses, Su-yeon exhibits signs of physical abuse, and Su-mi shows anger management issues (coping problems, perhaps?). Su-mi automatically places the blame on her stepmother.
Even more progression into the movie shows the start of seemingly paranormal events occuring. From weird, long-haired ghost/hallucination girls that bleed period all of you to people hiding beneath the sink, this movie's got it. Admittedly, I fail to see the reasoning behind the latter spooky encounter...hrmph (of course, in the wee hours of the morning, this didn't make much of a difference to a then-easily spooked me, now did it?). I can only assume that these supernatural events are triggered by the stress and anxieties in the house.
Very subtle hints are carefully littered throughout the film to give clues as to why the movie opened with Su-mi seeing a shrink, seemingly mute and numb to the world. Only at the end is it revealed exactly why she was thrown there, and even then, it's relatively subtle.
Now, as to why I'm confused ... well, it would spoil the movie thoroughly. I don't think I'll manage to comprehend it properly for a while. I theorize that maybe she suffers from some MPD? Hmm. I'm not quite sure. It does cover some of the reasoning, but she could also be suffering from hallucinations (which means that another one in here is also suffering from them, and that only one person is the sane one). Disassociative personality disorder? Hmm. *ponders* No, wait, I get it now. Phew. Now, if only I could get the proper term (it sounds like WebMD time)!
... now, for me to do my obligatory spheal:
So, remember kiddies: the moral of this story is to stay away from closets! And, y'know, to educate your family on investigating a huge bang noise and not just stare like idiots, too. Oh, the ultimate irony at the end ...
Ahknee/Kitteen's rating: 
on 12 December 2008