MovieChat Forums > Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003) Discussion > My confusion begs the question...

My confusion begs the question...

posted 7 years ago by thelazywolf_4
4 replies | jump to latest

This film is probably one of the most confusing films I've ever seen (and I usually enjoy confusing/complex movies). I loved the cinematography and music, and the acting was superb. I also think that it was genuinely frightening and the film, as a whole, is hauntingly beautiful. However, I had no idea what was going on half the time (especially during the last half hour or so). I won't even really be able to explain the plot to someone now, and I assume, when looking at most of the other boards and reviews, that I'm not alone in this...? This leads me to ask: Is this a good film? To what extent are the confusion, ambiguity, flashbacks/dream sequences useful narrative devices? Is the viewer supposed to be this perplexed, or is it the product of a failed attempt at creating a layered film?

I would love to hear someone's views on this, as this film will probably stay with me for a while to come. All in all, I enjoyed 'A Tale of Two Sisters'.

[–] Jameron 7 years ago

"Is this a good film?" - thelazywolf

Yes, in my opinion, A Tale of Two Sisters is an excellent film. Your confusion (and mine) on first viewing was not a mistake on the part of the director. This is a rare example of a film that doesn't hold your hand and tell you everything that is happening, or why. You are left to discover for yourself what you can, over multiple watches. What you gleaned the first time through will inform your second viewing and enhance scenes that were just "okay" and infuse them with new meaning and importance. If you were at all emotionally involved the first time, the second time through will be much more intense as you come to understand Su-Mi's tragic situation.

Don't read too many posts here (or elsewhere) you are just diluting the effect the film will have on you. You are rewarded more for discovering it all for yourself.

I hope I don't sound too pretentious.

.

- - - - - - - - - - -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3tGxnFKfE

http://tinyurl.com/LTROI-story

[–] sephiroth1-953-765008 7 years ago

I wish there would be more movies like this.

[–] kaleidoscope0_0 (479) 7 years ago

I loved this movie. It really scared me and I grew up watching horror. I think this is a movie that was made for discussion. Get people to talk about your art and your mission is accomplished.

[–] MovieMadness (116) 2 years ago

This film is a bit like Mulholland Dr. in that only repeat viewings would clarify the various strange occurrences. When Su-Mi walks alone in the woods and looks back seemingly for no reason, we only find out why later. When Su-Mi rescues Su-Yeon in the wardrobe and says sobbingly, "Sorry, I didn't hear you!", we find out later why not being able to hear her sister was such a source of sadness for her. When Su-Mi sees a female ghost with a crooked neck, we know later why that is.

Mulholland Dr. also does this kind of things. We hear the line "That is the girl!" repeatedly early on, and later we know why that line is significant to the protagonist. We find out why the strange cowboy is significant. We find out why the women walk through a shortcut in a wooded area. Both films are about a distraught young woman's guilt-stricken self-reflection. Both films present a subjective vision that presents past events, dialog, feelings, etc. as an obtuse, oblique series of seemingly random clues that would only make sense when the viewer, like the protagonist, think back on the same events in hindsight.