Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on March 01, 2006 at 10:48:50

another extraordinary effort from Chan-wook Park, director of JSA.
One of the great beauties of Park's films is their unpredictability, predicated upon Park's singular ability to tease the viewer with just enough information to keep him guessing at all times while not confusing him into giving up the narrative thread. The effect is to increase the viewer's attention so that every action is magnified.
A young man's sister, his only surviving family, is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. When the official waiting list proves untimely, he must resort to dealing with the shady underworld figures that sell them.
All goes wrong and, in an effort to save his sister, he hits upon the idea (through the suggestion and "masterminding" of his anarchist girlfriend [!]), of kidnapping the daughter of his former boss.
From this point on, a series of bloody vengeances of almost unbearable menace are set into motion.
If you enjoyed "Fargo," you not only very much may like this film but you may find Park's different style fascinating to compare to that of the Coen brothers.
The cast is of formidable talent and Park has them eschew all acting mannerisms in favor of a natural, though not artifically so as in Mamet's direction, delivery and action.
The power of this film, and all of Park's I've seen, is the absolute reaslism of the individuals portrayed: no shelter of dramatic separation is afforded the viewer. Disquietingly and disturbingly, one is thrust into a violent world of inevitability.