There's a cinema in the markets at Chinatown in Sydney. It's nothing fancy; the threatres aren't huge, the seats aren't amazing, and it's on the third level of what's not the nicest-looking mall in the city. It does, however, have the tendency to show Asian cinema that often doesn't play anywhere else, and some of the films that do go on to regular cinemas do so months later. Case in point: The Host played there in September of 2006, and then hit other cinemas in March of the following year.
Later this month, Park Chan-wook's Thirst premieres at the Melbourne International Film Festival. It was playing in this cinema in Sydney last week.
Thirst
Park Chan-wook's latest film isn't exactly a follow up to Oldboy, his most well known work. There have been a couple of films in between, not to mention his addition to the anthology film Three Extremes. Thirst, however, seems to be the one whipping up the most attention since Oldboy blew audiences away.
Here, Song Kang-ho - also from The Host - plays Sang-hyun, a priest who volunteers in Africa for an experiment where he is infected with a fatal virus, a test patient for doctors hoping for a cure. A blood transfusion seems to save him, but he comes to realise it has turned him into a vampire. Meanwhile, he has become involved with a family he has knew as a child, and begins a flirtation with the adopted daughter Tae-Ju (Kim Ok-bin).
Park doesn't re-invent the vampire here; they have reflections and seem unaffected by crosses, but there's no revolutionising of the mythology. Instead, there is an abundance of style, in both where the story goes and its staging. There's some striking stuff on display. You'd expect no less from Park, and he doesn't disappoint. As for the story, it goes in many directions you wouldn't expect, and the plot turns shock as much as the sometimes very gory imagery. Song puts in fine work as the conflicted Sang-hyun, but Kim is incredible, running the gamut from shy and quiet to completely unhinged, and more.
The problem with Thirst is its length. It runs for a little over two hours, but feels longer. This is a result of the way the plot turns: there are a number of scenes that feel like endings, which instead go into new plot threads. As a narrative, it's messy and frustrating, and often difficult to get a handle on. The complaint, then, is that the film is too unpredictable. As complaints about films go, there are far worse. It's like having too much of a great dish on your plate. The freewheeling narrative just leads to more Park Chan-wook directed mayhem. Even if as a story it can be less-than-satisfying, all the sequences that result are breathtaking enough to make this point moot. When the film does end, too, it feels right; it's a great scene, with an unforgettable final shot.
The popularity of Twilight is disheartening (at best), but with Thirst and Let the Right One In gracing screens in the last couple of years, we can be sure that the vampire film is not a lost cause; the good ones just take a little finding.
8/10
Also coming soon to the cinema: Bong Joon-ho's Mother. Transformers fucking 2 may be dominating the box office, but we're still in a good couple of weeks of cinema.
Later this month, Park Chan-wook's Thirst premieres at the Melbourne International Film Festival. It was playing in this cinema in Sydney last week.
Thirst
Park Chan-wook's latest film isn't exactly a follow up to Oldboy, his most well known work. There have been a couple of films in between, not to mention his addition to the anthology film Three Extremes. Thirst, however, seems to be the one whipping up the most attention since Oldboy blew audiences away.
Here, Song Kang-ho - also from The Host - plays Sang-hyun, a priest who volunteers in Africa for an experiment where he is infected with a fatal virus, a test patient for doctors hoping for a cure. A blood transfusion seems to save him, but he comes to realise it has turned him into a vampire. Meanwhile, he has become involved with a family he has knew as a child, and begins a flirtation with the adopted daughter Tae-Ju (Kim Ok-bin).
Park doesn't re-invent the vampire here; they have reflections and seem unaffected by crosses, but there's no revolutionising of the mythology. Instead, there is an abundance of style, in both where the story goes and its staging. There's some striking stuff on display. You'd expect no less from Park, and he doesn't disappoint. As for the story, it goes in many directions you wouldn't expect, and the plot turns shock as much as the sometimes very gory imagery. Song puts in fine work as the conflicted Sang-hyun, but Kim is incredible, running the gamut from shy and quiet to completely unhinged, and more.
The problem with Thirst is its length. It runs for a little over two hours, but feels longer. This is a result of the way the plot turns: there are a number of scenes that feel like endings, which instead go into new plot threads. As a narrative, it's messy and frustrating, and often difficult to get a handle on. The complaint, then, is that the film is too unpredictable. As complaints about films go, there are far worse. It's like having too much of a great dish on your plate. The freewheeling narrative just leads to more Park Chan-wook directed mayhem. Even if as a story it can be less-than-satisfying, all the sequences that result are breathtaking enough to make this point moot. When the film does end, too, it feels right; it's a great scene, with an unforgettable final shot.
The popularity of Twilight is disheartening (at best), but with Thirst and Let the Right One In gracing screens in the last couple of years, we can be sure that the vampire film is not a lost cause; the good ones just take a little finding.
8/10
Also coming soon to the cinema: Bong Joon-ho's Mother. Transformers fucking 2 may be dominating the box office, but we're still in a good couple of weeks of cinema.
I saw it mentioned on Twitter recently that studios often play these sort of films in Sydney's Chinatown ahead of a proper release or DVD.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see it reviewed on At the Movies though since it's proper release is many months away (one much assume).