WellGo has acquired the rights to Na Hong-jin's first film in six years. I've enjoyed his previous works tremendously (THE CHASER, YELLOW SEA) & am looking forward to this one when it shows at my local CGV. The fact it stars Hwang Jung-min is another plus. He's probably my favorite Korean actor at the moment.
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
THE WAILING aka Goksung Dir. Na Hong-jin (2016)
Collapse
X
-
A newer, slightly different trailer.
"A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter."
Since Well Go seems to have this I'll give it a shot once the US Blu release happens.
Rock! Shock! Pop!
Comment
-
Saw it
Stranded in a Maryland suburb with a good deal of time on my hands yesterday, I went to the theater to see The Wailing. For those on the fence about committing over two and a half hours of their life to an unknown quantity with subtitles, I will offer a few impressions to temper expectations. The lead reminded me very much of Cheung in "Run and Kill," a tubby inarticulate chump on a frantic and violent mission to save his daughter. The Homeric duration was filled with many intriguing characters and events so I was never bored. In retrospect that was something of a cheat, because in the end there was no resolution whatsoever. I'm not averse to some ambiguity, but it seems to me that, with money and even a little talent, it would be pretty easy to string together a bunch of bizarre elements that will hold the audience's interest, if you have no intention of making the intellectual effort to bring all of it, or even part of it, together at the conclusion. When the credits rolled, I stayed in my seat (even after more than two and a half hours) until the Koreans started to get up, on the off chance that the writing on the screen said "Meanwhile back in Seoul ..." Obviously, the director set things up perfectly for a sequel but it remains to be seen who will trust him enough to come back again.Last edited by mjeon; 06-10-2016, 10:37 PM.
Comment
-
I'll be checking this out in a couple hours with some buddies who are Asian cinema fans & I have high expectations for this one.
v
I can unequivocally say this is one of the best movies I've watched this year along with Belladonna of Sadness. I'll be going for a second viewing later this week before it's pulled from theaters. A genre busting mashup (police procedural, supernatural horror, virus outbreak, crime thriller) which is not atypical of Korean movies and had me guessing and second guessing until the very end & I thought the nebulous ending was perfect with the transitions between the ghost lady, Jun Kunimura and the seminary. I can't wait for the blu ray, so I can replay the shaman "battle" between Hwang Jung-min and Jun Kunimura in all its surround sound glory with the volume cranked up to annoy the neighbors.
Last edited by 47lab; 06-12-2016, 09:00 PM.
Comment
-
It's an interesting K-Horror. Very oddly structured, which is fine if it all pays off. I thought the way it began with light stuff leading into more heavy territory was a good strategy even if some of the comedy tended more to the goofy. Flaws and all, I was really digging the movie when it got to the climax - or, what I thought was the climax; Little did I expect that there would be at least two or three more! I went with the first couple but THE WAILING just seemed to keep on going and going. Worse, it got more confusing and less clear as it went on. The final final ending should have had a great tragic feel, but, the there are just too many inconclusive story strands still unanswered for it to have full impact. And, it's not a good sign when even most of the enthusiastic reviews seem to question just who was who and what was what.
I'm not averse to long movies, but, this one does tax one's patience. I still admire the effort and would recommend it to serious horror fans, but, it's not the great movie some of its admirers are saying it is.
Comment
-
I caught a second viewing of this film during the matinee today but brought along the wife this time. This is a great fucking movie any way you slice it. I think it will Na Hong-jin's watershed film when they bring him up 10 - 20 years from now & will be considered a Korean classic much like MEMORIES OF MURDER, OLD BOY, etc. Afterward, leaving the near empty theater, I asked my wife what she thought of it and she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders.But bless her heart because she's not really a fan of Asian cinema and just merely tolerates my fandom.
Comment
Comment