Wednesday, September 28, 2016

The Wailing

The Wailing (Goksung) (2016)

Runtime: 156 minutes

Directed by: Na Hong-Jin

Starring: Kwak Do-Won, Hwang Jung-Min, Jun Kunimura, Chun Woo-Hee, Kim Hwan-Hee

From: Partially 20th Century Fox, believe it or not... at least their Korean division

This is the 1000th movie I have logged on Letterboxd as having seen. Impressive considering I have been a member there since February of 2013. I was hoping to see a home run film and while this wasn't that for me, I still rate it highly and I think it'll be in my Top 10 of 2016... and sometime in October I'll finally post a Top 10 of 2015. Anyhow, below is where I talk about The Wailing: 

So... this is my 1000th movie I have logged and reviewed here on Letterboxd. That is amazing to me, along with being a member of this site since February of 2013; a podcast I listen to brought it up a few times and when I could finally register (remember those days when registration wasn't automatic?) I was happy to do so. I'll try to be brief: I never thought I'd have more than 300 followers but I appreciate the fact that so many care about my opinions, some of them polarizing and different from the norm. I enjoy following more than 300 people and the incredible variety of films they review and the wide spectrum of opinions they possess. I thank you all, and here's to the next 1000.
I did select a movie I hoped I would rate quite highly for such an occasion. I've heard great things here and elsewhere and I was happy when this finally hit the rental streaming sites. I do not love this like many do but I can still rate this horror film highly. The plot is about weird things happening when a mysterious Japanese man moves to a small South Korean village. I don't want to reveal much more-of course-due to how new this is but in the beginning of this long 156 minute movie (thankfully it did not feel as long, at least to me) you get to know the characters and there are some moments which were humorous. This was something deliberately done by the movie, by the way. As things get going and things become more serious as you find out what the focus is placed on... I stopped laughing. For some characters things become real serious and I went “wow” due to those predicaments.
I do not love this because there were some moments where I went “wait a minute”; I am not talking about the plot strands where things aren't spoonfed to you and you have to figure it out on your own... I had no problem with that and I think I understood a lot of it. In fact, various aspects of the plot are left on the ambiguous side. What I mean is that there are some nonsensical moments and things I can't quite explain, especially a character beat which puzzled me considering what it came after. Thankfully the movie is so strong otherwise that I can only say it was a minor misstep for me.
Otherwise, this was a very compelling movie where you try to figure out what's going on and once things are revealed, you know some characters will have to go through hell. The cast does a nice job, especially the little girl who plays the daughter of an important figure. The movie also was well-made behind the camera. As I enjoyed The Chaser too, I need to see director Na Hong-Jin's only other movie, The Yellow Sea. There is plenty of pretty scenery in the small village they filmed in and at times it is showed off pretty well.
This is not graphically gory or overly gross, which was definitely fine by me. Yet, I was still exhausted by the end due to all that went on and all those big scenes; there definitely are at least a few moments you'll find unforgettable. If you enjoy Korean movies this is something you must see as you'll enjoy all the twists & turns this takes and all the genres and subgenres that are thrown together. You'll probably feel differently about some things than I did and thus you'll probably give this 4 1/5 and 5 star reviews.
Oh, and The Wailing is the hardest part...

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