Vampires. What is the enduring fascination?
Are they stories that allude to obsession or addiction? Does the 'biting' represent sexual promiscuity or is it themes of burgeoning sexual awakening that resonate with young 'Twilight' readers? Park Chan Wook's Thirst is a bit of all the above.
Song Kang-ho plays Catholic priest, Sang-hyeon, who unhappy with not being able to help enough people travels to help find a cure to a new degenerative disease, by allowing himself to be tested on. Not unusually, he dies. But is reborn, which means he is welcomed back with a near-saintly esteem. On his return he is introduced to a supremely dysfunctional matrocractic family- highlighted mostly by the fact, their adoptive daughter Tae-ju is their slave and most worryingly, wife to their coddled-idiot son. Naturally the priest is pretty wierded out by this and sees it as his duty to try and save her from her life. But at the same time, he's realising that he's developed a preternatural need for blood...
If you've seen a Park Chan Wook film before, you know the 'proportion of retribution by the wronged' is an idea he's interested in. Here with Tae-ju's Cinderella story, you know it's not going to be subtle or pleasant. She is unlikely to 'turn the other cheek'. You realise her revenge is going to quite premeditated if unconscious as she 'sics' her new vampire beau on her abusers\family.
Unlike most vampires, Sang-hyeon's change is as philosophical as it is physical. After dying, Sang-hyeon becomes far less interested in his strict Catholic training and develops more carnal needs and there's a great sincerity with the way Park handles it; With both characters, sex starts off as a thoroughly therapeutic exchange that they're using to experience intimacy they've never been able to enjoy before.
And as their relationship deteriorates due to Tae-ju's misleading if understandable duplicity, we realise that the level of her abuse has damaged her as she may not be able to recover and heal, to forgive and move on and Sang-hyeon is unsure if he can forgive her for the things he did with good intention for her.
I love the way the camera move in certain scenes as well; at times it's almost like it looks around to see if the coast is clear before pulling it's self over the wall to peek at what's going on.
Makes De Palma look like a beardo-hack.
Whenever I've watched a Park Chan Wook film, because the subject matter is dark as is the humor- I'm always concerned it's gonna go too far but i think his genius lies in not allowing that or knowing how far to go. You certainly feel like you've seen a challenging piece but never sullied by it. Thirst is the same but you're watching a director working in genre convention and on a bigger scale than he's been able to before and it suits him. It's a vampire movie but it's lasting effect is a film about freedom and forgiveness.
I watched Thirst (2009) on LoveFilm Online - http://bit.ly/gBgcLM
My 2011 in Movies will return with Black Swan (2010)...
Are they stories that allude to obsession or addiction? Does the 'biting' represent sexual promiscuity or is it themes of burgeoning sexual awakening that resonate with young 'Twilight' readers? Park Chan Wook's Thirst is a bit of all the above.
Song Kang-ho plays Catholic priest, Sang-hyeon, who unhappy with not being able to help enough people travels to help find a cure to a new degenerative disease, by allowing himself to be tested on. Not unusually, he dies. But is reborn, which means he is welcomed back with a near-saintly esteem. On his return he is introduced to a supremely dysfunctional matrocractic family- highlighted mostly by the fact, their adoptive daughter Tae-ju is their slave and most worryingly, wife to their coddled-idiot son. Naturally the priest is pretty wierded out by this and sees it as his duty to try and save her from her life. But at the same time, he's realising that he's developed a preternatural need for blood...
If you've seen a Park Chan Wook film before, you know the 'proportion of retribution by the wronged' is an idea he's interested in. Here with Tae-ju's Cinderella story, you know it's not going to be subtle or pleasant. She is unlikely to 'turn the other cheek'. You realise her revenge is going to quite premeditated if unconscious as she 'sics' her new vampire beau on her abusers\family.
Unlike most vampires, Sang-hyeon's change is as philosophical as it is physical. After dying, Sang-hyeon becomes far less interested in his strict Catholic training and develops more carnal needs and there's a great sincerity with the way Park handles it; With both characters, sex starts off as a thoroughly therapeutic exchange that they're using to experience intimacy they've never been able to enjoy before.
And as their relationship deteriorates due to Tae-ju's misleading if understandable duplicity, we realise that the level of her abuse has damaged her as she may not be able to recover and heal, to forgive and move on and Sang-hyeon is unsure if he can forgive her for the things he did with good intention for her.
I love the way the camera move in certain scenes as well; at times it's almost like it looks around to see if the coast is clear before pulling it's self over the wall to peek at what's going on.
Makes De Palma look like a beardo-hack.
Whenever I've watched a Park Chan Wook film, because the subject matter is dark as is the humor- I'm always concerned it's gonna go too far but i think his genius lies in not allowing that or knowing how far to go. You certainly feel like you've seen a challenging piece but never sullied by it. Thirst is the same but you're watching a director working in genre convention and on a bigger scale than he's been able to before and it suits him. It's a vampire movie but it's lasting effect is a film about freedom and forgiveness.
I watched Thirst (2009) on LoveFilm Online - http://bit.ly/gBgcLM
My 2011 in Movies will return with Black Swan (2010)...
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