Will I ever see a Kim Ki-duk film I don't like? That's looking doubtful, now that I've watched SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER...AND SPRING, THE ISLE, and BAD GUY, and loved all of them. Like Herzog, he's an art-house director who really appeals me in the way he deals with dark and dismal themes that would be grim in the hands of a normal director but feel somehow oddly uplifting when he tackles the material. Perhaps it's because his films are so beautifully shot, I don't know.
SAMARITAN GIRL sees the director returning to the subject of prostitution after the unforgettable BAD GUY. A couple of teenage girls make extra cash by hooking, until tragedy strikes. What follows is almost impossible to predict, as the story has an episodic structure, although the vigilante bit is undoubtedly my favourite part: ferocious, powerhouse film-making. As is usual for a Kim Ki-duk film, the acting is exemplary and the mood sombre and moving; this is an expose of the human condition, warts and all, for better or worse, and it contains a level of raw emotion that few directors achieve. The ending is excellent in its sense of quiet, contemplative reflection.
SAMARITAN GIRL sees the director returning to the subject of prostitution after the unforgettable BAD GUY. A couple of teenage girls make extra cash by hooking, until tragedy strikes. What follows is almost impossible to predict, as the story has an episodic structure, although the vigilante bit is undoubtedly my favourite part: ferocious, powerhouse film-making. As is usual for a Kim Ki-duk film, the acting is exemplary and the mood sombre and moving; this is an expose of the human condition, warts and all, for better or worse, and it contains a level of raw emotion that few directors achieve. The ending is excellent in its sense of quiet, contemplative reflection.