Wow. I've seen dozens of Korean movies, but the Wailing easily makes my top 3.
Sadly, it seems that many people watched this movie and didn't understand it or are too used to American cinema (judging by the many bad reviews).
This is a very personal movie for the director. He spent a lot of time in the village as a child, visiting his grandma. And he lost a lot of people to unnatural causes, pushing him to make this movie with the question: Why?
The movie opens with a quote from the bible and this holds a lot of meaning for what we see. It's a movie about faith. It's a movie that has a lot of twists and a story that may not seem easy to follow, but actually, you just have to pay attention to it.
Some wrote that they actually fell asleep or that this is a boring movie. I have to disagree. I saw it twice now and although I did think it takes some time to kick into gear the first time, I have to say it really doesn't the second time around.
Korean movies, unlike Americans spend time to set an atmosphere and flesh out characters. That's what this movie is doing for almost two hours (Hollywood says todays audience is too stupid to pay attention that long).
The movie has a very strong atmosphere from the start. It spends some time to show us the idyllic landscapes, forests and hills surrounding the village (the name of the village is the same word as "to wail" in Korean).
The acting is also top-notch, especially Jun Kunimura and the young girl stand out for me. I know Jun mainly as a Yakuza character, but he can really terrify you with his performance here!
It shows our hero as someone who's far from that. He isn't the smartest, he certainly isn't the bravest. But ironically, his faith in rumors and stories are making him the one who stumbles upon the trace of the stranger before everyone else does...
Said stranger can be seen as a metaphor for the formerly mentioned Bible quote: It's about the betrayal and resurrection of Jesus, who falls because his disciples lacked faith - the same fate that befalls our hero. He didn't have enough faith.
Ironically, the brave character (the deacon) has too much faith, which leads to his demise.
Ultimately, "The Wailing" is a movie about the battle of good versus evil and how there isn't always a clear answers to the question "why" or "why me"? It doesn't deserve any of the hate, because it is a really clever, well-made movie with no real flaws (in my opinion). Don't be discouraged to watch it by the negative reviews, those critics either didn't understand the film or simply are too used to Marvel fast food.
Sadly, it seems that many people watched this movie and didn't understand it or are too used to American cinema (judging by the many bad reviews).
This is a very personal movie for the director. He spent a lot of time in the village as a child, visiting his grandma. And he lost a lot of people to unnatural causes, pushing him to make this movie with the question: Why?
The movie opens with a quote from the bible and this holds a lot of meaning for what we see. It's a movie about faith. It's a movie that has a lot of twists and a story that may not seem easy to follow, but actually, you just have to pay attention to it.
Some wrote that they actually fell asleep or that this is a boring movie. I have to disagree. I saw it twice now and although I did think it takes some time to kick into gear the first time, I have to say it really doesn't the second time around.
Korean movies, unlike Americans spend time to set an atmosphere and flesh out characters. That's what this movie is doing for almost two hours (Hollywood says todays audience is too stupid to pay attention that long).
The movie has a very strong atmosphere from the start. It spends some time to show us the idyllic landscapes, forests and hills surrounding the village (the name of the village is the same word as "to wail" in Korean).
The acting is also top-notch, especially Jun Kunimura and the young girl stand out for me. I know Jun mainly as a Yakuza character, but he can really terrify you with his performance here!
It shows our hero as someone who's far from that. He isn't the smartest, he certainly isn't the bravest. But ironically, his faith in rumors and stories are making him the one who stumbles upon the trace of the stranger before everyone else does...
Said stranger can be seen as a metaphor for the formerly mentioned Bible quote: It's about the betrayal and resurrection of Jesus, who falls because his disciples lacked faith - the same fate that befalls our hero. He didn't have enough faith.
Ironically, the brave character (the deacon) has too much faith, which leads to his demise.
Ultimately, "The Wailing" is a movie about the battle of good versus evil and how there isn't always a clear answers to the question "why" or "why me"? It doesn't deserve any of the hate, because it is a really clever, well-made movie with no real flaws (in my opinion). Don't be discouraged to watch it by the negative reviews, those critics either didn't understand the film or simply are too used to Marvel fast food.