Janghwa, Hongryeon (A Tale of Two Sisters)

 

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Summary:
Two sisters that just got out of a mental hospital return home to daddy and stepmommy. The stepmother is a strangely conniving bitch, and the father keeps himself distanced from his daughters. So, Soo-mi and Soo-yeon keep close to each other and resist evil stepmother's plans.
Strange ghosts and wierd shit starts happening at the house.

Review:
Recently, Hollywood has been trying to capitalize on Asian horror cinema, most notably with remaking Ju-On: The Grudge and Ringu. I feel that this movie is the next on the list, and it's sure to come soon. There's even a ghost with long hair covering the face and an eyeball barely peeking through! How can Hollywood NOT remake this?!

I've had some hopes for A Tale of Two Sisters mixed in with a little dose of uncertainty. This is a widely respected horror movie, but I suspect the love is based off of the hype of having most fans getting bit with the "see it before it becomes popular" bug.
This little picture works strongest when it isn't trying to be scary. The two sisters AND the stepmom (are all hot, and they) made some outstanding performances. For such young actors, Su-jeong Lim and Geun-yeong Mun culled out some heartfelt and deep characterization that goes beyond most young adults at their age. At first, there's very little 'supernatural' to the tale. It's mostly about the older sister protecting her little sister from the evildoings and strange actions of their stepmother. The overall setting of the house itself - and the forests and lake surrounding it - helps to accentuate the strange vibe you get between these three.
After the first half hour, the house starts to show its’ hauntings to us and the residents. The apparitions in A Tale of Two Sisters play more as a representation of these peoples’ fears, regrets, physical changes, and so on, more than as the predominant dead spirit that is pissed off, or the wronged ghost that needs retribution. Whose to say that some of these elements aren’t included in this tale as well? I’m not going to spoil it for you! I’ll just go so far as to say that things aren’t always what they seem, and by the hour mark the story goes in a very different direction than the first 40 minutes leads you to believe. I was taken along on this ride, and I enjoyed the problems that the family faced with each other and how they had to deal, but I didn't really need the silly hauntings to keep them preoccupied and freaked out. Things would have worked just fine without it.

The house itself is a wonderful piece of cinematic art. I love the set and costume design. The richness of the primary colors are prominent throughout, and vibrant outfits blend wonderfullly with the elegant wallpaper designs and gorgeous furniture. I wouldn’t mind having a house with such a pleasant feng-shui as this one! Hell, gimme the ghosts to go with it! I need some excitement in my life!

I didn’t know all that much about A Tale of Two Sisters when I pressed the play button on my machine, and it really wasn’t as special as I was expecting. It’s a decent movie, yes, and it has a few ‘tricks’ in the final act that gives it a very slight alteration to most movies of this type. Unfortunately, I feel that it tries too hard for its’ own good, and in the end I didn’t much care for the efforts this time around at confusing the audience and flipping things around. It’s to the point now where I expect this kinda thing since – yes, I’ll say it - The Sixth Sense and Sitr of Echoes, where a movie is excellent but then has an ending that tries to bowl you over with the sheer originality of it.
I enjoyed the twists in these kinds of movies since 1999 up until 2002, which is when it really started getting old. I still liked the story of the two sisters themselves, and the LOOK of this movie is spectacular! It’s too bad that this wasn’t just a drama in and of itself, in which I would have really dug this movie a LOT. Instead they needed to throw in a supernatural element. The very end just before the credits roll is pretty heartbreaking, and I think this final heartwrenching reveal would have been that much more powerful if there was no ghost story to go with it.
Another complaint I have is with the father. He keeps to himself, and is fairly worthless to the storyline until the end, when he's just one of the required entities to help pull the surprise together.

I won’t say don’t see it, but I will say it’s not as good as it’s hyped up to be, in my opinion.

Grade: B-

Reviewed: 1/16/05