Worked around a Josean era Korean folktale, which has been adapted no less than five times before, Kim Jee-woon's A Tale of Two Sisters, twists the basic premises out of shape to deny recognition, but retaining the sad, haunting quality of the original.
It presents a psychological horror thriving on ambiguity and clever cinematography that invests in every shot a feel of the supernatural that might lurk just out of sight, but never out of the mind. the film brings an alternation between moments of terror and pastoral beauty and restive music. The narrative follows Su-mi back home from the asylum as she returns to her former house with her younger sister. The fractured narrative works around a series of events binding them together to form the nature of the threat that worries the three women in the film. The film is intelligent, and more complex than what appears on first viewing. The gothic feel is well balanced by the well lit and rich shots of the daytime. Contributing to the atmosphere of the film is the distinctive production design. The house that provides the setting for most of the film is decorated with dense, William Morris style floral patterns and textures. Instead of warm and welcoming, the designs seem somehow dark and oppressive, as if malignant forces are hiding somewhere in the intricate patterns.
The script is well matched by the acting. Im Soo-Jung performs to perfection and brings out all the anger, confusion,fear and trauma without overdoing any of it. Moon Young appears as her foil, timid and introverted. Yeom Jeong-ah plays to perfection the frightening stepmother. |
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