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A Tale Well-Told

A Tale Of Two Sisters is a remarkable story. It defies discussion without giving things away. At it's simplest, it is about a girl who comes home from a hospital and struggles to deal with things at home. To say more might be to things that are best left to discover.

In the safest possible terms, this a story that almost cannot be told in film. It is breathtaking when the writer/director succeeds. As challenging as it is, and as bold the execution, it can be confusing film. The best advice I can offer anyone who is thinking of renting this, is to keep in mind that the film follows the narrative from the protagonist's perspective.

It is a chamber drama involved two sisters, a father and a step mother. It is shot almost entirely in a claustrophic interior setting of a single house. The emotional conflicts between the sisters and the the step mom, and sometimes the father, are intense.

This is billed as a horror film, and it is, yet it is also a piercingly insightful drama of the human psyche in conflict. It also has as many twists as the best of mysteries, and in the truest sense this is a mystery, perhaps a gothic mystery, for it is about emotions, those forbidden, and those forgotten, and the activity that moves beneath surfaces.

Along with a story that defies description, except to say that it is almost a miracle that it is conveyed as well as it is, this a beautifully filmed story. Every frame is compelling, the colors are striking, and the faces are rich in emotion. There are striking performances in this film, well worth seeing.

There are some elements of Ju-On in this, a few boo-moments, but the real heart of this story is all about revelation and coping with disaster. If I would compare this with anything, I'd say this has a similar power to another Korean film, Old Boy, in which the intensity of revelation increases to a near-perfect pitch that leaves the viewer awed by the end, and deeply moved. This one is, in the end, a bit of a wonder.

Thomas Bauer

March 12, 2006

The *original* pre-emptive critique of..."A Tale of Two Sisters"

If you attended Montreal's Fantasia Festival then you're already familiar with this bloody hit.

If you didn't this will be the only chance you'll have to see it on the silver screen they way it should be seen.

The obvious question if you're unfamiliar with the movie is why should you see it? After all, what's so special about yet another Asian horror movie?

Simple--a good movie is good movie no matter what the genre, no matter what its origins and this movie is not just good, it is bloody great.

Yes, in those exact words.

I could try to woo you with how well-paced and well-constructed this tragic little gem is, I could try to sway you with the quality of the performances, I could do all of that but I know damn well that a lot of you either have a deep prejudice against horror movies or foreign films with subtitles. All I gotta say to you is that you don't know what you're missing. The rest of you don't need to be seduced. You'll know quality when it hits you and this thing is nothing but.

Just in case you're curious this movie revolves around two sisters that come back home after spending some time in a mental institution. Unfortunately, that might not be the best place to be given how imbalanced that household is. I'd say more but that would ruin the fun. Just trust me, this flick is worth it.

Pedro Eggers

{38 votes}

February 19, 2005

Haven't seen it but dying to (no pun intended)

First, I saw "Ringu", then I ordered "Dark Waters" from Malaysia after hearing it was so much better than Ringu (which I thought was so-so, after seeing the americanized version).

Dark Waters blew me away. It was one of the best horror-thrillers I have seen in my life. I almost do not want to see the Americanized version I'm so scared they will have butchered it.

Then, I saw "Ju-on" (original version of The Grudge). I hated it and will certainly not be checking out the americanized version, which is supposedly identical.

Then I heard about "A tale of two sisters".....

Natalie Dzepina

{12 votes}

February 17, 2005

saw it.. still wondering ..

i liked it, it was really scary(in my opinion) yet it left me questioning everything. i'm sure this was the intention but...

the major thing i wonder is what the original story is. i have read all over that it's based off an old korean folk tale, yet i can't seem to find it anywhere. This as well i find interesting.

bunny diana

July 24, 2006

Watchout...

...for those crazy ghosts that interfere when you are recovering from what exactly? All we know is that they were in a mental institute... anyways so they come home to a father and his wife who is obsessive and unbalanced... so in other words just like every other step parent.

Jonathon Dean

{3 votes}

March 9, 2005

It's great, you should really watch it

Amazing! Not as good as Ringu or some of the other movies that Fantasia introduced us to but still it runs circles around the crap Hollywood's been releasing recently. Cursed? Alone in the Dark? Hide and Seek? Thank you Asian cinema for saving us from this crap!

Vladimir Joseph

{5 votes}

February 25, 2005

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