A Tale of Two Sisters
by Jee-woon Kim
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Geun-Young Moon, Jung-ah Yum, Kap-su Kim, Seung-bi Lee, Su-jeong LimDirector: Jee-woon Kim
Brand: Genius
Cinematographer: Mo-gae Lee
Writer: Jee-woon Kim
Editor: Hyeon-mi Lee
Producer: Jae-Won Choi
Producer: Jeong-wan Oh
Producer: Jung-Wan Oh
Producer: Ki-min Oh
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Korean (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-03-29
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Tartan Video
Movie Reviews of A Tale of Two Sisters
Movie Review: Possibly The Greatest 'Ambiguous ' Movie Ever, Plus Great Twists And Turns
Summary: 5 Stars
Okay, even though "A Tale Of Two Sisters" came out in 2004 I just saw it for the first time recently; its 2004 release date may make this statement somewhat less relevant than if it was brand new but I've still got to say it: just when you start to fear that maybe you've seen all the really radical twists out there and nothing is going to be able to have that same level of surprise revelations, along comes something like A Tale Of Two Sisters.
With a "Sixth Sense"/"Identity" level twist in there, it also manages to perform the seemingly contradictory feat of having one of the most ambiguous endings ever seen. The movie's resolution leaves some things even more uncertain but confused than they were at the beginning, but not in a frustrating way - it's left open in a way that's chilling and haunting.
Two young girls, Soo-mi and Soo-yeon, return to the country home of their father and stepmother after a period of hospitilzation for some undisclosed problem. From the beginning, the beauty of the home and its idyllic setting in the Korean countryside is at sharp odds with the almost palpable tension surrounding the homecoming. It's clear that something unfortunate or disturbing happened at this house in the not too distant past, and though all four of the movie's main characters seem to know what it was, there seems to be an unspoken agreement not to mention it specifically, and characters reference it only obliquely or through their actions. Therefore the viewer is in the dark and is left to piece together subtle, tantalizing clues. You start to get more ideas where things are going after a while; I hesitate to say too much about the second half. Suffice it to say that the twist is major, and that rather than coming right at the end of the movie, A Tale Of Two Sisters continues on a ways past that key shock and gets, if anything, even weirder.
The lighting, the sound work, the pacing of even the most 'ordinary' scenes - all kinds of stuff that you often don't notice in a movie unless it's really Bad and fouls things up, is done here so spot-on perfect from start to finish that it's essential to comment on. All these production values make otherwise attractive scenes downright gorgeous, and make otherwise tense scenes utterly riveting. The mysterious, just slightly otherwordly (just enough to make you wonder...) atmosphere created in here is remarkable. And the acting is astonishing; Korean films seem to be very well done in this respect and this is in the top tier.
In a movie with relatively little dialogue and even less action (until the end portions of the movie) so much could have gone wrong: the whole movie could have dragged, any number of things could have come off contrived rather than potent, the ambiguous nature of the resolutions could have been maddening rather than rewarding. Somehow though, everything fit together perfectly. The way there so many ways to go off the rails would make me extremely wary about the prospects for this movie's upcoming remake even if there wasn't such a glut of them (I actually love a lot of remakes, it's just there's Way too many of them right at the moment). If ever the chances of lightning striking twice seemed slim this would be it. I'm not going to urge people to not see the new one (I couldn't if I wanted to, since I haven't seen it myself yet) but this is a case where, if you think it looks good, I'd urge you to not wait just on the basis of the original being subtitled, which I know still puts a lot of people off. But if you take a chance on subtitles (granted, most of the people reading this are probably already into foreign-language movies) you're likely to discover that there's a ton of great stuff out there in numerous languages that's every bit as good as the best English-language movies. Now, the remake might turn out to be good too, but this Definately is.
On the subject of foreign-language movies (for the benefit of those who might be new to them, which, again, probably doesn't apply to most people reading this) one area where South Korea really excels is with horror movies, like this one. There's a slew of high-quality ones right here on Amazon, and in addition to A Tale Of Two Sisters two of the best ones I can recommend are The Uninvited and The Host (Two-Disc Collector's Edition).
Summary of A Tale of Two Sisters
Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 06/27/2006Two young sisters recovering from an unnamed trauma must face a mysterious past in this excellent South Korean shocker. A worldwide hit upon its release and based on an old Korean fairy tale; two sisters (wonderfully played by Su-jeong Lim and Geun-yeong Mun) come to live with their cold and distant father and turn-on-a-dime stepmother in a house where nothing is as it seems. A wonderfully haunting score, starkly beautiful imagery, and a labyrinthine plot that twists and turns at every dark corner all set the stage for a riveting and often terrifying guessing game of a movie. Equal parts drama, mystery, and ghost story, A Tale of Two Sisters is a richly complex and challenging cinematic treat that may very well demand repeat viewings. --Matt Wold
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