KOFFIA MOVIE REVIEW: HIDE AND SEEK (SUMBAKKOKJIL)



5/5

A successful middle class family from Seoul find themselves visiting poor suburbs with unexpected consequences. The head of the family Seong-Soo is a stitched up bourgeois, suffering from mysophobia (the fear of containing germs) and guilt for abandoning his brother and letting him live in absolute poverty. It is the reason why Seong-Soo finds himself so far away from the life of the riches, discovering that his brother is long gone, together with many residents of a run down apartment block. It seems that the killer is on the loose. 

 When happy family returns back to the city life, someone is following them from the suburbs. Now Seong-Soo has to uncover the mystery of his brother’s disappearance in time to save himself and the people he loves.

The first interesting thing about HIDE AND SEEK, a low budget Korean mystery / horror flick, which has become one of the highest grossing films of the last year in its home country, is how unlikable the protagonists are. We are meeting the elegant, but detached with reality wife, who threatens to leave her husband each time things go wrong; the children are spoilt brats, constantly demanding new toys and fighting with each other and Seong-Soon himself is enclosed in his little world of phobias. This family would not get your sympathies at first. But when bad things happen we see what they are truly capable of and what sort of people they are underneath their skin.

The story is a strong mystery, giving us an atmospheric creepy entry, and is moving on, catching up speed. The identity of the killer is revealed two thirds into the film, leaving the last thirty minutes for a spectacular knuckle biting showdown.


Comfortable middle class life is under threat in HIDE AND SEEEK, and this may be considered an idiom of SOUTH KOREAN society. The country being under the constant siege from it’s neighbour takes toll on everyone. But Director Huh Jung, who had won Korean association Film critic award as a best director for HINDE AND SEEK, is not focused on the outside danger, but gives an insightful image of a society perfect on the surface, but rotten at it’s gore. “The desire for the things we cannot have can drive one to insanity” is a prevailing message of the film. For the fortunate ones with money and power, turning away from the bad and dirty things, does not help solving the problem. Because if you cannot feel secure in the comfortable walls of your luxurious apartment block, then indeed there is no safe place left to hide.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - the film c
Read more

KOREAN MOVIE REVIEW: MEMOIR OF A MURDERER

Image
8/10 Byung-su is an elderly veterinarian who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He has a caring daughter who does all she can to make his life easier, and a policemen friend whose name Byung-su forgets from time to time. He also goes to a poetry club (in order to keep his mind exercised) where a lonely widow makes advances at him. But there’s one thing that sets Byung-su apart from the other senior citizens of his little town – he is a serial killer.  When a new wave of killings begin Byung-su starts to suspect that a young man who is dating his daughter is the culprit. Trying to keep the remains of his memories together Byung-su writes extensive journals. But what if his memories are actually real? Losing his grip on reality he goes head to head with the new serial killer in order to protect the only life he cares about in the world – his daughter’s. Before Dexter came around Koreans had excelled in creating charismatic killers as protagonists of the films
Read more

MSFF: DEATH IN BUENOS AIRES (MUERTE EN BUENOS AIRES)

Image
3 1/2 /5 It's year 1980 and we are in Buenos Aires. The wealthy gay man is murdered  and inspector Chaves is on the case. In order to find the culprit he has to plunge into the world of gay nightclubs, drugs and sex. But what is it with the young and handsome officer Gomes, who was the first on the crime scene, and seems to place himself with ease as a mole into a gay community? Is he trying to catch the killer? Or hiding something? As suspicions arise, Chaves is haunted by the feelings he does not understand. Will the fatal attraction to a younger man help him to solve the case, or be his undoing? First time director Natalie Meta is "spot on" on the upbeat atmosphere of the 80s without too much expense. She cleverly uses the pop tunes, over-the-top clothes and many other ingredients to recreate the time. The murder mystery is secondary, and the movie is focused on the relationship between the two men, full of innuendoes and mistrust. The very simple cinema
Read more