A Tale of Two Sisters

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Not to be confused with Tale of Two Sisters.
A Tale of Two Sisters

Poster for A Tale of Two Sisters
Hangul 장화, 홍련
Hanja 薔花, 紅蓮
RR Janghwa, Hongryeon
MR Changhwa, Hongnyŏn
Directed by Kim Ji-woon
Produced by Jeong-wan Oh
Ki-min Oh
Written by Kim Ji-woon
Starring Im Soo Jung
Moon Geun-young
Yeom Jeong-ah
Kim Kap-su
Music by Lee Byung-woo
Cinematography Lee Mo-Gae
Editing by Go Im-pyo
Studio B.O.M. Film Productions Co.
Distributed by Cineclick Asia
Big Blue Film
Release date(s) June 13, 2003
Running time 115 minutes
Language Korean
Admissions 3,146,217 (Korea only)
Gross revenue

$72,541 (US only)

[1]

A Tale of Two Sisters (장화, 홍련 Janghwa, Hongryeon literally 'Rose Flower, Red Lotus') is a 2003 South Korean psychological horror film written and directed by Kim Ji-woon. The film is inspired by a Joseon Dynasty folktale entitled "Janghwa Hongryeon jeon", which has been adapted to film several times.

A Tale of Two Sisters opened to very positive critical review and won Best Picture at the 2004 Fantasporto Film Festival.[2] It is both the highest-grossing Korean horror film and the first to be screened in American theatres.[3] An American remake titled The Uninvited was released in 2009.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The film opens with Su-mi being brought to a psychiatrist. She is unresponsive until a picture of her family is shown in front of her. She is taken home by her father, Moo-hyeon, along with her timid sister, Su-yeon. There, they are met by their difficult stepmother, Eun-joo.

During their stay, Su-mi and Su-yeon encounter a ghostly woman at night. Additionally, tensions grow worse between the sisters and Eun-joo especially after bruises are discovered on Su-yeon's arms.

Later, at a dinner party, a guest convulses. Eun-joo sees a girl under the kitchen sink and insists to Moo-hyeon that strange events have become frequent since Su-mi and Su-yeon returned. Her pet bird is slain and found in Su-yeon's bed. In a rage, she locks Su-yeon in the wardrobe, and after Su-yeon is freed, Moo-hyeon asks Su-mi why she is making trouble. Su-mi insists that the stepmother harasses Su-yeon, locking her in the closet. Moo-hyeon informs her that Su-yeon is dead, and that she is not getting better.

Su-mi wakes and believes her stepmother has killed Su-yeon and placed the body in a bag. A fight ensues between the two and Su-mi is rendered unconscious. Moo-hyeon returns home to find an injured Su-mi, however the stepmother and bag are nowhere to be found.

A flashback occurs, depicting Su-mi as the stepmother. Then, the real stepmother appears in front of Su-mi. It is revealed that all along Su-yeon really has been dead, and the stepmother was absent. Su-mi was acting as the stepmother and imagining her sister throughout the film because of a severe dissociative identity disorder.

In the past, Eun-joo was a live-in nurse caring for the girls' sick mother. The girls sense that Eun-joo and Moo-hyeon are flirting. Su-mi displays her disapproval toward Eun-joo, who in turn takes her anger out on Su-yeon. Su-yeon then returns to her room and Su-yeon's mother is shown trying to comfort her as she too starts crying.

The flashback picks up again from when Su-yeon had fallen asleep. She wakes up and opens the wardrobe door, finding her mother who committed suicide. Terrified, she accidentally pulls the wardrobe down on top of herself. Eun-joo hears and goes to investigate but leaves rather than helping Su-yeon. She changes her mind and goes back. En route, she passes Su-mi and an argument starts between them. Eun-joo warns Su-mi that she may come to regret this moment but Su-mi dismisses the warning as nonsense and angrily marches out of the house.

Su-yeon continues clawing at the wardrobe until she eventually dies.

In the present, Eun-joo goes into Su-yeon's room, where she hears a noise coming from the closet. A woman crawls out (either Su-yeon or her mother) and takes vengeance.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

Question book-new.svg This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The film is based on a popular Korean fairy tale "Janghwa Hongryeon jeon" which has been adapted into film versions in 1924, 1936, 1956, 1962, 1972, and 2009.

In the original Korean Folktale the sisters' names are Janghwa and Hongryeon (Rose Flower and Red Lotus). In the film, they are Su-mi and Su-yeon (still mean Rose and Lotus).

Lim Su-jung (Su-mi) originally auditioned for the role of Su-yeon (played by Moon Geun-young).

Kim Ji-woon originally wanted Jun Ji-hyun to play Su-mi, but she refused it because she thought the script was too scary. Ironically, her next film was an unrelated horror film, The Uninvited.

[edit] Reception

It is both the highest-grossing Korean horror film and the first to be screened in American theatres.[3] With a limited American release starting December 3, 2004, it grossed $72,541.[1] A Tale of Two Sisters garnered very positive reviews, with a 87% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[4] Meanwhile, Metacritic scored the film 65 out of 100, meaning Generally Favorable Reviews from 19 critics.[5]

Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times described A Tale of Two Sisters as "a triumph of stylish, darkly absurdist horror that even manages to strike a chord of Shakespearean tragedy – and evokes a sense of wonder anew at all the terrible things people do to themselves and each other."[6]

[edit] Awards and nominations

2003 Blue Dragon Awards[7]

2004 Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film

2006 Chlotrudis Awards

2004 Fant-Asia Film Festival

  • Most Popular Film

2004 Fantasporto Film Festival

  • International Fantasy Film Best Actress - Im Soo Jung
  • International Fantasy Film Best Director - Kim Ji-woon
  • International Fantasy Film Best Film
  • Orient Express Section Special Jury Award

2004 Gérardmer Film Festival

  • Grand Prize
  • Prix 13ème Rue
  • Youth Jury Grand Prize

2003 Pusan International Film Festival

2003 Screamfest Horror Film Festival

  • Best Picture

2003 Sitges Film Festival

  • Nomination - Best Film

[edit] Remake

Main article: The Uninvited (2009 film)

DreamWorks announced the two lead actresses on June 28, with Emily Browning as Anna Ivers (Su-mi), and Arielle Kebbel as Alex Ivers (Su-yeong). Although originally titled A Tale of Two Sisters like the original film, it was later renamed as The Uninvited.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=taleoftwosisters.htm. Retrieved August 27, 2009. 
  2. ^ "Fantas Through Awards". Fantasporto. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jKfZ0JKs. Retrieved August 27, 2009. 
  3. ^ a b http://media.www.kentnewsnet.com/media/storage/paper867/news/2009/02/03/News/the-Uninvited.Stays.True.To.Typical.Korean.Horror.Films-3610298.shtml
  4. ^ "A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1143939-1143939-tale_of_two_sisters/. Retrieved August 27, 2009. 
  5. ^ "A Tale of Two Sisters Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/taleoftwosisters. Retrieved August 27, 2009. 
  6. ^ Thomas, Keven (December 17, 2004). "A stylish and creepy Korean 'Tale'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5jKf0fjKi. Retrieved August 27, 2009. 
  7. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365376/awards

[edit] External links

Films directed by Kim Ji-woon
1990s
2000s
2010s
Shorts
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