Too short. This film is a japanese paraphrase of Ted Kaczyński and his manifesto. I had deja vu right from the start, so after just 10 minutes I though that I clearlly knew what the film was going to be about. I found it hard not to look for similarities to the Kaczyński story, so I watched with reluctance at first, but there are some scenes which reduced this feeling.
Lets check the plot. Our protagonist Ryoichi at first have normal family and life. He was once a part of the system. After many failures, he finally decided to rebel. He left society and decided to take revenge on it. But all this eventually became pointless. He couldn't do anything. When he finally understood this, he began to have visions and was haunted by his dead brothers. Deep inside himself, he knew that only a downfall awaited him.
In fact, we know nothing. Life is mocking us. In life we have to make decisions that ALWAYS change the course of our lives. If people devote their lives to acquiring knowledge, they mostly miss out on social life. When people live on the run and chase after money, they give up their mental and physical health. When Ryoichi tried to change the society, he lost his belonging to society. And when he realised this, he was unhappy at the end. People always lose something. Something for something. The question is: Is it worth it? Ted wrote: "It is not at all certain that survival of the system will lead to less suffering than breakdown of the system would."
You have to hate or fear in order to kill. Ryoichi has become a victim, just like Ted. At his own request. Some would consider him as a madman, others a hero, and a third would not know who he was. Riyoichi has lost something very valuable: belonging to a group of people. If a man is rejected, he always goes down. Riyoichi can see certain things, but people who live in happiness and have never experienced misery will never understand him and herein lies the tragedy of this situation. The solution seems simple: People need to be threatened with death to wake up, and that is what they both tried to do.
And this is where probably the best scene in the entire film enters. Through his brother, Riyouchi realised that this was not the way. The people who rule the social machine will remain untouched, the ordinary people at the bottom of the social pyramid will be killed. There are plenty of such people, they will easily be replaced, so the battle is lost in advance. Nevertheless, Riyoichi tried until the end. He covered his face in paint and entered the train. This was a sign of respect for his dead brother who committed suicide. He didn't go to the last battle alone, his brothers were with him... or so he thought. It was a road to the very end.
The plot is good, but there are too many references to Ted's story. I rate the movie 7/10. I would have given less, however the cinematography was pleasant.
The ending ruined the movie for me. It was just too ridiculous let pass and it’s a shame because I did enjoy…
The ending was pretty good IMHO. This film is a good illustration of the lies we live in every day. People get used to their masks and their surroundings to the roles they play. Getting rid of the mask creates complete chaos and disrupts the whole idyllic reality.
I didnt expect this. When it became clear that the perpetrator was the victim things took on a different colour. The worst thing for him to accept was that he felt no hatred for his tormentor, but for himself. He was ashamed of himself. The victim became an executioner to satisfy his lusts. The same applies to the boy at the end of the scene. He starts to miss something, he feels that something is lacking, he cannot control himself so he looks for his first victim.
This is not a typical horror film, it is a story of doubt and fear that comes from the human heart. There is a lot of universal symbolism to discover. There were so many themes explored in this film it was hard to keep track. That is why I have decided to take a closer look at the whole story. Instead of describing the plot strictly, I will focus on the characters and the moments worth mentioning. ALERT: LONG READ.
The whole point of the film is to fool you. Raise suspicions in your head. The film constantly shows you contradictory clues and ambiguous situations, so you can't quite tell who is bad and who is good. You don't know who to trust and root for anymore.
The very beginning of the film then explains a lot. We see old man fishing, as it later turns out this is how he chose his victims. This was confirmed by Il Gwang. Here is the whole quote:
Il-Gwang: Even among other demons, he's a master of evil. Jong-Goo: If that's true, why did it have to be... Il-Gwang: ...your daughter? What sin did that young girl ever commit Jong-Goo: Yes. Il-Gwang: If you go fishing, do you know what you'll catch? Jong-Goo: No. Il-Gwang: He's just fishing. Not even he knows what he'll catch. He just threw out the bait, and your daughter took it.
Let's start with the most mysterious character. We are talking about a mysterious woman.
She could look like an angel, a supernatural spiritual being who is Gods servant. We can see some similarities here because angels are spirits beings created by God. They can resemble human form when God permits or wills it. But If we take bilblical reference we know that angels are neither male nor female. When angels appeared to people in the Bible, they were always seen as men. So this option remains less likely.
A White Lady fits better for her description. White Lady is a type of female spirit, usually dressed in white dress seen in rural areas and associated with local legends of tragedy. A common feature of many of these legends is accidental death, murder or suicide, as well as themes of loss, betrayal by a husband or fiancée and unrequited love. In a popular medieval legend, the White Lady appears both day and night in a house where a family member is about to die.
However, if we turn to Korean folklore everything takes on a different meaning. For Koreans, mountains are particularly sacred places for the communication of energy between heaven and earth. The god of the mountains was Sanshin (male mountain spirit). Buddhists paid "rent" to him through a sacrificial ceremonies. In return, they hoped to receive the protection of the spirit. However, there is a group of minor deities, yo-sanshin, associated with specific mountains and believed to be female. Although it is commonly believed that every mountain has a female spirit, often a male figure, a wise old grandfather with a long white beard, appears in paintings or statues. This is an influence of Confucianism, which is entirely male-dominated and holds that the royal spirit must be male. So she is definitely the mountain spirit who protects the village. However, they tried to deceive us and portrayed her as a figure hiding in the shadows. The woman was also putting on the clothes of various victims. In a key scene, Jong Goo did not trust her for this very reason. He noticed his daughter's pink pin lying on the floor. We see another contrast here, as it was demon who cursed people by taking items from them. The woman is not prominent enough in the film for one to immediately deduce that she is some kind of benevolent force. This could only be done by understanding the symbolism.
When she throws stones we may notice a direct reference to the Bible. In biblical metaphor, a stone is an image of hardness of heart. Indifference and hardness of heart make a person like a stone. Here we should refer to the biblical episode in John 7:53-8:11 in which Jesus meets an adulteress. Such a crime was punishable by death by stoning, but in the scene Jesus leans in to write "whoever among you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her". So when a woman throws stones at a policeman, we learn that she is "without sin".
Now allow me to discuss more broadly the scene at the end of the film, namely the crowing of the rooster.
“And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.” (Luke 22:34)
This scene refers to Peter the apostle. Just before his arrest and crucifixion, Christ told Peter that he would deny him 3 times before the rooster crowed. Peter did indeed deny being a disciple of Jesus three times for fear that he would be arrested and murdered. Eventually Peter was crucified upside down because he believed he was not worthy to die like Christ.
In Luke 22, Jesus is eating the Last Supper with the apostles. During the meal, he speaks of the fact that he will soon be dead, and even announces that "the hand of him who betrays me is at my table". This causes the other apostles to speculate as to which of them is the traitor (looking at you, Judas). But this evolves into who is the best apostle. Jesus quickly dismisses such arrogant talk. Saying: "The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves."
After this speech, Jesus addresses one apostle in particular - Simon Peter. He says: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you all like wheat. But I prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you are converted, strengthen your brothers."
This comes as a bit of a shock to Simon. To hear that he can leave Jesus. In response Simon says: "Lord, I am willing to go with you to prison and to death".
This is a bold claim. Jesus counters it with a sharp declaration: "Truly I say to you, Peter, before the cock crows today, you will deny three times that you know me". And that is exactly what happens. Jesus is arrested. Someone says that Simon was with Jesus. Simon denies it. "I do not know Him." This is repeated two more times. Immediately after the third denial we are told: "As he was saying this, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the words the Lord had spoken to him.... He went out and wept bitterly."
In the film, however, the woman asks Jong-goo to wait until the rooster crows three times. If Jong-goo keeps the faith for that long, he will save his family. But fear overpowers him, just as it overpowered Peter. Peter was afraid that he would be arrested, tried and convicted along with Jesus. Which led to his denial. While Jong-goo fears putting his faith in the wrong source, torn between the Mysterious Woman and the Shaman.
Interestingly, the woman did not tell Jong-goo about the fact that she had set a trap for the demon in his house. She only asked him to take her word for it. The reward was to save his family, but Jong-goo believed the shaman and ran back to the house where his daughter killed his wife and mother-in-law.
- - -
Quite a lot of attention was paid to the assistant priest, who did not survive the test of faith. Probably the whole town is under attack because it has lost its faith, a prime example being the priest who disrespects and ridicules the policeman when he comes to him and says: "The Church cannot help you". When the practising priest goes to meet the devil at the end, the devil points out that he is carrying a sickle and not a Bible. In the Bible, man cannot defeat the devil with weapons, he can only win by faith. If the the priest had faith then he could kill the demon.
The film opens with an epigram from St Luke's gospel: They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:37-39)
The continuation is as follows: When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”. They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. (Luke 24:40-43)
The final conversation between the priest and the stranger is one of the best moments in this film. As with most of the themes in this film, this epigram is another way of prejudicing the viewer. It tells us that we are dealing with resurrection. The Japanese man was killed and then came back to life just like Jesus.
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (John 20:27-29)
Before the priest's eyes, the Stranger transforms himself into the Devil, while repeating the epigram that opens the film.
Interestingly, a practising priest notices nail marks on the devil's hand.
"The other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!" (John 20:25) "
The stranger has holes in his hand like Jesus. He literally paraphrased Jesus's words when he came back to life.
The theme of Jesus and Doubting Thomas is worth describing here. We learn from the life of Thomas that he was deeply committed to His master, and yet he struggled with doubts and questions. On the day of His resurrection, Jesus appeared to a group of His disciples in a closed room. For some reason, Thomas was not with them for this supremely significant event. When the disciples later told Thomas they had seen the resurrected Lord, he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe”.
Thomas, like the other disciples, had high hopes for Jesus. With him he bound his whole life and in him he found the meaning of life. When Jesus was gone, an existential void remained: how to go on living? For whom to live? Whom do I believe in? This existential emptiness was deepened by a profound disappointment. Thomas was disappointed in Jesus, disappointed in the one whom he loved, whom he considered his best friend. He did not want to take the risk a second time.
Thomas is sometimes referred to colloquially as "the unbeliever", but he evokes sympathy because every person has similar dilemmas and doubts in their faith.
Thomas expected rational evidence. He wanted to convince himself of the reality of the wounds of the Risen One through touch. Touching the body and wounds of Jesus is a sign of a personal relationship. It expresses closeness, bonding, trust. Conceit, self-confidence, feelings of superiority and distrust disappear. Faith passes from reason to heart, from the stage of rationality to that of trust.
When Jesus rose from the dead, Thomas did not believe, so he had him touch his body. In this case, the deacon saw with his own eyes how the Japhet "died" when he was thrown off the cliff, Thomas similarly saw/heard how Jesus was crucified and therefore "doubted" as did the deacon.
The most pivotal moment comes when the Japanese man says he is the devil because the deacon has already decided so in his mind. This moment strikes all the audience who have also come to believe that he is. The stranger made a mockery of the deacon. He allowed to call him akuma (devil), but did not admit whether he was one. The reason the priest lost his soul was because he refused to believe in things he could not see. This is why the priest said "show me your true form!" It was because he believed that other supernatural entities might be possible. If he was a Christian, it could only be a demon or an angel. But he lacks faith in his beliefs. The reason for the devil's laughter is that he has already won by the priest's lack of faith.
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7)
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Another fantastic point of this movie is Japanese Foreginer character. Surely the initial demonisation of this character was deliberate so that they can then lead us astray. The newcomer in the mountain community caused an avalanche of suspicion. He was portrayed as a evil spirit, a demon, freak, rapist and murderer but he seems as human as anyone else. He rides the bus and buys chickens. Still the viewer was not supposed to look at him as a human being. The Japanese shaman was once a man, but is no longer one. Sometimes he is just a normal person, we even saw him crying. The Japanese man is possessed by evil spirit. He has failed to rid himself of the evil and now the evil is inside him. During a search in a Japanese man's house, we see a Noh mask. The Noh mask can look different depending on how it is held. It may appear to be smiling when it is tilted upwards. While it may appear to be angry or even sad when it is tilted downwards. You can look at a stranger in the same way. It all depends on how you look at him.
Japanese is always very calm. Very stoic. He doesn't react to Jong-goo's repeated break-ins into his house. He doesn't even react when Jong-goo kills the Stranger's dog. You'd think it would be anger or fear or frustration. But he is unmoved by it. Jong-goo and his comrades swallowed the hook.
After the exorcism scene, the Japanese was not himself. He finally lost his cool and showed fear. He looked confused, running through the forest awkwardly falling wanting to get to Choon-bae's truck as quickly as possible. When he got there and saw that Choon-bae was no longer there a look of shock came over his face. The stranger followed him to his house. Then a confrontation took place between Choon-bae and Jong-goo and companions. After seeing the Japanese hiding in the bushes, they set off in pursuit of him. Thanks to this scene, many viewers might have thought that the Stranger is not a bad person. It all seems to make sense until you realize that Jong-goo is not chasing the Japanese man. He is chasing Park Choon-bae. The Japanese man's ritual was a transference (see: photograph on the altar). Park Choon-bae's soul entered the Japanese's body. The evil spirit in the Japanese man entered Park Choon-bae's body. That is why he ran straight to Choon-bae's truck in a complete panic. That's why he chases after the body. That's why he's so terrified of Jong-goo and his team. And that's why he's chasing after the Mystery Woman. He seems to know her. Maybe he blames her for what happened? Maybe, as with Jong-goo, she offered him help, which he just as much rejected and is upset because he remembers that he killed his own family? Whatever the reason, he pursues her. Choon-bae falling under the truck gives Jong-goo a chance to commit the sin. Jong-goo succumbs to the temptation of revenge and throws the body of an innocent man off a cliff. Since it wasn't the Evil Spirit, Shaman says "Rat took the bait".
And once again the viewer has quite a conundrum here. Who is bad and who is good? Why did the Japanese man land on the truck? Did the mysterious woman dump him? Or was it a coincidence? If he wanted to die, why didn't he let Jong-goo and friends kill him earlier? And if the woman dumped him, what did she accomplish? So many unanswered questions.
The main advantage of not showing what happened is that doubts about the Woman in White can be planted in the viewer again. And this in turn puts Il-Gwang in a good light. After all, he has claimed that she is the real Evil Spirit. The first thing many will think of will be her figure on the cliff and the falling Japanese.
- - -
The character of the shaman left the viewer in no doubt from the start. It would seemed that he is motivated by money and nothing else. Wrong. Il-gwang, visiting Jong-goo notices uncleanliness in the house, and after some searching finds a dead raven in a large container of soy sauce. Within the Christian religion, ravens have a special significance. While many people consider the dove to be the first and most important bird sent from Noah's ark, it was actually the raven that was the first bird brought by him. In many instances in the Bible, ravens and crows acted as heavenly messengers tasked with bringing food, water and other nourishment to those under divine protection. The crow itself is a dual symbol. It can be argued that Il-gwang finds the crow because he is in league with the demon.
The shaman is related to an old Japanese man. He is also Japanese. In the scene where the shaman is dressing up, he is wearing the same underwear as the Japanese man. The Japanese took pictures of the victims before they died, and the shaman took pictures after they died. These are not just photographs, but the souls they took. The shaman takes the demon to various villages and then earns money from these residents.
The exorcism scene is designed to lead us astray again. If Shaman was working with the Stranger, why would he perform an exorcism? Doesn't this prove that the Shaman is the good guy? After all, we see Il-Gwang nailing a wooden statue injuring the Stranger. As it turned out, the Stranger was doing something completely different. He was not at all trying to counter Il-Gwang's exorcism and take control of Hyo-jin. On his shrine we see neither Hyo-jin, nor Jong-goo, nor Il-Gwang. Instead, we see a picture of Park Choon-bae dead in a truck. Whatever the Stranger is doing, it has to do with Choon-bae's body. We even see the truck and the candles that the Stranger has lit around it. During the ritual, Choon-bae's body even moved. The dead man was resurrected. This begs the question of why Hyo-jin's body reacts to the exorcism. During her torment we see the shaman stabbing the wooden totem. Shortly afterwards, we are shown a Japanese man on screen who starts running away and crying. They wanted us to think that Il-Gwang was hurting the Japanese man and Hyo-jin. What Shaman has been doing is removing the mysterious woman's defences and this is why Hyo-jin reacts with pain.
The wooden statue that the shaman attacked during the ritual is called "jangseung", which in Korean tradition means guardian of the city. These totem-like wooden figures were created to ward off demons and were placed around villages to form a sort of line or fence. The shaman cut down the totem that should protect the village and in this way tried to get rid of the female spirit - the guardian of the whole village. The scene where the shaman nails the totem refers to the crucifixion. He is depicted as Pilate or the Jews acting as an agent of the devil. Either way, we know that Shaman got involved and broke protection by allowing the demon to kill Choon-bae's family.
Furthermore, after the murder at Park Chun-bae's house, we see that they performed the same ritual that no one survived. This scene takes place after Shaman has started working with Jong-goo's family. Shaman tells Jong-goo that the man Jong-goo upset is not a man at all, but a ghost. We then see the police at the scene of another murder. Many people are dead. One of of them has even been pulled out of a well. The policemen look at a picture of the murderer and say that his name is Park Choon-bae. Choon-bae's house looks like a party has just been thrown. There are colourful flags and other decorations. Many tables with food and flowers and even a pig. There are also mats with swords. It's easy to overlook this on first viewing. But you might recognise that these are all the same things that Il-Gwang had in Jong-goo's house. The implication was that Il-Gwang had just performed the same seance/ritual for someone else. And it didn't work. The demon kept coming and murdered everyone. It was further proof that they were working together.
The shaman tricks the viewer into thinking he is the good guy and then sees a mysterious woman and starts vomiting and bleeding from her nose, a sign of impurity. He is certainly not a powerful person because after meeting with the Mysterious Woman we see a change in his behaviour. Il-Gwang was so terrified that he tried to flee the city but was stopped by a swarm of locusts. Seeing this scene we initially assume that it was the evil Japanese. Although in the old testament it was God who sent the plagues of Egypt. It turned out to be just a vision, but intense and meaningful enough that he got back in his car and went back to town to get Jong-goo to complete the evil ritual. Jang-goo is shown at first as tempted by lust (he sins), and then the shaman takes advantage of his weakness to convince him that the young woman is to blame, that she is ya and that she will tempt him. The shaman tells Jong-goo that the stranger Japanese is not a demon. that the mysterious woman is one. And he must run away to to save his family from her. The woman in turn claims that she is not a demon, she is only there to save his family from the Japanese and the shaman, who are actually working together. Jong-goo is confused and doesn't believe the woman, who is clearly not a human being.
- - -
The main protagonist Jong-goo is trying to solve the mysterious murders happening in his small village. All the villagers point out a stranger from Japan. People think he is a demon and some people claim that they have seen him with glaring red eyes preying animals. But Jong-goo doesn’t believe them.
Jong-goo, like the viewer, is unable or unwilling to distinguish between who is an ally and who is an enemy.
No belief system gives him answers. Jong-goo was unable to trust something momentary or unknown that challenged his worldview. Jong-goo was unable to do so, refusing to the woman because he did not understand what she was.
Jong-goo: What are you? A woman or a ghost?” Mysterious Woman: Why do you ask? Jong-goo: I need to know…if I can put my faith in you. Mysterious Woman: Just believe and your family will be saved. Jong-goo: What are you? Mysterious Woman: Someone trying to save your daughter. A woman.
It is easier for Jong-goo to believe the Shaman and to doubt the woman because one is more familiar to him than the other. The same thing happened to the disciples and apostles of Jesus. They doubted until Jesus calmed their doubts with food. Spirits do not eat, people eat - so Jesus is not a spirit; he is a man. With such proof, the apostles listened to everything Jesus had to say. Unfortunately, the woman did not give Jong-goo the same assurances.
During Jong-goo's last meeting with Mysterious Woman, he asks her why this is happening to his family. It wasn't enough for Jong-goo that he could save his daughter, he wanted to know why it came to the point where he had to save her. The woman blamed him, claiming that he had sinned, suspected someone, tried to kill them and succeeded. This makes no sense to Jong-goo because events are not sorted out in his head. He doesn't understand what the woman told him. He states that it was his daughter who got sick first, suggesting that the Stranger targeted them first. Anger and incomprehension wash through him, he doesn't think about the fact that he basically killed a man. He justifies this fact on the grounds that the Japanese man was an evil spirit, a demon, a devil. Killing someone, even if you think you have a reason for it, is a sin. After the Stranger landed on Jong-goo's car, Jong-goo had a choice. He could take a moral stance and help him as a person in need who had strayed from the right path, or he could punish him and presumably do a "good deed" by getting rid of the evil. This kind of moral test is common in stories of Christianity and other religions. Does the hero remain true to the teaching of the religion? If so, he is rewarded. If not, he is ruined. When Jong-goo committed a sin and "killed" the Stranger, he lost his moral innocence. He failed the test.
Jong-goo's sin has stained him. That's why woman wants to keep him away from her family. Because if she can maintain a sense of purity in the house, the demon will not be able to kill. The ritual of evil will fail. This is why we are shown the branch (talisman) on the front gate that has withered when Jong-goo crosses the threshold of his house. His sin breaks the protective spell, allowing the demon to feast and complete his work.
- - -
In this film, neither Christianity, nor the shaman, nor the mysterious woman know the answer. The priest simply tells Jong-goo to trust the doctors, even though the doctors have already failed. The shaman actively betrays Jong-goo's trust. Neither character, wants to fully explain themselves to anyone.
In general, we see a film that shows the impotence of man and his reactions to this state of affairs. Who should be blamed? How to cope with the hardships? We should find the answer in faith, but who and what do you believe in? In Christianity? In Buddhism? In a shaman? In doctors and television? Do you have faith or do you not have enough? Like the priest who entered the devil's cave?
In conclusion, this is a wonderful film, which the viewers cannot find peace until they understand what they have just watched. Highly recommed. 10/10.
Fantastic movie. Gong Gil and Jang Sengs relationship is like love without lust, a real lifetime friendship. This movie gets even better when you look at it from a historical perspective. The Korean Chosun dynasty, founded in the late 14th century, survived until the early 20th century. For more than 500 years, its uniqueness under 27 kings made its mark in the annals of world history. Each king was assigned several Royal Secretaries, whose job was to write diaries on behalf of the king. After the King's death, the Court Historians edited these exhaustive records, for the next King, and for posterity. Huge collections, of these edited diaries, called "Royal Records of the Chosun Dynasty", have survived intact. The king in this story, according to the Records, was an exceptional tyrant. No king before him or after him had ever committed such acts. Nevertheless, the Records also show him to be a man of great sensitivity and intelligence. When he was a child, as a result of court intrigues, his mother was forced to commit suicide by drinking poison. Her death left a permanent trauma in the psyche of the future king. Undoubtedly, this trauma played a significant role in the deformation of his character. Which can be observed in the king's behavior towards Gong Gil, who sees in him the image of his mother. On September 2, 1506, he was deprived of the throne, as a result of the revolt of the nobles.
Lets check the plot. Our protagonist Ryoichi at first have normal family and life. He was once a part of the system. After many failures, he finally decided to rebel. He left society and decided to take revenge on it. But all this eventually became pointless. He couldn't do anything. When he finally understood this, he began to have visions and was haunted by his dead brothers. Deep inside himself, he knew that only a downfall awaited him.
In fact, we know nothing. Life is mocking us. In life we have to make decisions that ALWAYS change the course of our lives. If people devote their lives to acquiring knowledge, they mostly miss out on social life. When people live on the run and chase after money, they give up their mental and physical health. When Ryoichi tried to change the society, he lost his belonging to society. And when he realised this, he was unhappy at the end. People always lose something. Something for something. The question is: Is it worth it?
Ted wrote: "It is not at all certain that survival of the system will lead to less suffering than breakdown of the system would."
You have to hate or fear in order to kill. Ryoichi has become a victim, just like Ted. At his own request. Some would consider him as a madman, others a hero, and a third would not know who he was. Riyoichi has lost something very valuable: belonging to a group of people. If a man is rejected, he always goes down. Riyoichi can see certain things, but people who live in happiness and have never experienced misery will never understand him and herein lies the tragedy of this situation. The solution seems simple: People need to be threatened with death to wake up, and that is what they both tried to do.
And this is where probably the best scene in the entire film enters.
Through his brother, Riyouchi realised that this was not the way. The people who rule the social machine will remain untouched, the ordinary people at the bottom of the social pyramid will be killed. There are plenty of such people, they will easily be replaced, so the battle is lost in advance. Nevertheless, Riyoichi tried until the end. He covered his face in paint and entered the train. This was a sign of respect for his dead brother who committed suicide. He didn't go to the last battle alone, his brothers were with him... or so he thought. It was a road to the very end.
The plot is good, but there are too many references to Ted's story. I rate the movie 7/10. I would have given less, however the cinematography was pleasant.
There is a lot of universal symbolism to discover. There were so many themes explored in this film it was hard to keep track. That is why I have decided to take a closer look at the whole story. Instead of describing the plot strictly, I will focus on the characters and the moments worth mentioning.
ALERT: LONG READ.
The whole point of the film is to fool you. Raise suspicions in your head. The film constantly shows you contradictory clues and ambiguous situations, so you can't quite tell who is bad and who is good.
You don't know who to trust and root for anymore.
The very beginning of the film then explains a lot. We see old man fishing, as it later turns out this is how he chose his victims. This was confirmed by Il Gwang. Here is the whole quote:
Il-Gwang: Even among other demons, he's a master of evil.
Jong-Goo: If that's true, why did it have to be...
Il-Gwang: ...your daughter? What sin did that young girl ever commit
Jong-Goo: Yes.
Il-Gwang: If you go fishing, do you know what you'll catch?
Jong-Goo: No.
Il-Gwang: He's just fishing. Not even he knows what he'll catch. He just threw out the bait, and your daughter took it.
Let's start with the most mysterious character. We are talking about a mysterious woman.
She could look like an angel, a supernatural spiritual being who is Gods servant. We can see some similarities here because angels are spirits beings created by God. They can resemble human form when God permits or wills it. But If we take bilblical reference we know that angels are neither male nor female. When angels appeared to people in the Bible, they were always seen as men. So this option remains less likely.
A White Lady fits better for her description. White Lady is a type of female spirit, usually dressed in white dress seen in rural areas and associated with local legends of tragedy. A common feature of many of these legends is accidental death, murder or suicide, as well as themes of loss, betrayal by a husband or fiancée and unrequited love. In a popular medieval legend, the White Lady appears both
day and night in a house where a family member is about to die.
However, if we turn to Korean folklore everything takes on a different meaning. For Koreans, mountains are particularly sacred places for the communication of energy between heaven and earth. The god of the mountains was Sanshin (male mountain spirit). Buddhists paid "rent" to him through a sacrificial ceremonies. In return, they hoped to receive the protection of the spirit. However, there is a group of minor deities, yo-sanshin, associated with specific mountains and believed to be female. Although it is commonly believed that every mountain has a female spirit, often a male figure, a wise old grandfather with a long white beard, appears in paintings or statues. This is an influence of Confucianism, which is entirely male-dominated and holds that the royal spirit must be male. So she is definitely the mountain spirit who protects the village. However, they tried to deceive us and portrayed her as a figure hiding in the shadows. The woman was also putting on the clothes of various victims. In a key scene, Jong Goo did not trust her for this very reason. He noticed his daughter's pink pin lying on the floor. We see another contrast here, as it was demon who cursed people by taking items from them. The woman is not prominent enough in the film for one to immediately deduce that she is some kind of benevolent force. This could only be done by understanding the symbolism.
When she throws stones we may notice a direct reference to the Bible. In biblical metaphor, a stone is an image of hardness of heart. Indifference and hardness of heart make a person like a stone. Here we should refer to the biblical episode in John 7:53-8:11 in which Jesus meets an adulteress. Such a crime was punishable by death by stoning, but in the scene Jesus leans in to write "whoever among you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her". So when a woman throws stones at a policeman, we learn that she is "without sin".
Now allow me to discuss more broadly the scene at the end of the film, namely the crowing of the rooster.
“And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.” (Luke 22:34)
This scene refers to Peter the apostle. Just before his arrest and crucifixion, Christ told Peter that he would deny him 3 times before the rooster crowed. Peter did indeed deny being a disciple of Jesus three times for fear that he would be arrested and murdered. Eventually Peter was crucified upside down because he believed he was not worthy to die like Christ.
In Luke 22, Jesus is eating the Last Supper with the apostles. During the meal, he speaks of the fact that he will soon be dead, and even announces that "the hand of him who betrays me is at my table". This causes the other apostles to speculate as to which of them is the traitor (looking at you, Judas). But this evolves into who is the best apostle. Jesus quickly dismisses such arrogant talk. Saying: "The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves."
After this speech, Jesus addresses one apostle in particular - Simon Peter. He says: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you all like wheat. But I prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you are converted, strengthen your brothers."
This comes as a bit of a shock to Simon. To hear that he can leave Jesus. In response Simon says: "Lord, I am willing to go with you to prison and to death".
This is a bold claim. Jesus counters it with a sharp declaration: "Truly I say to you, Peter, before the cock crows today, you will deny three times that you know me". And that is exactly what happens. Jesus is arrested. Someone says that Simon was with Jesus. Simon denies it. "I do not know Him." This is repeated two more times. Immediately after the third denial we are told: "As he was saying this, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the words the Lord had spoken to him.... He went out and wept bitterly."
In the film, however, the woman asks Jong-goo to wait until the rooster crows three times. If Jong-goo keeps the faith for that long, he will save his family. But fear overpowers him, just as it overpowered Peter. Peter was afraid that he would be arrested, tried and convicted along with Jesus. Which led to his denial. While Jong-goo fears putting his faith in the wrong source, torn between the Mysterious Woman and the Shaman.
Interestingly, the woman did not tell Jong-goo about the fact that she had set a trap for the demon in his house. She only asked him to take her word for it. The reward was to save his family, but Jong-goo believed the shaman and ran back to the house where his daughter killed his wife and mother-in-law.
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Quite a lot of attention was paid to the assistant priest, who did not survive the test of faith. Probably the whole town is under attack because it has lost its faith, a prime example being the priest who disrespects and ridicules the policeman when he comes to him and says: "The Church cannot help you". When the practising priest goes to meet the devil at the end, the devil points out that he is carrying a sickle and not a Bible. In the Bible, man cannot defeat the devil with weapons, he can only win by faith. If the the priest had faith then he could kill the demon.
The film opens with an epigram from St Luke's gospel:
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:37-39)
The continuation is as follows:
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”. They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. (Luke 24:40-43)
The final conversation between the priest and the stranger is one of the best moments in this film. As with most of the themes in this film, this epigram is another way of prejudicing the viewer. It tells us that we are dealing with resurrection. The Japanese man was killed and then came back to life just like Jesus.
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
(John 20:27-29)
Before the priest's eyes, the Stranger transforms himself into the Devil, while repeating the epigram that opens the film.
Interestingly, a practising priest notices nail marks on the devil's hand.
"The other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!" (John 20:25) "
The stranger has holes in his hand like Jesus. He literally paraphrased Jesus's words when he came back to life.
The theme of Jesus and Doubting Thomas is worth describing here. We learn from the life of Thomas that he was deeply committed to His master, and yet he struggled with doubts and questions. On the day of His resurrection, Jesus appeared to a group of His disciples in a closed room. For some reason, Thomas was not with them for this supremely significant event. When the disciples later told Thomas they had seen the resurrected Lord, he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe”.
Thomas, like the other disciples, had high hopes for Jesus. With him he bound his whole life and in him he found the meaning of life. When Jesus was gone, an existential void remained: how to go on living? For whom to live? Whom do I believe in? This existential emptiness was deepened by a profound disappointment. Thomas was disappointed in Jesus, disappointed in the one whom he loved, whom he considered his best friend. He did not want to take the risk a second time.
Thomas is sometimes referred to colloquially as "the unbeliever", but he evokes sympathy because every person has similar dilemmas and doubts in their faith.
Thomas expected rational evidence. He wanted to convince himself of the reality of the wounds of the Risen One through touch. Touching the body and wounds of Jesus is a sign of a personal relationship. It expresses closeness, bonding, trust. Conceit, self-confidence, feelings of superiority and distrust disappear. Faith passes from reason to heart, from the stage of rationality to that of trust.
When Jesus rose from the dead, Thomas did not believe, so he had him touch his body. In this case, the deacon saw with his own eyes how the Japhet "died" when he was thrown off the cliff, Thomas similarly saw/heard how Jesus was crucified and therefore "doubted" as did the deacon.
The most pivotal moment comes when the Japanese man says he is the devil because the deacon has already decided so in his mind. This moment strikes all the audience who have also come to believe that he is. The stranger made a mockery of the deacon. He allowed to call him akuma (devil), but did not admit whether he was one. The reason the priest lost his soul was because he refused to believe in things he could not see. This is why the priest said "show me your true form!" It was because he believed that other supernatural entities might be possible. If he was a Christian, it could only be a demon or an angel. But he lacks faith in his beliefs. The reason for the devil's laughter is that he has already won by the priest's lack of faith.
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7)
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Another fantastic point of this movie is Japanese Foreginer character. Surely the initial demonisation of this character was deliberate so that they can then lead us astray. The newcomer in the mountain community caused an avalanche of suspicion. He was portrayed as a evil spirit, a demon, freak, rapist and murderer but he seems as human as anyone else. He rides the bus and buys chickens. Still the viewer was not supposed to look at him as a human being. The Japanese shaman was once a man, but is no longer one. Sometimes he is just a normal person, we even saw him crying. The Japanese man is possessed by evil spirit. He has failed to rid himself of the evil and now the evil is inside him. During a search in a Japanese man's house, we see a Noh mask. The Noh mask can look different depending on how it is held. It may appear to be smiling when it is tilted upwards. While it may appear to be angry or even sad when it is tilted downwards. You can look at a stranger in the same way. It all depends on how you look at him.
Japanese is always very calm. Very stoic. He doesn't react to Jong-goo's repeated break-ins into his house. He doesn't even react when Jong-goo kills the Stranger's dog. You'd think it would be anger or fear or frustration. But he is unmoved by it. Jong-goo and his comrades swallowed the hook.
After the exorcism scene, the Japanese was not himself. He finally lost his cool and showed fear. He looked confused, running through the forest awkwardly falling wanting to get to Choon-bae's truck as quickly as possible. When he got there and saw that Choon-bae was no longer there a look of shock came over his face. The stranger followed him to his house. Then a confrontation took place between Choon-bae and Jong-goo and companions. After seeing the Japanese hiding in the bushes, they set off in pursuit of him. Thanks to this scene, many viewers might have thought that the Stranger is not a bad person. It all seems to make sense until you realize that Jong-goo is not chasing the Japanese man. He is chasing Park Choon-bae. The Japanese man's ritual was a transference (see: photograph on the altar). Park Choon-bae's soul entered the Japanese's body. The evil spirit in the Japanese man entered Park Choon-bae's body. That is why he ran straight to Choon-bae's truck in a complete panic. That's why he chases after the body. That's why he's so terrified of Jong-goo and his team. And that's why he's chasing after the Mystery Woman. He seems to know her. Maybe he blames her for what happened? Maybe, as with Jong-goo, she offered him help, which he just as much rejected and is upset because he remembers that he killed his own family? Whatever the reason, he pursues her. Choon-bae falling under the truck gives Jong-goo a chance to commit the sin. Jong-goo succumbs to the temptation of revenge and throws the body of an innocent man off a cliff. Since it wasn't the Evil Spirit, Shaman says "Rat took the bait".
And once again the viewer has quite a conundrum here. Who is bad and who is good? Why did the Japanese man land on the truck? Did the mysterious woman dump him? Or was it a coincidence? If he wanted to die, why didn't he let Jong-goo and friends kill him earlier? And if the woman dumped him, what did she accomplish? So many unanswered questions.
The main advantage of not showing what happened is that doubts about the Woman in White can be planted in the viewer again. And this in turn puts Il-Gwang in a good light. After all, he has claimed that she is the real Evil Spirit. The first thing many will think of will be her figure on the cliff and the falling Japanese.
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The character of the shaman left the viewer in no doubt from the start. It would seemed that he is motivated by money and nothing else. Wrong. Il-gwang, visiting Jong-goo notices uncleanliness in the house, and after some searching finds a dead raven in a large container of soy sauce. Within the Christian religion, ravens have a special significance. While many people consider the dove to be the first and most important bird sent from Noah's ark, it was actually the raven that was the first bird brought by him. In many instances in the Bible, ravens and crows acted as heavenly messengers tasked with bringing food, water and other nourishment to those under divine protection. The crow itself is a dual symbol. It can be argued that Il-gwang finds the crow because he is in league with the demon.
The shaman is related to an old Japanese man. He is also Japanese. In the scene where the shaman is dressing up, he is wearing the same underwear as the Japanese man. The Japanese took pictures of the victims before they died, and the shaman took pictures after they died. These are not just photographs, but the souls they took. The shaman takes the demon to various villages and then earns money from these residents.
The exorcism scene is designed to lead us astray again. If Shaman was working with the Stranger, why would he perform an exorcism? Doesn't this prove that the Shaman is the good guy? After all, we see Il-Gwang nailing a wooden statue injuring the Stranger. As it turned out, the Stranger was doing something completely different. He was not at all trying to counter Il-Gwang's exorcism and take control of Hyo-jin. On his shrine we see neither Hyo-jin, nor Jong-goo, nor Il-Gwang. Instead, we see a picture of Park Choon-bae dead in a truck. Whatever the Stranger is doing, it has to do with Choon-bae's body. We even see the truck and the candles that the Stranger has lit around it. During the ritual, Choon-bae's body even moved. The dead man was resurrected. This begs the question of why Hyo-jin's body reacts to the exorcism. During her torment we see the shaman stabbing the wooden totem. Shortly afterwards, we are shown a Japanese man on screen who starts running away and crying. They wanted us to think that Il-Gwang was hurting the Japanese man and Hyo-jin. What Shaman has been doing is removing the mysterious woman's defences and this is why Hyo-jin reacts with pain.
The wooden statue that the shaman attacked during the ritual is called "jangseung", which in Korean tradition means guardian of the city. These totem-like wooden figures were created to ward off demons and were placed around villages to form a sort of line or fence. The shaman cut down the totem that should protect the village and in this way tried to get rid of the female spirit - the guardian of the whole village. The scene where the shaman nails the totem refers to the crucifixion. He is depicted as Pilate or the Jews acting as an agent of the devil. Either way, we know that Shaman got involved and broke protection by allowing the demon to kill Choon-bae's family.
Furthermore, after the murder at Park Chun-bae's house, we see that they performed the same ritual that no one survived. This scene takes place after Shaman has started working with Jong-goo's family. Shaman tells Jong-goo that the man Jong-goo upset is not a man at all, but a ghost. We then see the police at the scene of another murder. Many people are dead. One of of them has even been pulled out of a well. The policemen look at a picture of the murderer and say that his name is Park Choon-bae. Choon-bae's house looks like a party has just been thrown. There are colourful flags and other decorations. Many tables with food and flowers and even a pig. There are also mats with swords. It's easy to overlook this on first viewing. But you might recognise that these are all the same things that Il-Gwang had in Jong-goo's house. The implication was that Il-Gwang had just performed the same seance/ritual for someone else. And it didn't work. The demon kept coming and murdered everyone. It was further proof that they were working together.
The shaman tricks the viewer into thinking he is the good guy and then sees a mysterious woman and starts vomiting and bleeding from her nose, a sign of impurity. He is certainly not a powerful person because after meeting with the Mysterious Woman we see a change in his behaviour. Il-Gwang was so terrified that he tried to flee the city but was stopped by a swarm of locusts. Seeing this scene we initially assume that it was the evil Japanese. Although in the old testament it was God who sent the plagues of Egypt. It turned out to be just a vision, but intense and meaningful enough that he got back in his car and went back to town to get Jong-goo to complete the evil ritual. Jang-goo is shown at first as tempted by lust (he sins), and then the shaman takes advantage of his weakness to
convince him that the young woman is to blame, that she is ya and that she will tempt him. The shaman tells Jong-goo that the stranger Japanese is not a demon. that the mysterious woman is one. And he must run away to to save his family from her. The woman in turn claims that she is not a demon, she is only there to save his family from the Japanese and the shaman, who are actually working together. Jong-goo is confused and doesn't believe the woman, who is clearly not a human being.
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The main protagonist Jong-goo is trying to solve the mysterious murders happening in his small village. All the villagers point out a stranger from Japan. People think he is a demon and some people claim that they have seen him with glaring red eyes preying animals. But Jong-goo doesn’t believe them.
Jong-goo, like the viewer, is unable or unwilling to distinguish between who is an ally and who is an enemy.
No belief system gives him answers. Jong-goo was unable to trust something momentary or unknown that challenged his worldview. Jong-goo was unable to do so, refusing to the woman because he did not understand what she was.
Jong-goo: What are you? A woman or a ghost?”
Mysterious Woman: Why do you ask?
Jong-goo: I need to know…if I can put my faith in you.
Mysterious Woman: Just believe and your family will be saved.
Jong-goo: What are you?
Mysterious Woman: Someone trying to save your daughter. A woman.
It is easier for Jong-goo to believe the Shaman and to doubt the woman because one is more familiar to him than the other. The same thing happened to the disciples and apostles of Jesus. They doubted until Jesus calmed their doubts with food. Spirits do not eat, people eat - so Jesus is not a spirit; he is a man. With such proof, the apostles listened to everything Jesus had to say. Unfortunately, the woman did not give Jong-goo the same assurances.
During Jong-goo's last meeting with Mysterious Woman, he asks her why this is happening to his family. It wasn't enough for Jong-goo that he could save his daughter, he wanted to know why it came to the point where he had to save her. The woman blamed him, claiming that he had sinned, suspected someone, tried to kill them and succeeded. This makes no sense to Jong-goo because events are not sorted out in his head. He doesn't understand what the woman told him. He states that it was his daughter who got sick first, suggesting that the Stranger targeted them first. Anger and incomprehension wash through him, he doesn't think about the fact that he basically killed a man. He justifies this fact on the grounds that the Japanese man was an evil spirit, a demon, a devil. Killing someone, even if you think you have a reason for it, is a sin. After the Stranger landed on Jong-goo's car, Jong-goo had a choice. He could take a moral stance and help him as a person in need who had strayed from the right path, or he could punish him and presumably do a "good deed" by getting rid of the evil. This kind of moral test is common in stories of Christianity and other religions. Does the hero remain true to the teaching of the religion? If so, he is rewarded. If not, he is ruined. When Jong-goo committed a sin and "killed" the Stranger, he lost his moral innocence. He failed the test.
Jong-goo's sin has stained him. That's why woman wants to keep him away from her family. Because if she can maintain a sense of purity in the house, the demon will not be able to kill. The ritual of evil will fail. This is why we are shown the branch (talisman) on the front gate that has withered when Jong-goo crosses the threshold of his house. His sin breaks the protective spell, allowing the demon to feast and complete his work.
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In this film, neither Christianity, nor the shaman, nor the mysterious woman know the answer. The priest simply tells Jong-goo to trust the doctors, even though the doctors have already failed. The shaman actively betrays Jong-goo's trust. Neither character, wants to fully explain themselves to anyone.
In general, we see a film that shows the impotence of man and his reactions to this state of affairs. Who should be blamed? How to cope with the hardships? We should find the answer in faith, but who and what do you believe in? In Christianity? In Buddhism? In a shaman? In doctors and television? Do you have faith or do you not have enough? Like the priest who entered the devil's cave?
Here is a deleted scene that explain everything:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dwu-e1K78c
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In conclusion, this is a wonderful film, which the viewers cannot find peace until they understand what they have just watched. Highly recommed. 10/10.
The Korean Chosun dynasty, founded in the late 14th century, survived until the early 20th century. For more than 500 years, its uniqueness under 27 kings made its mark in the annals of world history. Each king was assigned several Royal Secretaries, whose job was to write diaries on behalf of the king. After the King's death, the Court Historians edited these exhaustive records, for the next King, and for posterity. Huge collections, of these edited diaries, called "Royal Records of the Chosun Dynasty", have survived intact. The king in this story, according to the Records, was an exceptional tyrant. No king before him or after him had ever committed such acts. Nevertheless, the Records also show him to be a man of great sensitivity and intelligence. When he was a child, as a result of court intrigues, his mother was forced to commit suicide by drinking poison. Her death left a permanent trauma in the psyche of the future king. Undoubtedly, this trauma played a significant role in the deformation of his character. Which can be observed in the king's behavior towards Gong Gil, who sees in him the image of his mother. On September 2, 1506, he was deprived of the throne, as a result of the revolt of the nobles.