Reviews

Beautifully Story

I enjoyed this movie, it was touching, with great chemistry, and laughter, and pain. It's real life at its best. I love how everyone finally found their place in life and a community that supports them. The only bad I have to say was the courtroom was annoying and felt wasteful overall. I love the leads and their amazing chemistry about finally coming out and being together. I am not a fan of the ending as it keeps you guessing and wish it did a better job of giving closer because it leaves you guessing still as to how they all will live. Wish they did the joint custody life as the ending.

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》Aquatic crime-action epic《

This year’s festival provided a refreshing plethora of non-English language films for TIFF-goers to flock to. Another big film for South Korea this year’s fest premiered at TIFF 2023 to an ecstatic and enthusiastic crowd, all gathered to see the red carpet talent and experience the North American premiere of “Smugglers,” a film by director Ryoo Seung-wan. Written by the director and co-writers Kim Jung-youn and Choi Cha-won, they construct a twisty heist tale brimming with action and women empowerment that is more than a joy to witness. The film has been marketed as an “aquatic crime-action epic,” and that description just about sums up this delightful surprise the best anyone could.

Ryoo Seung-wan is masterful in his direction at balancing comedic moments with an overarching theme of women empowerment in this exciting, tense, triumphant adventure flick. His characters have impeccable comedic timing with quick quips or long-winded jokes. Still, he’s able to flip the switch and bring back the heart-pounding intricate action scenes or intense interrogation moments. The underwater antics are more than impressive, with much of the film involving his characters holding their breaths and swimming, fighting, or working underwater. Despite this added element of difficulty, both Ryoo Seung-wan and the teamwork with his noble cast make them able to pull these stunts off effortlessly. His “Smugglers” is a refreshing new addition to the action-crime-drama genre, and with his focus on female leads, female empowerment, and female ‘badassery,’ he knocks it out of the park.

The performances by the entire ensemble are a joy to witness, from depictions of the ultra-talented haenyeo women and powerful teahouse ladies to cartoonish crime-lord villains with impeccable fighting techniques. Kim Hye-soo and Yum Jung-ah have a phenomenal and believable on-screen relationship as former best friends, both before and after the fallout their characters go through. They depict stubborn yet clever individuals who will each do anything to get ahead of the opponent, and watching their antics play out is extremely enjoyable. Go Min-si portrays a seemingly mousey and quiet teahouse girl, Go ok-bun, who we witness go through a satisfying character arc from beginning to end. There’s also the three men — head honcho Kwon, the hoodlum Do-ri (Park Jeong-min), and the officer Jang-chun (Kim Jong-soo), who all give entertaining, intentionally cartoonish performances in which they fully commit to their roles. So when the women decide to turn all three men against each other for their own benefit, well, it’s as hilarious as it is satisfying.

“Smugglers,” being set in the 1970s, is also an absolute treat to the senses. From colorful costumes, immersive set pieces, and a funky score, the audience is plunged just as much into the depths of the Kunchon region’s sea as they are into the aesthetic of the time period. There are Farah Fawcett wigs galore, groovy pucci print clothes with more than enough bellbottoms, polyester pantsuits, and wide-collared blouses to go around. Ryoo Seung-wan even edits a fun, celebratory post-heist shopping spree segment with the ladies in split screens, loud colors, and complete with the music of the era, and it’s more than enjoyable to witness. Composer Chang Ki-ha’s immersive score fits in well to compliment the flashiness and fun on-screen, aiding in the delight and antics. This juxtaposition of the 1970s era with its very modern theme and message of women empowerment and leadership is a satisfying mix, lending to the level of gratification one may feel at the end of experiencing this film.

“Smugglers” is a refreshing combination of classic crime, heist, and adventure film tropes with a mix of 1970s influences and modern themes. His characters are intriguing and easy to root for or against, as they are portrayed fabulously by the attractive and personable cast. The writing is fun and funky, even involving double and quintuple crossing that occurs, causing the director to take us back in time to relive scenes from new perspectives, challenging the audience on what they thought they knew. The groovy aesthetic is addictive as it is immersive, and both the above surface and underwater action sequences are a high-energy delight. It’s nearly impossible not to have an enjoyable time with “Smugglers,” so it’s fair to say Ryoo Seung-wan hit the nail on the head with this one.

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Good movie

Loneliness is a terrible thing. When you are alone and think, "What is the point in living?" This movie addresses this issue. I'm certainly no writer or director, but I wished that the ghosts hadn't been so caricature-like. I felt at the beginning I was watching a cartoon. I felt the same way in the Chinese version. For me, it made it hard to bond with the characters because they seemed unbelievable. The rating came up for me because of the ending, which was wonderful.

The music was overpowering and irritating during the beginning of the movie, I think it was to make us feel like this was a comedy?

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Size doesn’t matter, as long as you can make a joke out of it

As other reviewers have noted, this movie is not your typical weeknight drama. This show certainly pushes one “sensitive” topic relentlessly. It is not even really about sex but the awkward situation both men and women find themselves in once you get past first base and must do the “show and tell” and keep up with the Kim's.

Maybe the show is trying to milk the shock value but almost every second scene will involve a discussion/action related to the human sex organs and how well they are functioning, or more likely, not functioning. It does the trick . . . for the first 15 minutes but combined with the barely-there filter on bad languages, the dialogues can be quite one-note. You do become desensitised.

BTW, they don’t just talk about sex but there are several elaborate sex scenes. Most are centred on a softcore "starlet" (aka SFL) who is happy to bare all for her art. It is not exactly egregious, but it is pretty much done like punctuations and to emphasis that they can walk the walk. However, this doesn’t quite extend to our leads. They provide their fair share of skinship, but it is quite tame by comparison.

Once we pare back all those "extremities", we are left with a fairly basic rom-com. It boils down to the usual enemy to lover, romance/healing drama. All the typical misunderstandings and push-pulls are present and accounted for. This show leans more heavily into the comedy side with most angst radiating from the FL as she rage against the patriarchy. The movie ticked a lot of boxes but with only 100min run time, there is barely enough time to race through the tropes.

Acting is fine. The leads are charismatic and they make a nice couple. Support cast tends to overact but this is the style of show we are dealing with.

In the end, the movie is entertaining and watchable. It does deliver a fluffy romance and it all ends well. It is not as shocking as the initial premise as the show does fall back to the well-trodden path even though that path was edged with brambles. I suppose the NC-17 rating proves that it wants to be contentious, but not WAY out there.

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abusive love story...

when i watched this movie... i had to take multiple breaks to finish it... i see a lot of reviews of people saying it is 'pure art' and while i do see how they could come to that conclusion, considering the way the movie is filmed, (i like the way it was filmed, it really does give it a unique vibe) i still firmly believe that this movie was absolutely terrible. in the movie, the main characters brother falls for her, and one of the 'love interests' encourages her to send explicit pictures of her body, and her brother ends up finding out. the plot is dark, and none of the boys she is set up to 'fall in love with' had any redeeming qualities at all. if you look at this from a non-romantic point of view, then its a great movie about a girl who meets the wrong people and ends up getting into some bad stuff, but ultimately finds that she doesn't need any kind of romance. but when you go into the movie expecting a love triangle of some sort, it just feels like a psychological horror more than anything.

to be completely fair, its been a while since i've seen this movie (i only recently got this app) but i figured i'd warn anyone who is expecting something good and romantic. to say the least, this movie was "black!"

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Don't Think... go watch now!

Oh my.. what a thriller cum suspense movie. One of the best K-movie of this genre I must say.

You will keep on guessing what might be the catch but till the very end you won't know.
So take my opinion over this, don't force yourself to pick up on any clues.. you won't get any.. in this process you will ruin the mood that the movie is going to set.
Just watch with a blank mind and enjoy this masterpiece.
Trust me.. i somehow resent myself for ruining it by thinking about the possible suspense in every 5 mins.

The acting the plot is mind boggling and will leave you amazed at its twist and turns.

The first 15 mins may seem like a horror genre and m not gonna lie.. there's a jumpscare as well to make you believe it to be one. But actually it's a thriller suspense movie so don't quit just because it scared you in the beginning! :D

Must watch movie!

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I really liked director Anucha's last work - the series Not Me, so I tried this film, her first film from 2004, originally as a university graduation film, and here you can feel something different, nice. I fully agree with the depositor of this film r4472c that it is above all a charming picture, sometimes a work of art, and this time the Thai sticky, torturous, sometimes sad music sat like a pot. It's just a shame that the experience was spoiled by a bad copy of the movie.

Poslední dílo režisérky Anuchy - seriál Not Me, se mi moc líbil, tak jsem zkoukl tento film, její prvotinu z roku 2004, původně jako vysokoškolský absolventský film a už zde je cítit něco jiného, pěkného. Plně souhlasím s vkladatelem tohoto filmu r4472c, že se jedná především o okouzlující obraz, kolikrát přímo výtvarné dílo, a tentokráte mi i thajská tklivá, mučivá, někdy smutná hudba, sedla jako prdel na hrnec. Škoda jen, že prožitek kazila nedobrá kopie filmu.

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For me, gay romance was just such a whitewash, diet, BLANK, rather really just a bromance. A film that didn't bring me much new, as if it was made for older children, but set in part in the beautiful Thai environment that tourists love so much. The music is nice at times, but I found it often violent. One not-so-much scene and a wistful and mournful piano melody kicks in, and many times, it's as if the creators were looking for depth in a scene that was flat in terms of story and acting.


Gay romance to pro mě byla jen taková piánko, dietní, NEVÝRAZNÁ, spíše opravdu jen bromance. Film, který mě nic moc nepřinesl nového, jakoby točený pro větší děti, ale zasazeno zčásti do krásného thajského prostředí, které turisté tak milují. Hudba sice někdy hezká, ale připadalo mi to mnohdy násilné. Jedna nic moc scéna a k tomu se rozjede tklivá a zarmoucená klavírní melodie, a mnohokrát, jakoby tvůrci hledali hlubokomyslnost ve scéně, která byla příběhově i herecky plochá.

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Didn't connect much to it

It was overall a pretty comforting watch overall, especially with the cooking theme. I loved that the sisterhood as well and seeing how each of them had a different dynamic with their father, but wish we saw more of it.

I'm honestly not sure if we got too much or too little of the romance subplots — I didn't see enough about it to really care about them, but I would have also preferred more family scenes. In general, I didn't connect to this film as much as I wanted — I really appreciated the father-daughter themes but felt more neutral about each of the romance plots.

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A movie for those who miss someone.

A mom and her young teen daughter looses the dad of the family in death. The whole world of the young teen girl is changed, new town, new school, new people. One boy at her new school seems to annoy her. He is free to cut up, be a slacker. He has no clue why she is shy and very reserved. He learns to be patient with her. He wants to be patient with her.
For those who miss someone or need a little push to cry, try this movie and know that people are willing to help, even if they really don’t know how. Please Don’t Save Me is a simple story that is built upon a Mom and her daughter and a boy who learns to give of himself.

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Freezing and terrifying.

Lady Vengeance appears at first sight as a strong emotional drama, seemingly almost a pleasant film. But if you just scratch the surface a little with your fingernail, you'll soon discover a print mood so unsettling you can almost touch it.

For over 13 years, Geum-Ja has been imprisoned. The reason is that at the age of 19 she pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of a 5-year-old boy. But the confession was not the whole truth and a burning desire for revenge now hangs in the air.

Starring Lee Young-ae performs pure magic sweetly. Her face is at times so incredibly innocent - Completely glowing with warmth and good intentions, then, in the blink of an eye, turns to a harsh emptiness, tart and defiant anger and contemptuous nonchalance.

Every frame in Lady Vengance is so well thought out that it amazes you. Small surreal details inserted with a sure hand reinforce the impression that it is a unique film. Geum-Ja's story moves easily and smoothly between flashbacks and the present, while the fates of her fellow prisoners are inserted like puzzle pieces into her detailed revenge plan. Through an incredible manipulation, Geum-Ja connects more and more people in the prison - Each one fulfills a purpose and is used just as obviously. In the prison, people begin to discern the two faces of our Lady Vengeance, as she is called Geum-Ja the Kindhearted and Geum-Ja the Witch. One expressed with warmth - The other with an involuntary respect. Because for 13 years she has successively won over, exploited and helped all the people she coldly expects to need in the future and wrapped them around her fingers. Because vengeful women banded together are capable of anything.

As a film, the action moves continuously, which helps to keep the tension razor sharp. Although it is calm and serene, there is a constant awareness that it is an apparent calm that heralds a violent storm and the air crackles more and more with charged electricity. With simple means at hand, one becomes disgusted, saddened, imprisoned, All the while one is unsure which of the faces Geum-Ja shows is her true self - Or if she even knows it herself.

What makes Lady Vengance such a remarkable film? Because it is probably not a film that suits everyone. You mustn't be too restless for this movie, you mustn't expect classy action and choreographed fights, you mustn't expect a fast pace.

The contrast is most dazzling when all the slow, beautiful stillness is set against the raw and brutality of revenge. Nevertheless, if you have seen director Park Chan-Wok's previous films Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy, you risk being disappointed. Lady Vengance puts an end to the director's revenge trilogy and is light years from the previous ones. It is characterized by incredibly less violence and at the same time manages to create a greater discomfort than the other films. It is closer to the Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters because it creeps up on you like cold ridges along the spine.

The violence we see has nothing hollywoodized about it, there is no high tech Matrix aesthetic here, it is close, harsh and leaves most to our own imagination. When a group of middle-aged people discuss weapons, draw lots for turn order, and protect their clothes from blood splatters, logical reasoning about the execution of revenge is one of the scariest things I've seen in a very long time.

If revenge is best served cold, then Lady Vengeance is perfection. Frosted so cold you get goosebumps just being near it. When you take it in, it's like swigging a whiskey on the rocks.

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