Samaria (2004)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Ki-duk Kim

Writer:

Ki-duk Kim (writer)

Release Date:

5 March 2004 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Jae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates...

Plot Keywords:

Prostitute | Police Officer | Father | Murder | Father Daughter Relationship

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Yeo-reum Han	...	Jae-yeong (as Min-jeong Seo)
Ji-min Kwak	...	Yeo-jin
Eol Lee	...	Yeong-ki
Kwon Hyun-Min	...	Salesman
Oh Young	...	Musician
Gyun-Ho Im	...	Tidily Guy
Lee Jong-Gil	...	Happy Guy
Shin Taek-Ki	...	Suicide
Jung-gi Park	...	Murder Victim
Gul-seon Kim	...	Second Salesman
Seung-won Seo	...	Man in his 30s
Yoo Jae-Ik	...	Pedestrian
In-gi Jung	...	Ki-Su
Jin-bae Jeon	...	Policeman #1
Yook Sae-Jin	...	Policeman #2

Also Known As:

Samaritan Girl (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and sexual content.

Runtime:

Germany:95 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Dolby SR

Certification:

Spain:18 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:16 | UK:15 | Mexico:B15 | South Korea:18 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | USA:R | Germany:16 | Japan:R-15 | Sweden:15

Company:

Kim Ki-Duk Film

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the father teaches the daughter to drive the car, the sound equipment (front window) and the crew (side window) are reflected in the windows of the car.

Soundtrack:

Gymnopédies - La 1 Ere. Lent et Douloureux

Strange, slightly uneven, but ultimately worth the effort

Ultimately I liked this a lot, although it was very strange. It went through at least three completely different, distinct tones and styles over the course of the film. At first it played like a slightly skewed, but still rather melodramatic, teen drama, almost like one of those Korean soap operas. Very different from my previous exposure to Kim Ki-Duk. Then it started to become a violent revenge story, like something Chan Wook-Park would do. Still sort of more conventional than other Kim Ki-Duk though, not at all minimalistic or slow. The beginning part was actually somewhat contrived, not like an "art" film at all, in any sense of the word. But then, in it's last third, the film becomes an abstract road movie, much more in the style i've previously associated with Kin Ki-Duk. I certainly can't say that this is a consistent film, and the pacing was obviously rather uneven given the gradual transition from borderline-conventional melodrama into minimalistic, impressionistic art film, but overall there was something about it that I liked a lot. Through all the muddledness, i can tell that Kim Ki-Duk is an interesting filmmaker. There's obviously something going on in his films worth taking note of.