Best Korean Film Ever Poll: Burning #1 / Parasite #2

Woman of Fire (1971) #84. Maybe almost 7/10. Ki-young's luridly colorful redo of his own The Housemaid, not on par but has a better very-ending and unforgettable images (the caul-like glass, or some shots (the blue one) repeated from The Housemaid become iconography). It's also the screen debut of Minari's Youn Yuh-jung - tho she doesn't need the damn Minari preface, she's a legend! Her perf is interesting bc it's kinda bad but works...her overreacting gives the movie some humor and in itself makes you question whether she's really such a dope or having calculated fun at the rich family's psychological expense?

A lot of slight writing, unpleasant violence, and questionable allowance of behavior tho the wife gets the best line belittling her famous husband (“You may write songs but you don’t know how to play the instruments"). Tragic ironic trivia: Ki-young and his wife died in an accidental house fire in 1998.



The Flower in Hell (1958) Unlisted! so very underrated! At least 7/10, I'd go higher but the last scene is such a badly happy add-on. There's a phenomenal climax right before that's really startling and wants a better ending note. Well-acted with a pointed, complex view of post-Korean War.... a young vet from the country searches Seoul for his older brother and finds he's mixed up with local prostitutes and small-time crime. The director Shin Sang-ok cast his wife Choi Eun-hee to play the colead, in a beautiful perf, and the two of them later on in 1978 - some more strange trivia - were abducted by North Korea and forced to make propaganda movies for them for almost a decade before fleeing to the States.

The Piper (2015) not on the list - ~ close to an 8 / 10

Like Burning this film's first part holds it back - which is why Burning often has to be watched twice before people get its full brilliance - but no one would watch this twice - but maybe you'll see it on reflection without actually watching it again...

This a terrific version of The Pied Piper of Hamelin - set after World War II - and ripe with ghosts, fear, legends, treachery, cruel betrayal and unspeakable horrors. If anything it reminds me of Werner Herzog where he takes something that is tale, a myth, a fable - and twists it to a new path.....

The ending of this movie and how it's done - with several astonishing camera choices - lots of wide shots pulling back to see something going forward, close ups on faces both resigned and fearful .......raises it like a whole point in my rating and when you reflect back on it ............you will think back on who are the rats, who are the pied pipers, and where do they lead you to, and why.

Side note: This movie has a huge unresolved question that I think - purposely - is left unexplained. Interesting choice....makes it more eerie.....

6.4 on IMDB.......