Fiction

Goksung

The Wailing
Na Hong-jin
Südkorea 2016
156 min
V'16

It begins as a sort of quirky Asian FARGO about a low-ranking policeman, Jong-gu (Kwak Do Won as a comedic common man). He’s ineptly investigating a series of mysterious fatalities in his rural village. Are they due to hallucinations caused by wild mushrooms, or connected to an eerie Japanese stranger living in the woods? Paranoid accusations finger everyone. When Jong-gu’s daughter is seized by the victims’ venomous signs of possession, he seeks help from a shaman of rock star charisma. And then, literally, all hell breaks loose. The film operates on an amazing sensory level, with each shot brilliantly composed to trigger your emotional synapses. As the film moves from whodunit to what’s-happening, its points of view fluctuate, gags shift to electrifying guts and gore, and visual clues are revealed as red herrings. It’s deliberately designed as a baffling film, and still never loses its dramatic balance. Kim Hwan Hee’s performance as the cop’s stricken daughter makes Linda Blair in THE EXORCIST look like a Disney princess. (Colin Covert)

Credits
  • Kwak Do Won - Jong Goo
  • Hwang Jung Min - Il Gwang
  • Kim Hwan Hee - Daughter
  • Kunimura Jun - The Stranger
  • Chun Woo Hee - nameless Woman
  • Na Hong Jin
  • Hong Kyung Pyo
  • Park Yong Ki
  • Kim Sun Min
  • Dalpalan
  • Jang Young Gyu
  • Lee Hwo Kyung
  • Chae Kyung Hwa
Fox International Production, Side Mirror

Finecut

DCP
col
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