|
Bloody Aria" is the latest film from Korean
director Won Shin Yeon, who recently made his
debut with the painfully earnest haunted thatch
ghost film "The
Wig". His sophomore effort is a different
prospect entirely, being a stripped down, brutal
slice of tension, shot through with a nasty streak
of dark humour and given a distinctly Korean line
in social commentary. Although the director's
second film, "A Bloody Aria" had
actually been in planning for some time, with the
script having generated considerable industry
interest after winning an important competition.
The film begins with a music
professor called Park Young-sun, taking In Jeong
(Cha Ye-ryeon, also in "Voice"), a young
female student for a ride in the country in his
fine new Mercedes. Unfortunately, while showing
off, the foolish man incurs the wrath of a traffic
policeman, an incident which results in the couple
taking shelter on a remote river beach. After
rejecting the sleazy Park's advances, In-jeong
flees into the woods, leaving him alone, at least
until an odd, and increasingly threatening bunch
of men turn up (including actor Han Suk Kyu, star
of "Shiri",
here playing a villain for the first time), who
may or may not have killed the poor girl.
Although "A Bloody
Aria" has been described as being a Korean
take on "Deliverance", it is actually
closer to the French "Calvaire" (also
known as "The Ordeal") in that it is
edgy, unpredictable, and at times thoroughly
weird. Director Won takes a refreshingly different
approach to what could have been a standard tale
of city folks menaced by crazy bumpkins, mainly in
that he serves up an off-key set of characters,
none of whom really fit into the traditional roles
viewers are used to. The film does not feature an
obvious protagonist, or even an anti-hero, and
although some of the characters are more vicious
than others, it gradually becomes clear that all
are victims in one way or another. Despite this,
the characters are well drawn, and the viewer
learns about them through a series of revelations
which unfold in a surprising, though believable
manner.
None of the relationships in
the film are straightforward, with some of them
emerging as being very twisted, and through this,
Won ventures into some fairly complex moral
territory, and explores the effects of
institutions such as the army. The film is chiefly
concerned with themes of bullying, which it
actually deals with in quite a subtle manner and
on several levels, dealing with both the
aggressors and victims in a fluid way which
eschews stereotyping or easy answers. The lines
between right and wrong are not so much blurred as
thrown out of the window, as the characters
gradually become more and more animalistic, yet at
the same time, somehow more human, giving the
proceedings an almost tragic feel.
The film is tense throughout,
with Won tightening the screws almost from the
first frame. The plot progresses quite cleverly,
and with a fiendish sense of inevitability, with
the level of brutality increasing almost as an
outlet for the characters' psychological torment.
Although never bloody or explicit, the film is
sadistic, intense and visceral, especially towards
the end, and there is an air of threat throughout,
with the viewer constantly expecting outbursts of
violence.
Through all of this, Won
maintains a bleak sense of humour, and "A
Bloody Aria" is frequently very funny. Many
of these laughs come either at the expense of the
would-be lothario and distinctly unheroic
professor, or at the sheer strangeness of the
events. Aside from a few moments of violent
slapstick, most of the laughs are decidedly
low-key, and are well played against the ever
growing tension rather than being allowed to
dominate.
At times the film does feel
rather like a play, given its small cast of
characters and limited locations, though this
certainly works in its favour, as the minimalist
approach allows the director to focus in truly
discomforting fashion, never giving the viewer a
moment of respite from the increasingly unpleasant
events. As such, "A Bloody Aria" stands
as a brave, powerful and unconventional film which
shocks and thrills, as well as making a genuine
attempt to delve into the minds of its characters,
and which certainly marks Won as a talent to
watch.
|
