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 pider Forest" is the latest offering from
South Korean writer/director Ilgon-Song, who last gave audiences the award
winning surreal feminist road movie "Flower Island". Like that
other movie, "Spider Forest" is a cinematic oddity, a film whose
genre is hard to pin down and whose incredibly intricate plot cannot be
described in too much detail without giving away some of the movie's
multiple twists. The film is equal parts horror, murder mystery and
detective thriller, though it is perhaps best described as being a
surrealist, disorientating exploration of memory and grief. In this respect,
it most resembles another recent Korean film, "A
Tale of Two Sisters", albeit in a far more adult and even more
intellectually demanding form.
"Spider Forest" is
certainly a film which requires the viewer's full concentration, as its
narrative landscape is one which constantly shifts and warps, filled with
symbolism, flashbacks, dreams and many sequences which may or may not be
real. A number of its scenes are very open to interpretation, and even after
the end credits have rolled, what the viewer has actually witnessed is
ambiguous. Throughout, Song never slips into pretension or outright
deception, and the film does have an overall sense of integrity which
challenges the viewer to decipher its mysteries rather than merely
frustrating with willful obscurity.
The film begins with a beaten, bloodied man named Min
(Woo-seong Kam, recently in the Korean horror hit "R-Point")
waking up in a dark, mysterious forest. He wanders through the trees,
eventually coming across a cabin, inside which he finds the badly
mutilated corpse of a man, and his own girlfriend, who dies in his arms
from similar injuries. As he explores the cabin, Min catches sight of the
killer, and pursues him into the woods, only to be knocked unconscious.
Upon waking, Min continues his search until he enters
a tunnel where he catches sight of his quarry just before he's hit by a
car. Min awakens in the hospital after being in a coma for two weeks, and
informs the police of the murders, which seems to have not been discovered
yet. Trying to piece back his own memories and work out what happened at
the cabin, Min finds himself both suspect and witness in the police
investigation, which itself reveals many strange and sinister secrets.
All of this takes place in the first quarter of the
film, and the plot is mainly revealed through flashback, though Song
muddies the waters by suggesting that some of these may in fact be
fictitious or possibly Min's own interpretations of his memories. Since
the film unfolds through Min's perspective, the viewer quickly comes to
share his confusion and unhinged state of mind, forced to try and piece
together the past and present from a series of cryptic fragments which are
clearly not being presented in chronological order. It probably comes as
no great surprise to learn that the film's ending is inconclusive. Whilst
it does offer some sense of closure, it provides no concrete answers,
merely a cipher with which to deconstruct that which has just been seen,
and as such the viewer still has a great deal of work to do in order to
unravel the mystery.
The strange thing about "Spider Forest", or
at least the key to its enjoyment, is the fact that the final denouement
itself is not the primary concern. Indeed, the identity of the killer is
no great mystery, and it is debatable whether or not the viewer is
supposed to be aware who is responsible for the murders from the very
beginning. Director Song seems far more concerned with the actual details,
and in that he certainly succeeds, as "Spider Forest" is rich
with a symbolism and meaning that is visually fascinating and cerebrally
stimulating. As a result, the film is achingly beautiful and very
atmospheric, especially the scenes inside the forest, which are genuinely
creepy as well as being obviously loaded with thematic pointers. The
overall feel of the film is one of great sadness, extolling a real sense
of grief, and a desperate longing to be remembered after death.
Because Song pays equal attention to his characters,
the film does not come across as an empty exercise in technique. Min is a
fully fleshed out and well-written person, and the viewer feels a genuine
sympathy for his plight, despite only coming to know him gradually as the
plot progresses. In many ways, Min acts as a symbol and reflection of the
viewer's own confusion, and as such we identify with him even during the
more surreal moments. The film's other main character, Su-Jin (Jung Suh,
unforgettable in Ki-duk Kim's "The
Isle") is equally fascinating, an enigmatic yet pivotal figure
whose constant presence rapidly yet subtly becomes the axis on which the
narrative turns.
The downside to all of this ambiguity and mystery is
that many viewers may feel frustrated. The plot is undeniably opaque, and
Song's refusal to provide easy answers or even clues to the reliability
and truth of the narrative has an equal chance of fascinating or
infuriating. The film is also quite slow moving, and probably could have
been trimmed down from its two hour running time. There are a few scenes
of bloody violence and surprisingly graphic sex (the film actually has a
'category III' rating), though these in themselves are probably not enough
to make the film enjoyable for the casual viewer.
"Spider Forest" is highly recommended to
those who enjoy ornate, intricate puzzles, and are not deterred by films
which require a great deal of work. Viewers seeking entertainment of a
more obvious and immediate nature are advised to stay away, as without
effort, the film is likely to only baffle and exasperate.
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