Bakjwi (2009)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Seo-Gyeong Jeong (writer)
Chan-wook Park (writer)

Release Date:

30 April 2009 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Plot:

A failed medical experiment turns a man of faith into a vampire.

Plot Keywords:

Virus | Priest | Vampire | Medical Experiment | One Word Title

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Kang-ho Song	...	Priest Sang-hyeon
Ok-vin Kim	...	Tae-joo
Hae-sook Kim	...	Lady Ra
Ha-kyun Shin	...	Kang-woo
In-hwan Park	...	Priest Noh
Dal-su Oh	...	Yeong-doo
Young-chang Song	...	Seung-dae
Mercedes Cabral	...	Evelyn
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Immanuel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hee-jin Choi	...	Nurse
Woo-seul-hye Hwang	...	Girl with a whistle
Hwa-ryong Lee	...	Professor Ku
Mi-ran Ra	...	Nurse Yu

Also Known As:

Thirst (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Evil Live (International: English title) (working title)
Untitled Chan-wook Park Project (International: English title) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic bloody violence, disturbing images, strong sexual content, nudity and language.

Runtime:

133 min | South Korea:145 min (director's cut)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | USA:R (certificate #45440) | Australia:MA (2009) | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:R21 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | UK:18 | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III

Company:

CJ Entertainment

Movie Connections:

References Sam gang yi (2004)

Soundtrack:

Ich habe genug

Beautiful, tragic, twisted, absurd, and darkly comic

If you love Chan-wook Park, you know what to expect. His films are brutal, poetic, tragic, and artistic, with splashes of very grim humor. THIRST is clearly Park's style, and I loved every second of it, from the cinematography (every shot is gorgeous and creative) to the story, which blends Shakespearean tragedy, murderous love, Gothic horror, and layered character drama. The characters are complex and there is plenty of moral ambiguity to go around. Even the most sociopathic character evokes sympathy. The direction is restrained and the performances are nuanced - like SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, there are too many subtleties to take in on the first viewing. Chan-wook Park is an intelligent, bold, consistently surprising filmmaker. It's unpredictable - scenes go from brutal and heart-wrenching to laugh-out-loud hilarious in an instant. This is closer to LADY VENGEANCE then SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE as far as being over-the-top and comical. But, like LADY VENGEANCE, it's incredibly rich, thought-provoking, and rewarding.

If you like beautifully told vampire stories (LET THE RIGHT ONE IN) or are a fan of Chan-wook Park, seeing THIRST should be obvious. Easily one of the best films of 2009.