It seems like most years, Korean films at Cannes come late in the schedule. This year, however, Im Sangsoo’s THE HOUSEMAID was one of the first movies to be screened (you can see the trailer here). Reviews of Im’s remake of the Kim Ki-young classic have been mixed, with the general gist being it is outrageous, full of sex, Jeon Do-yeon is great, the story is a little weak and overwrought. Here is an overview of some of the reviews:
– Derek Elley, Film Biz Asia: Actress Jeon Do-yeon shines in a super-stylish, erotic drama with less depth than it thinks. Robust festival potential, plus decent arthouse chances beyond Asia.
– Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter: An operatic, sensuous social satire that dares to be different from the original classic.
– Lee Marshall, Screen International: Tasty, full of black humour, but finally upended by the mannerist games it plays so ably, erotic thriller The Housemaid is a smart but shallow remake of Kim Ki-young’s cult 1960 Korean movie of the same name.
– Justin Chang, Variety (behind a firewall, so no point in linking): Doing an elegant upholstery job on one of the key Korean films of the ’60s, writer-director Im Sang-soo demonstrates an eye for luscious surfaces but fairly ludicrous dramatic instincts in “The Housemaid.” Not just a remake but a wholesale rethink of Kim Ki-young’s deranged black-and-white classic, this high-end softcore thriller is juicily watchable from start to over-the-top finish, but its gleeful skewering of the upper classes comes off as curiously passe, a luxe exercise in one-note nastiness.
– USA Today (do not know who wrote it, sorry): The Housemade is 99 percent a solid, sexy thriller. But the audience’s collective reaction to the final two scenes can only be described as: “??????????”
– Jon Frosch, France24: Im pushes the more lurid elements of his story – the sex, the violence – to the extreme; too bad he forgot to make the rest of it matter.
– Roger Ebert Barbara Scharres (sorry for that mixup), Suntimes: Today’s biggest treat, hands down, was Im Sang-soo’s “The Housemaid,” a remake of cult director Kim Ki-young’ sizzling 1960 film of the same title. This could be another triumphant year for the Korean cinema at Cannes. “The Housemaid” is a twisty suspense movie that takes its time getting to its shocking, utterly surprising conclusion. Thanks to a tight script, evocative cinematography and production design, and a stunning cast, every minute along the way is enjoyable.
Actually, this is a decent year for Asian films at Cannes, especially Korean films. You can read more about Asian entries here. And I will post more links as I come across them over the next couple of weeks.
“The Housemaid” was downright awful, using the original as a springboard for a vapid allegory belabouring trivial points about how the rich get what they want and the poor don’t. There might be something about the status of women in there but you’ll need some excellent bs-ing skills to extract it from the empty stylishness of the film. Or maybe Im was really trying to make a cleverly veiled statement about film festivals and how the average Joe producer is at the mercy of certain prestigious festivals. But really, no one should care – this terrible film should be forgotten.
Oh but Leon you overestimate the importance of Cannes to someone like Im, who like many other directors w/ aspiring auteurism still stand in shadow of Park, Bong, Lee Chang-dong, Kim Ji-woon’s international brand names.
From the get-go, this remake is calculated to advance his status (via prestige of Kim Ki-young X Scorsese-restoration, then mix it up with Jeon’s “Queen of Cannes” as existing pathway – even if mining her naive coquette trope from Harmonium/Untold Scandal/Mermaid/You’re My Sunshine.)
That “The Housemaid” remake is infinitely less balanced in its insights about various conflicting interests than “Good Lawyer’s Wife” (which after all is informed by Im’s own personal experience coming “up” the Middle-class travail), is less surprising than its defenders easily lapping up the material/eye-candy riches & tech craft of all involved.
Put on a good show and they’ll forget (the drab visuals and over-familiarity of Chabrol:P)
Oh but Leon you overestimate the importance of Cannes to someone like Im, who like many other directors w/ aspiring auteurism still stand in shadow of Park, Bong, Lee Chang-dong, Kim Ji-woon’s international brand names.
From the get-go, this remake is calculated to advance his status (via prestige of Kim Ki-young X Scorsese-restoration, then mix it up with Jeon’s “Queen of Cannes” as existing pathway – even if mining her naive coquette trope from Harmonium/Untold Scandal/Mermaid/You’re My Sunshine.)
That “The Housemaid” remake is infinitely less balanced in its insights about various conflicting interests than “Good Lawyer’s Wife” (which after all is informed by Im’s own personal experience coming “up” the Middle-class travail), is less surprising than its defenders easily lapping up the material/eye-candy riches & tech craft of all involved.
Put on a good show and they’ll forget (the drab visuals and over-familiarity of Chabrol:P)
Oops. Sorry about missing your comments a couple of weeks ago, Emily.
Personally, I do not mind a good show, even if there are substance problems. Regardless, I am looking forward to seeing The Housemaid for myself in a couple of weeks.