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| SAMARIA (2004) | |
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Two
high school girls, Jae-Young and Yeo-Jin, contact older men via the
internet in order for Jae-Young to sell herself. Yeo-Jin solicits the
clients and manages the income as they plan to make a trip to Europe.
However, everything is lost when Jae-Young jumps form a window in order to
avoid an arrest. Confused and aimless Yeo-Jin begins to seek closure
to the death of her friend and gets the idea to contact and return the
money to all of Jae-Young previous clients. When Yeo-Jin meets with
one of the clients her secret is uncovered as her father, a police
detective, who is investigating a murder of a young girl in the adjacent
hotel complex.
Samaria is a bizarre coming of age film that is split into three acts: Vasumitra, Samaria, and Sonata. Vasumitra, portrays the two girl's affectionate relationship and the ambiguous nature of their partnership. This act is a warm and sensitive journey into the girl's friendship, which is illustriously displayed with warm colors and intriguing mise-en-scene. The second act, Samaria, exposes the loss and confusion that Yeo-Jin experiences after Jae-Young's death. In addition, it displays the father's misery as he discovers his daughter's dark secret. The final act, Sonata, opens the door between the father and his daughter as they find a way to conclude the suffering that both of them are experiencing. Samaria's theme is of a disturbing nature as it presents teen prostitution, which has upset lots of viewers. Ki-duk Kim merely reveals the truth as he opens a can of worms for the audience that is based on tragic news and the facts of South Korea. Despite the unpleasant nature of the film, Kim goes on and tells the story of misguided youth and the adults that exploit them with tactfulness and consideration for the audience. The film is shot with detailed artistic quality, which brings deeper thoughts into the light. This reveals Ki-duk Kim's background in both philosophy and art. Kim's vision reflects on his Catholic upbringing as this is a tale that questions morals, guilt, and sin as the film brings the audience through a great cinematic journey. |
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DIRECTED BY |
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South Korea |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 6/4/2004 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
