Thirst

I've been eagerly waiting for a chance to see Chan-wook Park's (who happens to be one of my favourite directors ever) latest film, Thirst (2009). In my opinion, the films of his "Vengeance trilogy" are among the greatest cinematic masterpieces. As a trilogy, I would even consider over any other trilogy. I hold him as one of the few true masters of black comedy, and he even seamlessly merges it with a dramatic aspect in his films. So when I heard he was working on a story that involves a priest (played by Kang-ho Song!) turning into a vampire, I knew it was going to be an awesome film. It had all the ingredients to be an extremely "delicious" story for Park, and he made it even funnier and more complex than I could ever expect. After being transformed into a vampire, the priest tries to help a woman (Kim Ok-vin) he falls in love with.

Thirst's black humor is by no means a disappointment when compared to Park's other films. It is not as wild as in I'm a Cyborg But That's OK (2006), but it isnt subtle by any standards. There is hardly a scene without a reason to laugh out loud. Even the "creepy" and "shocking" moments are handled in a satirical (or even farcical) way. Yes, the film has a lot sex, violence and blood (LOTS of it) - and all of these are handled in a funny way despite being a bit exploitative. Sucking blood is awfully (or shall I say, "deliciously") loud, which provoked me to laugh hard. Park's genuinely funny and refreshing take on vampires is something the "Twilight generation" desparately should see.

Even though the film is full of hilarious dark humor, Park manages to dive deep into a surprisingly wide selection of themes: guilt and immortality as the most important (and obvious) ones. There is also a lovely amount of metaphors in Thirst, more than what I'm used to with Park's films - and that's a good sign. This huge amount of content makes the storytelling a little clunky at times. The pacing might seem a little uneven sometimes, and that is what a lot of critics have used as an argument against Thirst. I was able to get through most of it although there was especially one plot point that felt very uneven and rushed, but luckily it didnt distract me for longer than 5-10 minutes. The narrative will certainly cause problems for a lot of viewers, and that is why I can't honestly call Thirst perfect. Some critics say Thirst "drags on" or "overstays its initial welcome", but I can only shrug at those statements. Thirst is a very tightly packed film which couldnt be any shorter and all of its wild content is essential to maintain the film's admirable complexity.

Park's use of camera movement is unbelieveable in Thirst. The camera moves a lot, and in fascinating patterns which really pack a strong punch. His cinematography is fantastic in other aspects too. The compositions, lighting and colors are simply breathtaking and they are really used as well as they can to set the mood. Similarly to Park's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2001), there isn't a lot of music in Thirst. Although there are a few short bits here and there, it is almost completely nonexistent. Even the short bits are a bit subtle and silent so that even those moments are not dominated by music.

As expected, Kang-ho Song's performance is brilliant in Thirst. The priest would have been a juicy role for anyone, but Song is simply perfect for it. But surprisingly the real scene stealer is Kim Ok-vin whose pitch-perfect performance is haunting, cunning and extraordinary. She delivers the various aspects of her character (who gets an incredible amount of character development during the film) in a fascinating way. Her demonic facial expressions are simply unforgettable. As usually with Park's films, his regulars appear in small roles yet again.

In overall, Thirst is a brilliant film which is a bit difficult to watch on the first time due to the clunky storytelling, but that is only a minor flaw for me because it is - in a way - justified for the sake of maintaining the complexity.

Score: 9 out of 10