Address Unknown

Kim Ki-duk's Address Unknown (2001) takes place in a small Korean village near an American army base. The film is very similar to Kim's earlier production which focuses on ultraviolent, aggressive and narcissistic characters who are raped, tortured, sent to jail or killed by the end of the film. This time Kim has such a promising cast of characters to be used and an actually clever plot in his hands because this time his writing isn't so blind and one-sided. The characters are well developed and colorful - at first.

The problem is that Kim so utterly fails to use them and the film's final third is an embarrassing climax that couldn't have possibly been worse. The outcomes of the different storylines are portrayed in a confusing and dragging way. Initially the film promises interesting points of view on the American occupation and how all the characters are related to it, but the touchy subject is handled poorly - apart from one exception.

This time Kim's form isn't as refined as it is in his other films. Sometimes the editing works well - sometimes NOT. The cinematography is unfocused and a bit too carefree - his compositions simply don't get to the level of quality of his other films. The music is a bit irritating as well - the most offending moments are when Erik Satie's Gymnopedie is used TERRIBLY. That is unacceptable.

Ultimately, the film's first half is promising and somewhat good, but eventually it veers into a catastrophical failure.

Score: 5 out of 10