Samaritan Girl

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If you had asked me a year ago whether I'm a Kim Ki-duk fan or not, I would have replied 'yes'. Even films like The Isle fascinated me. However, I have gradually begun to lose my interest and appreciation for his films. I then decided that Samaritan Girl (2004) will be the last of his films I will watch (apart from the possible rewatches of 3-Iron (2004) and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (2003)) if it doesn't turn out to be as good as I remembered.

Samaritan Girl is a film about two teenaged girls who resort to prostitution in order to earn some money (apparently they want to go to Europe). The film's first "act" is a solid and rich piece of writing that fascinated me a lot. The characters seemed promising (and well developed) and it felt like Kim really had something to say this time instead of vague and shocking content.

However, a dramatic twist in the plot ruined the rest of the film. The characters became irritatingly static, the focus of the film turned into something so ridiculously redundant and out of place. It seems to be almost a trademark for Kim to throw in a lot of prop motives which only hint at something undefined and end up being rather useless and empty. This can be found in Samaritan Girl as well.

Kim's form is refined though. His clean yet "chaotic" visuals rarely fail to deliver. Pleasant (and occasionally intriguing) compositions, good (and calm) pacing and smooth camera drives make the film enjoyable. This time he also mastered the use of music throughout the film: the bittersweet instrumental soundtrack hits hard. However, there is one peculiar exception to the quality: his use of Erik Satie's Gymnopedie is somewhat unconvincing. The weird thing about it is that I find it hard to see how someone could fail using that masterful composition. As a side note, it is also weird how there are so many Asian films that feature the song - even to the point of obsession.

Samaritan Girl's problems seem to be same as with other films by the same director: while his form is more or less brilliant, his writing stumbles.

Score: 6 out of 10

Bad Guy

Kim Ki-duk's fans often describe his film, Bad Guy (2001), worse than most of his other films. I was surprised because the film is actually an effort more solid than Address Unknown (2001) and The Isle (2000). The film tells about a young woman who is forced to become a prostitute. The English title is a bit weird and I prefer the Finnish translation which literally means "The Pimp".

Despite the weak beginning and overwrought melodrama, the film's writing is quite decent. This time Kim finds truly poetic and beautiful moments in the harsh world. However, the film is quite uneven because there are scenes that stand out as brilliant and then there are scenes that are so utterly failed. The characters are decent enough to not distract me while watching the film - which can not be said of The Isle. The central relationship is explored in a peculiar yet successful way and the final result is intriguing.

Kim's form has become completely refined by now. His use of alienation through compositions is perfect and framing is magnificent in other ways as well. Music is nearly nonexistent apart from two songs which are used well.

Ultimately, Bad Guy is the first sign of true sophistication in Kim's films before he made 3-Iron (2003) and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (2004).

Score: 7 of 10