Tuesday, March 23, 2010

A Movie You Could Cut a Diamond With

March 22, 2010:

I shot a meeting about water again. But this one was special. Because this meeting achieved legend. It was the most boring meeting in recorded history. And I should know. I recorded it.
Just believe me. You don’t want it explained to you in detail. You DON’T.

I struggled my way back to Lakewood, trying to shake off the brain-numbing poison of the morning. After I dropped off the equipment, I headed out for Norwalk. This wasn’t as terrifyingly boring, but it was quiet.

Sweet Dancin’ Zeus! I need to write SOMETHING. Thank goodness I watched Thirst. Thirst is a Korean movie about vampires, and its everything that Twilight could never be: Intense, thoughtful, sad, and well-acted.

To start off, for all of you that are squeamish about intense material, then this is not the movie for you. There are some intense scenes, and that is what Park Chan-wook is known for. You could cut diamonds with how sharp and intense his movies can get. But they can also be beautiful as all get out. And his use of imagery and symbolism isn’t used anymore in a lot of movies.
The acting is amazing.

This movie has some damaged and intricate characters. The main character, a Priest, cares about his fellow humans so much that he undergoes a dangerous and lethal medical experiment to try and help find a cure for a deadly disease. But something goes wrong, and he becomes a vampire. If through a strange blood transfusion, or something else is not clear, but neither is it important. What’s important is the moral and personal journey he goes through to reclaim the person he once was. And before he gets there, some awful decisions are made, and those decision are fueled by terrible urges given more and more strength.

But there is also a woman at the center of this story.

And the lead actress in this movie is equally compelling. She’s trapped in a life she hates, with people she hates almost as much. She just wants to get out. Whether she loves the Priest (yes, they do get together, but that ain’t no spoiler I’m letting out), is entirely up to you. Either way, she is completely real, and completely broken.

The ending is genius in its equal use of tragedy and comedy. I loved this movie, as I’ve loved just about every movie this Korean director has put together. If you are ready for intensity, then watch Thirst.

-Nate

No comments: