Two delightfully deranged mysteries.
We know your watching time is limited. And the amount of things available to watch … is not. Looking for a movie? Nearly any movie ever made? It's probably streaming somewhere. That's a lot of movies. |
Below, we're suggesting two of them, the latest of our weekly double-feature recommendations. We think the movies will pair well — with each other and with you. |
Your weekly double feature: Wild Korean cinema |
 | | Jo Han-cheol, left, and Kwak Do-won in "The Wailing."Well Go Usa |
|
'The Wailing' and 'Memories of Murder' |
When Bong Joon Ho's "Parasite" shocked Oscar prognosticators by becoming the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture, it brought Korean cinema into the mainstream, capping a movement that had been electrifying festivals and art houses for about two decades. Although its leading directors are all stylistically distinct, the common denominator is their willingness to mix-and-match genres and tones; comedy and heartbreak and the macabre are free to coexist, sometimes in the same scene. |
But even by Korean standards, Na Hong-jin's "The Wailing" (2016), now streaming on Hulu, is completely deranged. Although it unfolds over a generous 156 minutes, there's hardly a moment that isn't alive with incident and accumulating menace, as a tiny mountain village is ravaged by a violent supernatural phenomenon. When a series of murders, triggered by a mysterious infection, hits close to home, an affable doofus of a police sergeant (Kwak Do-won) starts to investigate, with suspicions turning toward a Japanese stranger who lives in a secluded home. As the grisly events intensify, "The Wailing" shifts from a murder mystery to a full-on demon possession movie without losing its dark sense of humor. |
The rural sergeant in "The Wailing" recalls the provincial detectives in Bong's superb "Memories of Murder" (2003), which audaciously rewrites the rules of the serial killer thriller. Long unavailable to stream, the film grapples with the sobering tragedy of Korea's first serial murders, but it throws in plenty of uproarious slapstick comedy involving the overwhelmed stumblebums in charge of the case (Song Kang-ho and Kim Roi-ha). When a young detective (Kim Sang-kyung) arrives from Seoul to assist, more professional discord arrives with him. But amid the chaos, "Memories of Murder" also has the surprising capacity to register the shock and sadness of a community coming to terms with the inexplicable. SCOTT TOBIAS |
Like this email?
Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. |
Tips and advice to help you live a little smarter
Since you receive Watching, we think you'll like the Smarter Living newsletter as well. Every Monday, get a weekly roundup of the best advice from The Times on living a better, more fulfilling life. Sign up here. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.