Memorable, crazy movie

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The movie is about the policewoman who is dislocated to the small S.Korean town/village after her personal problems (that caused scandal in her professional life) in Seoul.The town, she settles in, is small; Everybody knows everyone. From the first look, the place looks peaceful with friendly, provincial locals. As she spends some time there, she spots disturbing issues that locals have not problem with. The town is so corrupt and blindsided that even the local police fails to act against it. One of such issues is with the underage girl who is under constant physical and mental abuse from the member of her own family.So the new cop faces a challenge: do something against the crime, or not? What if doing the right means harming her image and personal life? The story further focuses on her decisions mixed with her personal struggles and problems with past relationships.The story has plot twists and despite the slow sleep and somewhat mellow vibe, never bore you.I gave the movie 7/10 and would call it a decent movie unlike my fellow countryman whose review I read about this movie :)

Good to be back to a Korean movie and this time I'm happy that I picked the right one. A small budget movie produced by the Korean film board and many actors from the project did for the free. A massive victory for a debutante director July Jung after receiving a standing ovation from the audience at Cannes and the positive response from the critics, media and movie buffs around the world. From this you would know that you must not miss the film and I would say the same, but I also apprise you that it ain't masterpiece.The story follows the police officer Lee Young-nam, who is moving into a quiet small coastal town station to take a charge after the allegation of drinking problem and other personal scandal in the capital city. Her task is to lay low for a while until everything calms down to move back. She succeeds only until a girl knocks her door, metaphorically as what the title say. An unexpected relationship develops, as well seems another trouble is on the approach. Whatever happen from there is the story, especially the second half.The good thing is this film talk about the root cause of the domestic violence. Like alcohol is one of the major concerns for those. Small intake is okay, but the excessive and addiction is the worry. No matter its the good people or bad according to how they live and what they do, but the point remain same. Here in this story as well all the characters were associated with alcoholism, but differentiated with purpose of life they are in and responsibility. The child abuse, the family who treat their own child badly was the goal to expose for us. And what follows after that was beyond a proper solution. The point it ended and what might happen after that is still a questionable."Alcohol is the problem."The girl was Kim Sae-ron from 'The Man from Nowhere' fame. She's has grown up, a teenager. In the next movie probably would play a heroine. She was very good in the role. The girl with the mentality of when everybody sided her in the society except one who begin to care for her all the sudden, that might unleash the inner evil for having a support and to relocate, but the doubt is she's capable? From the girl's perspective, all are fair and square, but what society and law's take is another arguable angle. So you might know by now, the movie is not about any section of good versus bad people, but the reality of our world/civilization/society and a strategy to stay input/alive in the life between the obstacles we face.Slow narration, particularly in the first half. Took time to evolve the characters, but still confines the earlier events of each one of them that gave a strong next half. Nobody can know where the story is gonna go, the possibilities are several. I was stunned for the way it ended, especially the last 15 minutes were not typical, but tricky. Even for a real life, this kind of stuffs scares hell out of being an adult for caught between being a villain, but not an (serious/life threatening) offender. I said it because still in many third world countries that is how a child brought up and nobody care including government/law or the neighbours. Its no matter small mischievous thing or not intended to, or you did it. What I'm saying is the example of movies like 'Jagten' and 'In the House'. Anyway, a nice movie with the talented performers. Worth a watch and to suggest those we know.8/10

South Korean film 'A girl at my door' depicts the terrible neglect of a girl child.Before making this film,director July Jung stated that she had no intention whatsoever to talk about social issues like a little girl exposed to violence or the society that lets it happen.The film is able to have profound impact on viewers due to two minor subplots which include racism as well as lesbianism.One gets to see how a drunk father who is also a racist,ill treats his workers.There are hardly any Indians in Korean films.A girl at my door is the first Korean film which talks about the plight of illegal workers from India who have come to South Korea to earn a livelihood.Although there are many false accusations leveled against the police chief but she does not hesitate to help the abused girl.There is no value judgment about lesbianism as it is not depicted as a crime but for many police persons it is a touchy thing especially if a small girl is involved."A girl at my door" focuses on individual and private emotions of a victim and her benefactor.The director firmly believed that there are moments in this film where the audiences can really feel and share feelings of two protagonists.

The performances of the leads were very good. Bae Doo-na was the draw-card for me, and this the most complex character I have seen her play. The lesbian and immigrant worker sub-plots are interesting. The film didn't shy away from the shock and sensation of Doo-hee's self-harm, but empathised with her as well, an admirable combination. The denouement, staying with the chief, away from her father, was what Doo-hee deserved. Too often damaged characters in film are either not given any agency (they are innocent victims), or are not offered any redemption (they are crazy), but this film is not like that.However, it does spend time in that clichéd territory. The film is boring after the chief gets locked up for child molestation. It was a predictable plot twist, but really not related to the main emotional action of the film. For the most part the film skillfully balanced exploitation of it's sexual themes with real emotional content, but this sensational hijack of the second half meant that when the ending finally came it felt underdeveloped, even though it was the ending the film needed.Instead of this waste of time, more could have been put into the underdeveloped sub-plots. What there was of these was well done, but there just wasn't enough. The lesbian plot could stand as it is if the film was just shorter, but the illegal immigrant plot was tacked on. The rest of the film needed to fit around it more. I can't imagine how it could have done this, but it would have made for a much more interesting film.Overall however, this film is well worth seeing.