Memorable, crazy movie

Just perfect...

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The South Korean thriller THE HOUSEMAID is a remake of a 1960 classic, although I have no experience with the original. What I can say is that this is a taut and compelling movie, made with a high quality by director Im Sang-soo (thankfully no relation to his namesake, Hong Sang-soo, a pet hate of mine).As with many Korean movies I've watched, there's plenty of subtext here as the plot reflects on Korean society and the inequalities inherent therein. A young housemaid comes to work at the home of a rich family, only to be quickly seduced by the womanising husband. There are some extraordinarily explicit sex scenes here, but far from being an erotic thriller this soon turns into something quite different.The plot takes many unexpected twists and turns, and at all times is kept more than watchable thanks to a literate script and the attentions of a professional cast. Jeon Do-yeon holds it all together as the sympathetic titular character, but Yoon Yeo-jeong also makes an impression as the older, more experienced housemaid. The climax has to be seen to be believed. While the recent Singaporean housemaid drama ILO ILO is even better, THE HOUSEMAID is still worth your while.

Okay guys, so this review is going to be full of SPOILERS, so don't say I didn't warn you.If ever there was a film that would put you off working as a housemaid in South Korea, this is it. I mean... you work your socks off day and night, have the most confined of conditions to sleep in, get treated with disdain by almost everyone around you and the gentleman of the house can go to your bedside every night for sexual favours. While his wife is up the duff. WITH TWINS. Yes, you read that right... these rich folks can get away with anything. Of course, it helps if you're a walking doormat who apologises for every little thing and only sees the best in people. How tragically naive these days.And when you fall pregnant yourself, decide to keep the baby... turning down some very handsome bribes in the process, what do you think happens? Why, the wife's bitchy mother will poison your drink so you'll have a miscarriage. Nice. Obviously EVERYONE has a breaking point, even someone as meek and mild as you. So, what do you do for revenge? Shoot them all dead? Electrocute them in their sleep? Nope. You HANG yourself in front of them, and just to make sure they get the point... you self-immolate too. I don't really see how this constitutes as 'getting even'... particularly as the only one affected by seeing this suicide up close would probably be their small child who doted on you. Expensive therapy bills, here we come...It's a creepy film, filled with people without a moral compass and more money than conscience. It is incredibly frustrating to watch the heroine get walked on by all and sundry, only to emerge with a smile and a "Sorry" in every situation. There arrives a time to put your foot down and say enough is enough, but when things do get that far... she takes completely the wrong option. Oh well... Still, I'm not really here to report on her mistakes (But I did anyway. Suck it up). My main task is to review, and I can say it's a well made movie, with some memorably grotesque characters, a tenuous atmosphere and plenty of surprises along the way.Most of which I've just revealed. Oops. Still, the SPOILER tag should have clued you in. And I do like to vent... 6/10

The synopsis for this movie seemed interesting and alluring, and it initially made me purchase the movie from Amazon. Being a fan of Asian cinema, it is always nice to stumble upon something new and (hopefully) interesting.Such was hardly the case for "The Housemaid".The story was below average, although it held no major surprises. And what carried the movie was the acting performances, as the storyline itself was just barely scraping to get by. And without giving away anything here, but the ending to that movie was just ludicrous. I hadn't seen that coming, I will give the director that much, but come on, that was just ridiculous.The DVD cover even has "a sexy thriller" branded on it. Hmmm, let's think about that for a second. Sexy? Well perhaps by Korean standard, but hardly by Western. Thriller? Ehm, that would be a big, blunt no!I was less than impressed with the movie, and it wasn't really all that entertaining. It was easy to have one's attention drifting elsewhere. The better parts of the movie was the acting, as the people cast for the roles were doing good jobs, plus the characters themselves were interesting - but they just weren't given the time or space to fully develop on the screen.In overall, then "The Housemaid" seems like a movie that wanted to tell a deeper story, but had to suffer from limited time or lack of creative ideas. Regardless, then there are far better Korean movies available.

If I could describe Hanyo with just one word, I'd say it is personality. Indeed, both the film and its characters have so much of it that they evolve beyond the viewer's expectations, unfolding themselves at their own pace and rhythm, subtlety telling their story.The settings are amazing, such as the house in which most part of the story takes place. However, there is also where some inevitable frontal collisions with reality occur, since there's not too many people in the world who could afford a house like that, and in case they could, they would not possibly employ just two maids to take care of it. Still, such an unrealistic approach reduces the number of characters in the story and therefore makes the drama even more intense and stronger.The actors are all great, and some of the performances brought to my mind names like Bette Davis, while the overall line of direction seemed close to the very best of Park Chan-wook (that's to say, Oldboy).Hanyo is a poetic, artistic and extremely well written and conceived movie that can boast to be amongst the best films recently made, if not of all times.