I almost cried!!!! What have they done to Hideo Nakata's masterpiece?!?!?! I have to confess to being against the idea of a remake of this one since I have seen the original Ring and remake The Ring and was unimpressed with the remake. The whole film was a lot more blatant than it should have been in my opinion, everything was spelled out, there was hardly any tension or chill built up in direct contrast with the original.
I had issues with the use of the bag and coat. The bag and coat were things that I had serious issues with also. In Hideo Nakata's stunning masterpiece, a lot is made of the little red bag and it's reappearance and the fact that the little girl has a distinctive yellow mack is well used in the style of Don't Look Now. One scene in particular where Yoshimi is going up to the roof and the door is open just a crack and you see the Mitsuko in her yellow mack walk past the door. It's really good. In the remake, both Natasha and Ceci are seen wearing a red coat and no big deal is made of it.
My big problem, as you may have predicted, is the ending (isn't it always). In the Japanese version, Yoshimi goes up to the roof and climbs the water tower, she figures out what has happened and then, after the spookiness of something/someone punching through the tank, goes into the flat to find Ikuko passed out on the floor of the bathroom floor. She picks her up and carries her to the lift, which get stuck, then there is the tension building moment as Yoshimi watches the door of her flat open, expecting to see Mitsuko appear, but it's Ikuko. Then Mitsuko, a decomposed child, hugs and almost throttles Yoshimi. Yoshimi realises that there is no point struggling and that the only way to save Ikuko is to look after Mitsuko. She hugs her and tells her she is her mother and she shouts at Ikuko to stay back. Then the lift doors close and Ikuko is crying, looking through the window, Yoshimi looks back for a moment then looks at Mitsuko. The lift goes up and the haunting music escalates. Ikuko runs up the stairs and looks in the lift shaft. She can't see anything so she sits on the floor. Next thing the lift doors open and Ikuko is covered in water. It is a truly beautiful and moving scene. You sit there looking at poor little Ikuko lying in the pool of water, soaked through, sobbing for her mother and your heart just tears.
Remake, Dahlia puts Ceci in the bath and then is on the phone. She sees a little girl in a hooded dressing gown walk past here and assumes it's Ceci. She starts to read her a story and then hears Ceci in the bath. She basically rejects Natasha and then Natasha goes into the bathroom and starts to drown Ceci. When Dahlia breaks into the bathroom she starts to bargain with Natasha "what do you want?" etc. Then she tells Natasha to take her and leave Ceci alone. Then you see Dahlia's body being carried out, blatantly dead, as opposed to the original where Yoshimi just vanishes.
The very final scene in the original is 10 years later when Ikuko is in the area where she used to live as she is going to visit a friend. She says she can't remember being at kindergarten, and she finds herself walking back to her old apartment. There she sees her mother and they chat, she complains that no-one told her that her mother was living here and asks Yoshimi if she can come and live with her. Yoshimi says that she is sorry that Ikuko can't come and live with her. You then see Mitsuko in the background, behind Ikuko and when Ikuko turns around, Mitsuko and Yoshimi both disappear. Ikuko then says "my mother was here all this time, protecting me." It's a beautiful ending. In the remake, Ceci returns 3 weeks later and her mother appears to her in the lift. It just doesn't work.
There you go, end of tirade. See them for yourself.
I had issues with the use of the bag and coat. The bag and coat were things that I had serious issues with also. In Hideo Nakata's stunning masterpiece, a lot is made of the little red bag and it's reappearance and the fact that the little girl has a distinctive yellow mack is well used in the style of Don't Look Now. One scene in particular where Yoshimi is going up to the roof and the door is open just a crack and you see the Mitsuko in her yellow mack walk past the door. It's really good. In the remake, both Natasha and Ceci are seen wearing a red coat and no big deal is made of it.
My big problem, as you may have predicted, is the ending (isn't it always). In the Japanese version, Yoshimi goes up to the roof and climbs the water tower, she figures out what has happened and then, after the spookiness of something/someone punching through the tank, goes into the flat to find Ikuko passed out on the floor of the bathroom floor. She picks her up and carries her to the lift, which get stuck, then there is the tension building moment as Yoshimi watches the door of her flat open, expecting to see Mitsuko appear, but it's Ikuko. Then Mitsuko, a decomposed child, hugs and almost throttles Yoshimi. Yoshimi realises that there is no point struggling and that the only way to save Ikuko is to look after Mitsuko. She hugs her and tells her she is her mother and she shouts at Ikuko to stay back. Then the lift doors close and Ikuko is crying, looking through the window, Yoshimi looks back for a moment then looks at Mitsuko. The lift goes up and the haunting music escalates. Ikuko runs up the stairs and looks in the lift shaft. She can't see anything so she sits on the floor. Next thing the lift doors open and Ikuko is covered in water. It is a truly beautiful and moving scene. You sit there looking at poor little Ikuko lying in the pool of water, soaked through, sobbing for her mother and your heart just tears.
Remake, Dahlia puts Ceci in the bath and then is on the phone. She sees a little girl in a hooded dressing gown walk past here and assumes it's Ceci. She starts to read her a story and then hears Ceci in the bath. She basically rejects Natasha and then Natasha goes into the bathroom and starts to drown Ceci. When Dahlia breaks into the bathroom she starts to bargain with Natasha "what do you want?" etc. Then she tells Natasha to take her and leave Ceci alone. Then you see Dahlia's body being carried out, blatantly dead, as opposed to the original where Yoshimi just vanishes.
The very final scene in the original is 10 years later when Ikuko is in the area where she used to live as she is going to visit a friend. She says she can't remember being at kindergarten, and she finds herself walking back to her old apartment. There she sees her mother and they chat, she complains that no-one told her that her mother was living here and asks Yoshimi if she can come and live with her. Yoshimi says that she is sorry that Ikuko can't come and live with her. You then see Mitsuko in the background, behind Ikuko and when Ikuko turns around, Mitsuko and Yoshimi both disappear. Ikuko then says "my mother was here all this time, protecting me." It's a beautiful ending. In the remake, Ceci returns 3 weeks later and her mother appears to her in the lift. It just doesn't work.
There you go, end of tirade. See them for yourself.