Samaritan Girl is one of the earlier film by South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, who's known for his sexual themes and minimalistic use of dialogue. And this movie showcases that rather well, while also showcasing the fine balance between art and artsy that many of his movie straddle.
Yeo-jin (Kwak Ji-min) and Jae-yeong (Han Yeo-reum) are two teenage girls wishing to travel to Europe. But they lack money to do that so they've decided to pimp Jae-yeong out as a prostitute, with Yeo-jin acting as the money handler and lookout. But then everything goes horribly wrong when the police busts in, causing Jae-yeong to leap from a window to her death. The rest of the movie is Yeo-jin coming to terms with her friend's death by offering herself to men, and her father, a policeman, learning about this and coming to terms with it through sheer violence.
It is a skilfully crafted film, with lots of layers and themes only hinted at through subtext. I especially love the final third with Yeo- jin and her father facing each other and slowly trying to reach each other over a gap neither of them expected to ever face. Unfortunately I also think that the first third of the film is pretty weak. I don't really buy the friendship between Yeo-jin and Jae-yeong. They have a few good moments, but overall the film overplays the hinting aspect and doesn't give us enough material to work with.
Overall I think it's a film worth seeing. Compared to other Ki-duk films, it lacks that certain spark, but it's still full of his signature touches and is certainly a movie you won't see every day.
Yeo-jin (Kwak Ji-min) and Jae-yeong (Han Yeo-reum) are two teenage girls wishing to travel to Europe. But they lack money to do that so they've decided to pimp Jae-yeong out as a prostitute, with Yeo-jin acting as the money handler and lookout. But then everything goes horribly wrong when the police busts in, causing Jae-yeong to leap from a window to her death. The rest of the movie is Yeo-jin coming to terms with her friend's death by offering herself to men, and her father, a policeman, learning about this and coming to terms with it through sheer violence.
It is a skilfully crafted film, with lots of layers and themes only hinted at through subtext. I especially love the final third with Yeo- jin and her father facing each other and slowly trying to reach each other over a gap neither of them expected to ever face. Unfortunately I also think that the first third of the film is pretty weak. I don't really buy the friendship between Yeo-jin and Jae-yeong. They have a few good moments, but overall the film overplays the hinting aspect and doesn't give us enough material to work with.
Overall I think it's a film worth seeing. Compared to other Ki-duk films, it lacks that certain spark, but it's still full of his signature touches and is certainly a movie you won't see every day.