Bedevilled (2010)

In Seoul, the thirty and something year-old bank clerk Hae-Won (Seong- won Ji) is a heartless and selfish single woman that tramples on coworkers and clients. He boss orders her to take vacation since she is stressed and Hae-Won decides to spend a week on her grandfather's hometown in the primitive and tiny Moodo Island. She is welcomed by her childhood friend Kim Bok-nam (Yeong-hie Seo) that lives in the island and treats Hae-Won with great affection. Bok-nam is an abused woman that works like a slave, married with the brutal and stupid Man- jong (Jeong-hak Park) and has a little daughter Kim Yeon-hee (Ji-eun Lee). The four Man-jong's aunties and his brother also abuses of Bok- nam and Man-jong's catatonic father also live in Moodo. Bok-nam asks her friend if she could go with her daughter to Seoul with her but Hae-Won refuses the request. Then Bok-nam begs to Hae-Won to take her daughter with her, but she also refuses. Soon Bok-nam finds that her husband is having sex with her daughter and she decides to flee from the island with Yeon-hee. However Man-jong discovers and beats her and her daughter, but Yeon-hee hits her head on a stone and dies. When the police inspector arrives in Moodo, Man-jong and his family lie to him telling that it was an accident and Hae-Won's testimony is not supported by the indifferent Bok-nam that claims that was sleeping. When Man-jong and his brother go to the mainland, Bok-nam has a breakdown and uses a scythe to kill her hateful aunties. What will she do next?

"Kim Bok-nam salinsageonui jeonmal", a.k.a. Bedevilled, is another great Korean film. The story, screenplay and direction are outstanding and the performances are top-notch. Yeong-hie Seo deserved at least a nomination to the Oscar with her impressive performance. The inhuman and sadistic treatment of Kim Bok-nam is one of the cruelest ever seen in a film and Hae-Won is a bitch. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not available on Blu-Ray or DVD.

Fmovies: This movie crosses the borders of Drama and Horror with an intense story of a young woman who is mistreated and almost slaved by her husband and the rest of the (few) people who live in a small island near the mainland, in South Korea. However the movie doesn't really start with this character but with another girl who lived in that island when she was a child but now lives in Seoul and is a "modern woman" in opposition to the people of the isle who live like farmers. The plot begins when this second girl after some problems in Seoul decides to take a rest and visit the isle. Is in that moment we met the girl who is mistreated and the paths of these two women cross again like in the pastÂ…

It's a crossed story about friendship, about courage, vengeance and redemption. The movie is intense mostly on the psychological side and shows us that when one person is mistreated to the edge can one day search for revenge! I appreciated the end and its message of redemption.

After last night Moo-Do island in South Korea has rocketed to the very top of my 'bad places to live' list, though I guess not so much if you're a guy.

Hae-Won is a beautiful young woman living the city life in Seoul. After a particularly bad day it is 'suggested' that she take some leave to recharge her batteries and regain some perspective. This break sees her leave the mainland for the aforementioned Moo-Do island – her childhood home – and a place seemingly unchanged since her departure at a young age.

Inertia isn't always a good thing, but initially this is a boon for Hae-Won, her trendy haircut, high heels and pale skin (not darkened by spending countless hours working outdoors) make her a minor celeb to the small number of residents still living on the island. While none of this small number are her direct family Hae-Won tentatively bonds with Bok-Nam, whom she recalls vaguely from her childhood, and Bok-Nam's young pre-teen daughter Yeon-Hee finds Hae-Won fascinating, having not seen anyone quite like her.

Right. Fun's over folks. Be under no delusion. This is NOT a happy film, and I have seen nothing like it for a very long timeÂ… Moo-Do island is a serene and beautiful locale, remote, sparsely populated and peaceful. However there remains a distinct caste system that harks back to the dark ages.

On Moo-Do island women inhabit the very bottom rung of the totem pole, this is not a nasty secret but essentially common knowledge. They work harder and are given the most thankless tasks, are treated with nary a modicum of respect or even common decency, and where 'release' is concerned they are expected to be prepared and willing at all times.

It seems the women understand that it is what it is, especially the older women who no doubt had to deal with it during their younger years, but the problem is that with only a single digit population there are only two females who appear to be under 50, Bok-Nam and her daughter.

Hae-Won knows nothing of this initially, and she is bemused but ultimately a little annoyed by the cloying attention of Bok-Nam in the days following her arrival. Gradually though they both come to realise how the other truly livesÂ… Unfortunately we the viewers are granted a far clearer and more depressing picture of what Bok-Nam deals with on the day to day, to label the local male population as South Korean rednecks might just be a disservice to regular rednecks. In fact I wondered for a while if the only truly apt description might just be the one word I have refrained from using on this site. I might also point out that some of the older women are hardly better examples of humanity, one in particular is especially vile and loathsome, with her continued verbal beatdowns of Bok-Nam becoming worse by the day.

But back to the island of don't ask, don't tell. The looming cloud of inevitability closes in on the two childhood friends, with Bok-Nam seeing Hae-Won as a potential saviour, but Hae-Won rapidly realising that she might just need to be equally concerned for herself.

And as horrible as this all is it gets worse when they go and start implying that the young girl Yeon-Hee is at risk.

While I have seen some repugnant and disturbing behaviour on film in my many decades of devouring cinema, I can't recall another occasion where I have been so disgusted and bothered by the actions of fictional characters. The equally depressing fact is that this queasiness and unease is a direct r

Bedevilled fmovies. This film, of which the international title "Bedevilled" is a lot easier to remember than the original South Korean one, and its director Cheol- Soo Jang seemingly appeared out of nowhere but nevertheless left quite an impression at several internationally acclaimed film festivals around the world. Perhaps this is simply because the director is an acolyte of Kim Ki-Duk, or perhaps it's because he actually delivered a unique and hard-to-categorize motion picture that spooks through your head long after you finished seeing it. Throughout approximately 75 minutes (three quarters of the full running time), "Bedevilled" is a very slow and harrowing drama focusing on the life of one poor woman. Then suddenly, almost when you totally don't expect it anymore, the film converts into a harsh and downright savage tale of revenge and oppressed anger. The sudden transition is abrupt and shocking, but also strangely justified and efficient. One moment you're witnessing the "Via Dolorosa" of a seemingly timid and vulnerable young woman, yet the next moment this timid and vulnerable young woman is coloring the entire island blood red with a primitive sickle.

The story opens in modern day Seoul, where the egocentric and obnoxious Hae-Won is close to reaching an emotional and professional burnout. She goes on a vacation to Moodo, the island where she spent her childhood holidays with her friend Kim Bok-Nam. Kim Bok-Nam is very happy to see Hae-Won, because she thinks her friend has come to save her and her daughter, like she begged her to in all those letters. Kim Bok-Nam's life is worse than that of a slave. She's abused and humiliated by her husband and the rest of the island's population, both male and female. Another long series of events, including the disinterested reaction of her friend, slowly lead to a gigantic tragedy.

The first three quarters of "Bedevilled" may come across and dull and eventful – especially when shown at 2am on a Saturday morning in a theater full of horror junkies – but the slow pace and melodramatic atmosphere are fundamental for the film. Cheol-Soo Jang carefully takes his time to illustrate that Moodo truly is a very isolated setting, completely devoid of legislation and social evolution. The elderly intimidate the younger and the men dominate the women, probably just like the generations before them did as well. Kim Bok-Nam endured as much anger and agony as humanly possible, and this is painfully illustrated in great detail during the film's long awakening. I've rarely seen a cinematic character who's vengeance is so legitimatized and substantiated. My hat's off to debuting director Cheol-Soo Jang, scriptwriter Kwang-young Choi and lead actress Yeong-Hie Seo. Furthermore, "Bedevilled" benefices from the truly breathtaking island filming locations and staggering photography. Don't know if it's true, but I read somewhere that the location was selected out of nearly 3.000 islands surrounding the South Korean shore. The selection was based on size, nature and available facilities. Great choice, I'd say. Faint- hearted viewers beware, however, as the extended finale features a large number of grim and shocking images.

First of all, don't read anything about the story's content - it may ruin the experience for you.

What do the gender-themed Hollywood thrillers "Basic Instinct", "Fatal Attraction" and "Disclosure" have in common? 1. they all star Michael Douglas, 2. the female lead is the root of all evil. Whenever Hollywood takes gender struggle to bloody extremes, there's an irritating tendency to overly sympathize with the male - probably because the film industry is still pretty much a man's world, with the first female director winning an Academy Award coming around only last year.

In that light, "Bedevilled" - from an equally male-dominated media environment - is a different, surprising film which manages to convey a social message while delivering gruesome - and at times gory - entertainment. What we have here is a social drama/ slasher crossover with excellent production values and top-notch cinematography.

No wonder that the story often feels grossly exaggerated. The entertainment values somewhat linger in the background of an ever-growing tension in the first hour, and then dominate the finale. Therefore the psychological premise - unusually well-established for a mere shocker - appears constructed in the course of the ensuing rampage. Those who expect horror, however, may feel somewhat bored during the exposition, simply because it's so much better and less formulaic than usual for genre movies.

"Bedevilled" is a brilliant piece of entertainment if judged for what it is trying to achieve, pretty much on a par with the testosterone-driven "I saw the Devil". But it's not trying to please as much as the latter. So if you're looking for new angles on old formulas, this one is for you; if you'd rather have a good idea about what you're going to see, you may feel confused.

"Bedevilled" is the tale of two women.Hae-won is depressed by her empty corporate financial job.Close to an emotional break-down she decides to visit her childhood friend Bok-nam who is living on the tiny islet of Mundo.Bok-nam is often abused by her violent husband and his retarded brother.Finally this horribly victimised human being decides to retaliate against her tormentors."Bedevilled" is slow-moving and depressing drama that suddenly turns into bloody revenge movie.The cast is strong,especially Seo Young-hee gives a truly memorable performance as bullied Bok-nam.Consumed by growing anger she becomes a beast.The script is horrific with several scenes of sexual and verbal abuse and plenty of bloody violence.Very brutal pay-off has to be seen to be believed.Check out this savagely beautiful drama.8 islets out of 10.