Paran daemun (1998)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Ki-duk Kim

Writers:

Ki-duk Kim (writer)
Jeong-min Seo (writer)

Release Date:

31 October 1998 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Streetwise Jin-a moves into a boarding house run by a small, close-knit family. But her unacceptable behavior threatens to destroy them all.

Plot Keywords:

Solitude | Rape Attempt | Eavesdropping | Goldfish | Friendship

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ji-eun Lee	...	Jin-a
Hae-eun Lee	...	Hye-mi
Jae-mo Ahn	...	Hyun-woo
Hyeong-gi Jeong	...	Gecko
Min-seok Son	...	Jin-ho

Also Known As:

Blue Gate (informal literal English title)
The Birdcage Inn

Runtime:

Germany:105 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

South Korea:18

Company:

Boogui Cinema

Kim has come a long way

Subject matter is a small brothel where a family struggling to support their kids education rents out a prostitute which get shelter, food and some percentages in return. The women of the family largely ignores her, the father sees her as a means for money and sex, the one that respects her is the son who adores her for the beautiful woman she is.

This is a very simple movie, script and execution was so different from the other Kims that I thought it to be from the early 90s not 1998. Music turns even to genuine porn variety. I was surprised to learn that the cinematographer Seo Jeong-min has made almost 130 movies as it seems a bit amateurish, at least he did better in 'Suchwiin Bulmyeong'.

The basic storyline was good. Its about values turned bad and living poor. Men are captives of their desire and the women are in difficult positions. But the script is not so good, some characters are not believable and the finale was confusing. Go see 'Suchwiin Bulmyeong' and 'Seom' instead for similar, but much more elaborate film art.

You cant help feel sorry for Jin-a though. She is very fragile and even though she is misused quite a few times she is always positive.