Telmisseomding (1999)

Director:

Yoon-Hyun Chang

Writers:

Yoon-Hyun Chang (writer)
Eun-Ah In (writer)

Release Date:

13 November 1999 (South Korea)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror | Crime | Mystery

Plot:

In Seoul, parts not matching of severed copses of three men are found in cars and bags left in public spaces...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Police | Internal Affairs | Bag | Telephone Call

Cast

Suk-kyu Han	...	Detective Cho
Eun-ha Shim	...	Chae Su-Yeon
Hang-Seon Jang	...	Detective Oh
Jung-ah Yum	...	Seungmin Oh
Seok-Hwan An
Cheol-Ho Park
Jun-Sang Yu	...	Kim Ki-yeon
Hwan-Jun Lee

Also Known As:

Tell Me Something (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence and gruesome images, some language and nudity.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:18 | Ireland:18 | Germany:16 | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:R | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | USA:R | South Korea:18 | Japan:R-15 | Sweden:15

Company:

Koo & Cee Film

Soundtrack:

Boadicea

Dismembered plot

The Korean film-industry is without a doubt one of the most interesting and fun to watch in the world today. Titles like the haunting and oddly fascinating "Salinui chueok" (Memories of Murder) and the half-cool/half-turkey "Tube" spring to mind. You never really know what you'll get when you sit down to watch a South Korean film today, but "Tell Me Something" is an example of a movie that has a lot of things going for it but in the end leaves you more confused than satisfied.

Now I rarely have a hard time following the plot of a serial-killer movie (of recent ones I found the US thriller "Taking Lives" an insult to my intelligence as I could figure out it's every move a mile away), but "Tell Me Something" demands a lot from it's viewer. I suspect the language barrier is partly to blame, as I got the feeling some clues must have been left out in the subtitles, but the director obviously could have done a better job. I give him an A+ for it's grisly, stylish look but an F for his lack of explaining several loose ends in the plot.

The main problem is that he loads the film with tons of information but doesn't know how to treat it all. The viewer is almost drowned in clues handed out seemingly at random, leaving it an impossible task for us to try and figure out the killer, which is half the fun in movies like these.

It's really ironic how a movie about dismembered victims, it-self is told in such a dismembered fashion.

I give "Tell Me Something" a 6.5 out of 10 for it's gory, stylish execution. A fun, but not too original, soundtrack also adds to the entertainment value.