Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003)

Director:

Ji-woon Kim

Writer:

Ji-woon Kim (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 June 2003 (South Korea)

Genre:

Horror | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Our sorrow was conceived long before our birth

Plot:

A family is haunted by the tragedies of deaths within the family.

Plot Keywords:

Stepmother | Death | Ghost | Nurse | Obsession

Awards:

12 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Kap-su Kim	...	Bae Moo-hyeon (Father)
Jung-ah Yum	...	Eun-joo (Stepmother)
Su-jeong Lim	...	Bae Soo-mi (Janghwa)
Geun-Young Moon	...	Bae Soo-yeon (Hongryeon)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Seung-bi Lee	...	Mi-hee

Also Known As:

A Tale of Two Sisters (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Rose and Lotus (South Korea) (informal literal English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

Korea:115 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Ireland:16 (original rating) | Ireland:18 (re-rating) (2005) | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (re-rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Peru:18 | Mexico:B15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:PG-12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-18

Filming Locations:

Yuler-Myun, Bosung, Jeollanamdo, South Korea

Company:

B.O.M. Film Productions Co.

Trivia:

The movie is inspired by a famous Korean folk tale "Janghwa Heungryeonjeon."

Goofs:

Continuity: In the hospital scenes, there is no scar on the back of Su-mi's hand.

Quotes:

Eun-ju: As much as you hate it, I'm the only one in this world you can call mother, got it?

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Uninvited (2009/I)

Top notch South Korean horror.

"A Tale of Two Sisters" is a brilliant South Korean psychological horror that left me speechless.The film offers some delicious moments of ghastly horror and is extremely creepy.The small cast of actors is truly excellent,with lead Im Soo-jung being especially memorable in the lead role.The direction by Kim Ji-woon is well-handled and the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous.The plot is slightly confusing,but some scenes are wonderfully eerie.The action is rather slow,but I was not bored in the slightest;I was extremely curious and intrigued.The house,where the film takes place looks incredibly menacing and isolated."A Tale of Two Sisters" is along with "Ringu" and "Kairo" one of the most original Asian horror films I have ever seen.Watch this masterpiece as soon as possible.My rating:10 out of 10.