Kim Bok-nam salinsageonui jeonmal (2010)

A woman subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse on a remote island seeks a way out.

Director:

Cheol-soo Jang (as Chul-soo Jang)

Writer:

Kwang-young Choi

Stars:

Yeong-hie Seo, Seong-won Ji, Min-ho Hwang

18 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yeong-hie Seo	...	Kim Bok-nam
Seong-won Ji	...	Hae-won
Min-ho Hwang	...	Dodger
Min Je
Ji-eun Lee	...	Kim Yeon-hee
Jeong-hak Park	...	Man-jong
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jang-hun Ahn	...	Mr. Jang
Su-yeon Ahn	...	Restaurant Waitress
Sung-Woo Bae	...	Cheol-jong
Su-ryun Baek	...	Dong-ho's granny
Shi-hyeon Chae	...	Mi-ran
In Seo Chun	...	Younger Hae-won
Yeong-min Chun	...	Young Hae-won
Dong-hak Han	...	Superintendent
Hae-ji Hang	...	Old Villager's Daughter

Storyline

Hae-won is a beautiful single woman in her thirties who works at a bank in the Seoul city. She leads a busy life until she becomes a witness to an attempted murder case, and at the same time, things get complicated at work. When things get out of hand she is forced to take a vacation so she heads for 'Moodo', a small undeveloped island, where she had once visited to see her grandparents. And where she had befriended a girl named Bok-nam who stills writes to Hae-won asking her to visit despite the fact that Hae-won never bothered to reply. Upon arriving at the island, Hae-won is shocked to see everyone treating Bok-nam like a slave. As practically the only young woman on the island, she is a plaything for all the men and a free laborer for the women. Sick of all the inhumane treatment, Bok-nam had tried to escape the island several times in the past but had failed each time. She begs Hae-won to help her escape the place, but Hae-won remains indifferent not wanting to be involved in ...

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Plot Keywords:

rape and revenge | revenge | rape | exploitation | south korea | 

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Taglines:

Nothing is more deadly than a woman seeking revenge.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

User Reviews

underrated, if overdone gender thriller

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

2 September 2010 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Kim Bok-nam salinsageonui jeonmal

Filming Locations:

Geumodo Island, South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,129,687

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boston Investments, Filma Pictures, Tori Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1