PIETÀ

Directed by: Kim Ki-duk

Starring: Lee Jung-jin, Jo Min-su

Running time: 104 minutes

Revenge, Korean style is one of my favorite film. I enjoy Oldboy and I Saw the Devil and unlike most Hollywood movies, it didn't shy of graphic violence and gratuitous nudity. The way the revenge being done sometimes amazing and makes us think, that sometimes the victim can be as bad as the perpetrator.

The first Korean film to win the top prize at one of the three major international film festivals — Venice, Cannes and Berlin is very intriguing. I put some hopes for this one.

The title itself signifies the symbolism for religion. Written by Kin ki-duk, it tells the story of Kang-do (Lee Kang-do), a cruel loan shark who lives alone. He does not hesitate to hurt debtors. One day a mysterious woman appears, her name is Jang Mi-sun (Jo Min Su) who claimed to be her long lost mother.

From here it goes sick. Not in the terms of graphic violence or nudity, but some 'simulated' sex scenes that is very 'sick' and disturbing. With themes of mother and son relationship, guilt, Christian symbolism and the dark side of capitalism, this is a difficult film to watch with stellar acting.

The sudden zoom makes some scenes looks weird, if not real. The acting was good and the story will leave a bad after taste in your mind without spilling too much blood on screen.

There are no sudden twist, in the middle of the film the audience will know what Jang Mi-sun's real intention is, but what she did to reach it is beyond our imagination.