Thirst

Park Chan-wook is a very special filmmaker, renowned for his celebrated Vengeance trilogy and ability to construct complex shots, avoid genre staples and develop extraordinary characters.  His last film was the 2006 film I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK and he obviously spent three years developing a new project in a different genre and style with a romantic horror/thriller called Thirst.
 
Young priest Sang-hyeon volunteers for a trial to find a vaccine for a deadly virus that is proving fatal for men in his age group.  He is given a blood transfusion to save his life, but that fails and Sang-hyeon dies but miraculously returns to the land of the living and becomes known as the 'bandaged priest' due to his skin sores.  Shortly after the experiment has finished and all other 50 volunteers have died, he finds that he has a potent healing ability but, in a bizarre transformation sequence, discovers that his senses are massively amplified and that human blood cures his blistered skin.
 

With sunlight burning his skin he realises he's a vampire but, because of his religious beliefs and moral outlook, refuses to harm the living and survives by covertly draining blood from coma patients at the hospital where he volunteers.
 
When a woman calls on him to pray and cure her son, Kang-woo, from cancer, he humours her as he doesn't believe his ability, thinking it's all psychological, but they recognise him as an old friend that lived with them as a child and invite him for dinner.  Another orphan that was taken in by the family, Tae-ju, has married Kang-woo so now calls the only mother she knows mother-in-law.  There is an instant attraction between Sang-hyeon and her and they begin an affair with the priest struggling with a crisis of conscience.
 
Tae-ju proves to be an attractive and manipulative woman who uses her guile to convince Sang-hyeon that Kang-woo beats her and should be killed so they can be together.
 
Vampire movies and literature have been around for nearly 200 years, since John Polidori's The Vampyre was published in 1819 and there have been hundreds of films, each with their own mythology and set of rules.  Thirst, written by Park Chan-wook and Seo-Gyeong Jeong, based very loosely on Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola, establishes that vampires need human blood to live, burn in the daylight and have incredible strength, agility and senses.  In this, they can cast reflections and aren't undead, just infected humans.
 
The film has a very strong female perspective with Tae-ju as a femme fatale who uses the weak Sang-hyeon for her own ends, exploiting his position and lack of mental fortitude for her own ends.  Thirst is a very hard movie to pin down as there is a strong romantic element, some horror and the script is laced with black comedy.  It fits very nicely as a thriller with all manner of different cinematic and cultural influences.
 
The acting is superb from the three leads, with the men having previously worked with Park, with Song Kang-ho (who plays Sang-hyeon), one of the leading internationally recognised Korean actors, putting in yet another extraordinary performance that demonstrates his quite incredible range.  In only her third film, Kim Ok-bin proves to be a remarkable actress with some very challenging scenes, including self harm, sex and nudity and is almost Song's equal.
 
As recent vampire films go, this is as good as you'll get and is a fascinating, funny and moving movie with brilliant direction by Park.
 

The Disc

 
Extra Features
There are only two extras on this disc aside from the trailer, both UK exclusives, and they are both interesting, illuminating and occasionally funny.  The first is an interview with Jessica Mellor from the Daily Mirror who asks the right questions (which appear in text form) and Park Chan-wook is happy to answer them fully.  His diplomatic skills are evident when he brilliantly handles the question about Spielberg's remake of Oldboy! 
 
The edited highlights from the NFTS (National Film and Television School) Masterclass show a Q&A session after a screening with more interesting questions and illuminating answers.  The session has clearly been cut down to remove the pauses for translating the questions and answers for Park so it runs seamlessly.
 
The Picture
A beautifully clear picture with deep blacks and vibrant colours.  Some of the scenes are deliberately washed out so the palette reflects the tone but others are artificially bright to illustrate the change in circumstances.  The darker scenes don't lose any clarity and Park certainly doesn't hold back on the bloodletting with some quite violent scenes.
 
He is a man who meticulously plans his shots and some of the camerawork is extraordinary, a testament to Hitchcock's influence on Park's career and approach to direction.
 
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio track is very good as the dialogue is clear and the surrounds are used effectively, especially when Sang-hyeon transforms and his senses sharpen so the room fills with sound putting you in the same position as him.
 
The subtitles are well written and help make the film easy to follow.  They are clear of spelling and grammatical errors.
 
Final Thoughts
Thirst is a fascinating and thoroughly involving film.  It isn't your traditional vampire film with a different take on vampirism, being more of a character piece than an action oriented picture.  It certainly puts the Twilight films in their place and shows the difference between a skilled and ambitious filmmaker who isn't afraid to push the limits and an American studio film.
 
As far as Park Chan-wook's output goes, this is, for me, his best film since Oldboy and one of the finest of his illustrious career.  The disc may not be bursting at the seams with supplementary material but is still heartily recommended.