Review of Tale Of Two Sisters, A

Introduction

A Tale of Two Sisters is a Korean film which, although marketed as in the horror genre, won acclaim more due to its unsettling and creepy atmosphere rather than the standard `shocks` of other Asian horrors such as Ringu and Ju-on: The Grudge.

The film focusses on two sisters who, after being forced to spend time in a mental institution as a result of a tragedy at home, return to find their father remarried to a younger, prettier replacement for their mother. Upon their arrival, their new stepmother immediately causes trouble for them: being charming and welcoming towards them in front of their father, yet malicious and vindictive behind his back. As if this wasn`t enough to make the two sisters` return difficult enough, the eerie feeling of death around the house has seemed to have taken a physical form during the months they have been away, and soon visions of ghosts begin to interfere with their readjustment to society.

Video

The first thing to notice about A Tale of Two Sisters is the remarkable shooting of the film: as seems to be par for the course with many Asian directors nowadays, they seemed to have trained as a cinematographer first and director second. The use of colour, blocking, lighting is quite beautiful. Fortunately the picture quality is up to the standard too, with the colour palette rich, yet not overwhelming. The black levels are solid in the numerous dark scenes. The detail is high throughout and there is no instances of print damage nor flecks/specks on screen.

Audio

The original language track is presented in DTS format, and performs to a very high standard - the use of the sound stage is extensive despite this being a dialogue-based vehicle, and the effects are isolated well from each of the speakers. The subtitles are shown in an easy-to-read format. The DD5.1 track is also very solid, but as usual, the DTS just edges it.

Features

This is a 2-disc limited edition set, but unfortunately since this was a review copy, I was not able to comment on what I hear is a beautiful digipack case that the DVDs come housed in.

The extras on this movie are excellent, especially for such an interesting project as this - A Tale of Two Sisters is based on a Korean folk tale which has been filmed on numerous occasions before Ji-woon Kim decided to make it with a fresh twist. On Disc One there is a director`s commentary, which is useful to explain any of the plot elements which have left you a little confused after the mammoth plot twist in the last 10mins, but as the commentary is in Korean and is thus translated into English, is a little tedious to listen to and certainly does not have the flow of a very good commentary.

Disc Two is where all the real goodies lie. First up are twelve deleted scenes - a large amount by anyone`s standards. Each come with director`s commentary explaining its original purpose and the reasons for its omission, and none are the usual poor quality (in terms of both picture and narrative) crap that come as filler on so many discs. The Outtakes Reel is a little more of the same - not bloopers, in case that`s what you were hoping for, just some B-Roll footage.

Next are the seven interviews by cast and crew (and a psychologist to boot), all detailing their thoughts on making the movie. Each of these last a fair amount of time (more than just a soundbite at least), and are packed with informative nuggets about the difficulties making and releasing the film.

The jewel of this pack is undoubtedly the five mini-featurettes that go behind-the-scenes, and detail the production of the haunting music scores, the CGI work and the beautiful set design. Much like the interviews, a lot of effort has been put into compiling these, as they are not simply 2-3min filler on this disc: someone has gone around the set during the shooting and then after release as well with a structured plan for creating this wonderful set of extras, and it shows in the quality of them.

A selection of stills rounds off the set.

Conclusion

A Tale of Two Sisters was very much hyped among cinema cogniscenti early last year and, upon watching it the first time, I was left slightly disappointed. The pace moves along very slowly, and leaves you confused for most of the movie - and then the plot twist at the end baffles and ends abruptly. However, the film is definitely a slow burner, and the film lingers in the memory long after switching off the TV - once the ending has been digested fully, the impression left is of a quirky psychological thriller, but more of a tragedy that moves you to tears - and the image that remains is the remarkable last shot of a girl caught in a moment that will change her life forever.

This set is beautiful, with excellent picture and sounds, and a truly great set of extras. I have no problem recommending this to anyone.