Into the white night
Apr. 25th, 2010 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexandralI have been wanting to watch this film for a while, as it is a Korean remake of one of very well-known Japanese dramas, Byakuyako , which is an adaptation of a well-known novel. I have started the drama some month ago and loved it, but haven't finished for one reason or another.
When I heard of the film being made, I thought – good! At least when I watch the movie I will judge it on it's own merits, without constantly comparing it to the drama, and if I like the movie, I will finish the drama later.
I have watched "Into the White Night" on Friday. My feelings are uneven. It is undeniably a very beautiful, dreamy movie with gorgeous protagonists and interesting camera work: the world of the film is constructed of different shades of gray, except for the main protagonists who always wear stark black or white colours. I liked these aspects of the film, but I had some major problems with the logic of the story itself.
Main protagonists as children made the perfect sense to me: the girl was abused by the boy's father to whom she was sold by her own mother, the boy killed his father, the girl killed her mother. So far , this was a very dark story about two little children made into two killers by the people who were most close to them.
Then, they agreed to meet after the statue of limitation on the murders expires, in 15 years. This made less sense to me, but still was OK.
After that, the boy and the girl stop acting logically altogether. They live close to each other, but they don't meet, just to make it more suspicious to the police. Just few months prior to the statue of limitation expiring, one of the key witnesses in the original murder case is released out of the prison. He starts blackmailing the boy. The boy and the girl, instead of doing something sensible, like hiding (they only need to hide for another 6 months!) , conspire and the boy kills the witness, in exactly the same way he killed the father. He also doesn't bother to hide the guy's body.
After this, any further events lose any connection with logic altogether. The guy's murder is investigated; the boy and the girl have to kill more people, some of them police. Even at this point, none of these murders seem necessary. But to make the matters absolutely worse, the boy buries all the bodies in the back garden of the girl's auntie. So, eventually, when all the flowers start dying out, the bodies are easily found.
By this time, I was furious. Not in the way I was supposed to be furious, I think, but in the way "Please stop being so absolutely silly and naïve. Or die. Please". Eventually, the boy obliged and killed himself. But I was supposed to believe that the girl escaped the clutches of the police. How, do I ask? When all the bodies were buried in her auntie's back garden????
One thing I am wondering about - is the chain of events the same in the Japanese version and in the novel itself? Or were many things changed in the movie?
But the movie was very pretty,I have included some posters, they are lovely:
I have included some posters, they are lovely:
When I heard of the film being made, I thought – good! At least when I watch the movie I will judge it on it's own merits, without constantly comparing it to the drama, and if I like the movie, I will finish the drama later.
I have watched "Into the White Night" on Friday. My feelings are uneven. It is undeniably a very beautiful, dreamy movie with gorgeous protagonists and interesting camera work: the world of the film is constructed of different shades of gray, except for the main protagonists who always wear stark black or white colours. I liked these aspects of the film, but I had some major problems with the logic of the story itself.
Main protagonists as children made the perfect sense to me: the girl was abused by the boy's father to whom she was sold by her own mother, the boy killed his father, the girl killed her mother. So far , this was a very dark story about two little children made into two killers by the people who were most close to them.
Then, they agreed to meet after the statue of limitation on the murders expires, in 15 years. This made less sense to me, but still was OK.
After that, the boy and the girl stop acting logically altogether. They live close to each other, but they don't meet, just to make it more suspicious to the police. Just few months prior to the statue of limitation expiring, one of the key witnesses in the original murder case is released out of the prison. He starts blackmailing the boy. The boy and the girl, instead of doing something sensible, like hiding (they only need to hide for another 6 months!) , conspire and the boy kills the witness, in exactly the same way he killed the father. He also doesn't bother to hide the guy's body.
After this, any further events lose any connection with logic altogether. The guy's murder is investigated; the boy and the girl have to kill more people, some of them police. Even at this point, none of these murders seem necessary. But to make the matters absolutely worse, the boy buries all the bodies in the back garden of the girl's auntie. So, eventually, when all the flowers start dying out, the bodies are easily found.
By this time, I was furious. Not in the way I was supposed to be furious, I think, but in the way "Please stop being so absolutely silly and naïve. Or die. Please". Eventually, the boy obliged and killed himself. But I was supposed to believe that the girl escaped the clutches of the police. How, do I ask? When all the bodies were buried in her auntie's back garden????
One thing I am wondering about - is the chain of events the same in the Japanese version and in the novel itself? Or were many things changed in the movie?
But the movie was very pretty,I have included some posters, they are lovely:
I have included some posters, they are lovely:
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-25 04:43 pm (UTC)I didn't care for the drama because I thought there was no excuse about their actions when they were grown-ups so I think I'll be skipping the movie.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-25 04:48 pm (UTC)I think the continuous stupidity of their actions bothered me so much that I couldn't even take their "dark dark souls" seriously. I mean - burying the bodies in your auntie's back garden, under some prized flowers???? How stupid you can get???
Hmm, I was wondering in the story in the Japanese drama goes the same way. It is actually one of the on-going problems I have with any Jdramas that have something to do with the police. The stories are usually too naive to take seriously.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-25 04:57 pm (UTC)But if you didn't like the plot in the movie, you definitely won't like it in the drama. The drama is more screwed up. I actually didn't like the movie because they didn't take it far enough.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-25 05:02 pm (UTC)The fact that the present-day murders (I am fine with the murders of the mother and father) were so unnecessary and the fact that the protagonists, for so long, weren't apprehended by the police, whilst making so many mistakes, the sheer stupidity of burying the bodies in the auntie's back garden (Is this the same in the drama?) - this what bothers me. I can't do with illogical and naive too well, especially if it is supposed to be a "dark" drama. naive in a fluffy drama is fine.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-25 05:12 pm (UTC)The modern day murders make more sense in the drama, because you can easily imagine them doing it for no good reason (like, the girl decides to screw up people's lives by planning staged rapes SIMPLY because she doesn't want them to be happier than her). One of my biggest problems with the movie was how innocent they made her look. In the drama, it's actually her, not him who is the villain.
Yeah, they do bury the bodies in the backyard in the drama as well (though it's not her aunt, rather her adoptive mother). But it's not so noticeable (no dying flowers). Only the adoptive mother finds out, and she gets killed by the girl for it.
Essentially, my point is the stupidity you seen in the movie isn't noticeable in the drama, simply because the characters in the drama are so much more evil.
But also, the beauty of it is that their crime spree doesn't really make sense. They're both pretty insane. The girl is obscenely opportunistic, and the guy is constantly shackled with guilt. Add into that their extreme devotion to one another, and things go to hell. Their crimes make no sense because they're not supposed to.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-26 10:31 am (UTC)Essentially, my point is the stupidity you seen in the movie isn't noticeable in the drama, simply because the characters in the drama are so much more evil.
Their crimes make no sense because they're not supposed to.
This sort of came through in th film version as well, but I think my problem with this type of scenario always was, that I though I can understand people being evil, crazy, whatever, I can't understand why anyone won't take elementary precautions against being caught.
I think there were hints in the film that the protagonists were frozen in their "child" state, hence the naivety. But this is kind of odd.
Yeah, they do bury the bodies in the backyard in the drama as well (though it's not her aunt, rather her adoptive mother).
burying bodies in a backyard of a person connected to you = wanting to be caught. I can kind of get it if this is your own house, so you have a full control over it, but in somebody else's house when this someone else is connected to you?
One of my biggest problems with the movie was how innocent they made her look. In the drama, it's actually her, not him whois the villain.
Hmm, I dunno. For me, it became clearly obvious that the girl was the broken one, the one who instigated the murders. the boy didn't even want to murder anyone, he did it because she told him to.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-25 05:11 pm (UTC)And I was actually kind of excited to see this because of SYJ and Go Soo.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-26 10:32 am (UTC)I think this is what we are supposed to conclude. But still, why would someone take no precautions against being caught?
no subject
Date: 2010-04-25 09:30 pm (UTC)I have no idea about the drama. Sorry.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-26 10:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-25 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-26 10:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-25 11:28 pm (UTC)Even if the movie isn't that good, I'm tempted to see it based on the first image you posted alone. It is absolutely gorgeous. O_O
no subject
Date: 2010-04-26 10:35 am (UTC)I am quite drawn to "darkness of human soul" scenarious, but I like everything to be logical. I think I am a logic freak. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-04-26 08:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-26 10:37 am (UTC)