Thirst (aka Bakjwi, 2009) by Chan-wook Park

[Melike]

Since I have seen it, my heart is beating with happiness and excitement.
Because, to me, this is the best vampire movie, made in years. Honestly, I was thirsty for a good one, after Bram Stoker's Dracula.

It was what I have exactly expected from a Chan-wook Park movie which I could hardly waited for the DVD to get released.

There were many scenes which are worth to mention in ‘’Great Cinematic Moments’’ thread.:)
The scene where the Priest lifts Tae-joo up and drops her into his shoes , was impressive, when you consider it with some other shots. (When Tae-joo puts his Sang-hejeon’s shoes in the end, and when Sang-hejeon who holds the girl in his arms and carrying her up to the stairs at the hospital.)

The way he merged violence with opposite conceptions, was poetic. All that expected and un-expected behaviours of characters were typically Chan-wook Park.




A note: Chan-wook Park says he can’t wait to see Spielberg’s Oldboy. :rolleyes:


~After this thread dies, we can lead the discussion to Chan-Wook Park’s other works or simply to vampire movies.~

[Heather19]

Melike, you've finally seen it :couple:

So now I have some questions for you and Feev
Why did he kill his father? Did I miss something?
And do you guys feel that she really loved him, or was this just her way of escaping her life?

[Melike]

Why did he kill his father? Did I miss something?
Hmm. Well, this is how I see it:

Rememer, his blind father is very sick and says he wants to be a vampire to see the sun once again before he dies. The Priest says he can't see the sun, even when he becomes a vampire. He says this metaphorically more than in its real meaning, I think. Priest doesn't want his father to be something like him. He thinks he didn't choose to be in this sin: He says ''I didn't choose the blood that was transfused into me! You know I went there to do good. Now, I thirst after all sinful pleasures.'' He doesn't want his father to be a bad person.

He is not as confident as he seems about his belief. *He advices a woman who tells him she wants to die, to go to a doctor and take medicine.* He has a supressed obsession about suicide.

So he lies to himself, that he is 'helping' by being a subject of the experiment, but in truth he is trying to make his suicide legal to his religion.

He subconciously believes there is no other way out to the people who doesn't want to live, except death. When the woman traps and kills a man on the road, later, on the roof he says to Tae-joo, that he found a way to have more blood: He 'helps' people who wants to suicide by killing them.

Thinking all of the things above together, he is doing bad things but he has excuses: He is doing them for good purposes, whatever the result is. But, actually, he is creating excuses, hunting to find excuses to do what he wanted.

If his father becomes a vampire, he would be a sinner. If he doesn't let him to be a vampire he would continue to his short life being a sick, blind and suffering man.
So, at the moment his father tried to lick his blood, he killed him; he saved him.

No.
He finaly found an excuse to drink blood. An opportunity to stay good while doing bad.
He killed his father to satisfy his thirst.



And do you guys feel that she really loved him, or was this just her way of escaping her life?

I think she never loved him like he did. I felt this especially in the end when she was trying to hide herself from the sun, but never showing the signs of caring about him.

[Heather19]

Thanks Melike, that makes sense about his father.

And I agree


I think she never loved him like he did. I felt this especially in the end when she was trying to hide herself from the sun, but never showing the signs of caring about him.

I felt that she saw him as an escape. Especially if you look at the way she reacted after he turned her. She went from being a very repressed person who couldn't stand up to anyone, to someone who suddenly had this insane amount of power, and would kill innocent people with no remorse whatsoever. And like you said at the end, she tried to save him, but not really. All she really was concerned with was saving herself.

[Melike]

Definitely. It is always about 'herself'. Though we can not say she doesn't have reasons, as you pointed.