A tale of two sisters

The Beauty. The Terror. The Poetry. The Horror. The Innocence. The Guilt. Maybe that's just about all I should write in this comment for A TALE OF TWO SISTERS. The best thing is to just watch this movie without knowing anything about it. I myself didn't even know one single thing about the history of the two girls when I went into this movie. I just took a look at the nice cover-art, didn't even read the synopsis on the back and popped it into DVD-player. I only knew that it won several prices on festivals around the world and that it came highly recommended. The DVD-cover read "The Most Frightening Film since THE RING, THE GRUDGE and DARK WATER". Though the frightening-part might be right, you can forget about the rest, because the only thing A TALE OF TWO SISTERS has in common with those movie is... a ghostly apparition with long black hair. It's even a bit unfair to compare it with those famous Japanese movies, because this Korean movie has a lot more to offer and is in fact a bit more complicated and intelligent than those others. This movie simply is a small masterpiece, and here are some reasons (without telling anything about the plot): The movie itself caught me off guard at least two times with clever surprise-twists. And just when you think you've had the conclusion (whether you get it or not, that's irrelevant for the moment) and you think the movie will end... this movie goes on a bit longer. The cinematography is amazing, using bright colors during the day and...

— Eun-ju A Tale of Two Sisters (aka Janghwa, Hongryeon, literally Rose Flower, Red Lotus) is a 2003 The film is inspired by a Joseon Dynasty folktale entitled , which has been adapted to film several times. The Uninvited, nor the 1944 American film of that name. The film centers around two teenage sisters, the older Su-mi and the younger Su-yeon, returning to their father Moo-hyeon's house after a stay in a mental institution following the death of their terminally ill mother. They frequently clash with their new stepmother (formerly their mother's nurse), Eun-ju, who behaves in an incredibly difficult manner around them (and who becomes increasingly cruel and erratic over the course of the film). Coinciding with their return home, however, are several eerie and frightening events (doors opening by themselves, bizarre apparitions, strange sounds, and terrifying nightmares, amongst other things), and it quickly becomes uncertain if these events are real, a product of the girls' disturbed mental states, or the cruel mind games played by Eun-ju. Or is it something else entirely? Known for having multiple unexpected plot twists and Definitely not to be confused with Warning: Some unmarked spoilers below. This film contains examples of: • • The film opens with a scene where Soo-mi is in the mental institution and is questioned by the doctor about the day she was admitted, which she refuses to answer. It was left to be intentionally ambiguous as to whether or not the scene is a ...

Running time 114 minutes Country South Korea Language Korean Budget $3.7 million Box office $1 million A Tale of Two Sisters ( 장화, 홍련; Janghwa, Hongryeon; lit. "Rose Flower, Red Lotus") is a 2003 South Korean The film opened to very strong commercial and critical reception and won Best Picture at the 2004 Plot [ ] A teenage girl, Su-mi, is being treated for Su-yeon has a nightmare of her late mother's Eun-joo's relationship with her stepdaughters sours after she finds her pet bird mutilated and killed and her personal photographs defaced. She believes that these actions are somehow connected to the girls and locks Su-yeon in the closet. Su-mi releases her and tells her father about the abuse. Her father begs her to stop acting out and informs her that Su-yeon is dead. Su-mi refuses to believe it as she is sure her sister is right next to her sobbing uncontrollably. The next morning, Eun-joo drags a bloodied sack through the house, whipping it. Su-mi believes that Su-yeon is inside the sack. Eun-joo and Su-mi get into a violent physical altercation. Su-mi's father arrives to find an unconscious Su-mi. It is ultimately revealed that Su-mi and her father were alone in the house the entire time. Su-mi had suffered from The father and the real Eun-joo send Su-mi back to the mental institution. Eun-joo tries to reconcile with Su-mi, promising to visit her as often as she can, but Su-mi rebuffs her. That night, Eun-joo hears footsteps in Su-yeon's old bedroom, revealing that the ...