A Tale of Two Sisters
Encyclopedia
A Tale of Two Sisters is a 2003 South Korean psychological
horror
film
written and directed by Kim Ji-woon
. The film is inspired by a Joseon Dynasty
folktale entitled "Janghwa Hongryeon jeon
", which has been adapted to film several times.
A Tale of Two Sisters opened to very positive critical review and won Best Picture at the 2004 Fantasporto
Film Festival. It is both the highest-grossing Korean horror film and the first to be screened in American
theatres. An American remake
titled The Uninvited
was released in 2009.
She is taken home by her father, Moo-hyeon, along with her timid sister, Su-yeon. There, they are met by their difficult stepmother, Eun-joo.
That night Su-yeon awakes to find somebody in her room and she flees to her sister. Su-mi promises Su-yeon that she will always be there for her and they fall asleep.
Su-mi awakens after a horrifying nightmare in which a ghostly woman that resembles their birth mother crawls across the floor and onto the bed. She finds that Su-yeon has begun her period, as has her stepmother, on the very same day. The girls look at some old photos, which reveal that Eun-joo was a doctor and a co-worker of Moo-hyeon. Su-mi sees bruises on Su-yeon's arms and accuses Eun-joo.
At dinner with guests (Eun-joo's brother, Sun-kyu, and his wife), Eun-joo acts strangely. During dinner, Sun-kyu's wife begins to choke and convulse on the floor. After they leave, Eun-joo investigates around, only to be startled by a hand that reaches out as she tries to pick up a pin.
Eun-joo insists that strange events have become frequent since Su-mi and Su-yeon returned. Her pet bird is slain and found in Su-yeon's bed. In a rage, she locks Su-yeon in the wardrobe, and after Su-yeon is freed, Moo-hyeon asks Su-mi why she is making trouble.
Su-mi insists that the stepmother harasses Su-yeon, locking her in the closet. Moo-hyeon informs her that Su-yeon is dead, and that she is not getting better. The scene ends with Su-yeon emotionally screaming.
Su-mi wakes to find her sister missing and believes she sees her stepmother dragging around a bloody bag through the corridors of the house and beating it. Su-mi runs to the kitchen to grab scissors to free her sister but Eun-joo attempts to stop her by splashing boiling water from the kettle onto her. A fight ensues and Su-mi is rendered unconscious.
Moo-hyeon returns home to find an injured Su-mi, however all evidence is suspiciously gone as are the stepmother and bag.
The scene shifts, Su-mi is now shown as the stepmother. She looks up in surprise, and the camera rotates to show the real stepmother, standing in the door way, looking sympathetic. When the camera turns around again, Su-mi is back where she was. All memories flash through her mind that give evidence of her illness.
It is revealed that all along Su-yeon really has been dead, and the stepmother was absent. Su-mi was acting as the stepmother and imagining her sister throughout the film because of a severe dissociative identity disorder
.
Su-mi then flashes back to a time when Eun-joo was a live-in nurse caring for the girls' sick mother. The girls sense that Eun-joo and Moo-hyeon are flirting. Su-mi displays her disapproval toward Eun-joo, who in turn takes her anger out on Su-yeon. Su-yeon then returns to her room and collapses onto her bed, in tears. Su-yeon's mother is shown trying to comfort her as she too starts crying.
The flashback ends, and the stepmother sits alone in the quiet home. A noise comes from Su-yeon's room. When she investigates, the wardrobe opens and from it crawls out the ghost, presumably of either Su-yeon or her mother. The scene ends ambiguously with a scream.
The flashback picks up again from when Su-yeon had fallen asleep, with her waking up and discovering her dead mother inside her wardrobe, who had hanged herself with an article of clothing. Terrified, Su-yeon shakes the body and screams. A bottle of pills drops and spills open, while Su-yeon accidentally pulls the wardrobe down on top of herself, causing her to scream again.
Various people in the house hear the bang, but not the scream. Out of everyone, only Eun-joo (the nurse and future stepmother) goes to investigate. She discovers Su-yeon screaming for help and clawing at the wardrobe. Eun-joo leaves rather than helping Su-yeon, but then changes her mind and heads back for the scene. En route, she passes Su-mi coming out of her room to investigate the noise. An argument starts between Eun-joo and Su-mi. During the argument, Su-yeon is shown whimpering under the wardrobe.
After the argument, when Su-mi tries to leave the house, Eun-joo stops her. Eun-joo warning Su-mi that she may come to regret this moment, seeming to have lost all intention of helping Su-yeon after the argument. Su-mi dismisses the warning as nonsense and angrily marches out of the house. Outside, Su-mi passes Moo-hyeon, who was going to investigate. Moo-hyeon assumes that the noise was Su-mi's, and he ends up not entering the house.
The scene switches back to Su-yeon crying out for Su-mi's help, because Eun-joo decided not to go back and help her. Su-yeon continues clawing at the wardrobe until she eventually dies. Outside the house, Su-mi turns back long enough to exchange angry stares with Eun-joo, who is standing on the balcony. The film ends with Su-mi continuing to walk away from the house, but stopping to pause and think.
As the credits scroll, an image is shown of Su-mi sitting on the dock by the pond. She is in the same outfit as in an earlier scene: The day she had come home and had done the same with Su-yeon. However, this time, Su-mi is sitting alone.
" which has been adapted into film versions in 1924
, 1936
, 1956
, 1962
, 1972
, and 2009
.
In the original Korean Folktale the sisters' names are Janghwa and Hongryeon (Rose Flower and Red Lotus). In the film, they are Su-mi and Su-yeon (still mean Rose and Lotus).
Lim Su-jung (Su-mi) originally auditioned for the role of Su-yeon (played by Moon Geun-young).
Kim Ji-woon originally wanted Jun Ji-hyun
to play Su-mi, but she refused it because she thought the script was too scary. Ironically, her next film was an unrelated horror film, The Uninvited
.
theatres. With a limited American release starting December 3, 2004, it grossed $72,541. A Tale of Two Sisters garnered very positive reviews, with a 87% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
. Meanwhile, Metacritic
scored the film 65 out of 100, meaning Generally Favorable Reviews from 19 critics.
Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times
described A Tale of Two Sisters as "a triumph of stylish, darkly absurdist horror that even manages to strike a chord of Shakespearean tragedy
– and evokes a sense of wonder anew at all the terrible things people do to themselves and each other."
2004 Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
2006 Chlotrudis Awards
2004 Fant-Asia Film Festival
2004 Fantasporto
Film Festival
2004 Gérardmer Film Festival
2003 Pusan International Film Festival
2003 Screamfest Horror Film Festival
2003 Sitges Film Festival
as Anna Ivers (Su-mi), and Arielle Kebbel
as Alex Ivers (Su-yeong). Although originally titled A Tale of Two Sisters like the original film, it was later renamed as The Uninvited.
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written and directed by Kim Ji-woon
Kim Ji-Woon
Kim Ji-woon is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Kim Ji-woon has a history of successfully tackling a wide range of film genres, garnering a cult following among Asian films fans all over the world.-Career:...
. The film is inspired by a Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
folktale entitled "Janghwa Hongryeon jeon
Janghwa Hongryeon jeon
Janghwa Hongryeon jeon is a Joseon-era Korean folktale.- Introduction :Once upon a time, there was a man named Bae whose wife had a dream where an angel gave her a beautiful flower. Nine months later, she gave birth to a pretty baby girl, who the couple named, "Janghwa"...
", which has been adapted to film several times.
A Tale of Two Sisters opened to very positive critical review and won Best Picture at the 2004 Fantasporto
Fantasporto
Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...
Film Festival. It is both the highest-grossing Korean horror film and the first to be screened in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatres. An American remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
titled The Uninvited
The Uninvited (2009 film)
The Uninvited is a 2009 American remake of the 2003 South Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters. It is unrelated to another 2003 Korean horror film and a 1944 American film, both of which have the same name.-Plot:...
was released in 2009.
Plot
It begins with Su-mi being brought to a psychiatrist. She is unresponsive until a picture of her family is shown in front of her.She is taken home by her father, Moo-hyeon, along with her timid sister, Su-yeon. There, they are met by their difficult stepmother, Eun-joo.
That night Su-yeon awakes to find somebody in her room and she flees to her sister. Su-mi promises Su-yeon that she will always be there for her and they fall asleep.
Su-mi awakens after a horrifying nightmare in which a ghostly woman that resembles their birth mother crawls across the floor and onto the bed. She finds that Su-yeon has begun her period, as has her stepmother, on the very same day. The girls look at some old photos, which reveal that Eun-joo was a doctor and a co-worker of Moo-hyeon. Su-mi sees bruises on Su-yeon's arms and accuses Eun-joo.
At dinner with guests (Eun-joo's brother, Sun-kyu, and his wife), Eun-joo acts strangely. During dinner, Sun-kyu's wife begins to choke and convulse on the floor. After they leave, Eun-joo investigates around, only to be startled by a hand that reaches out as she tries to pick up a pin.
Eun-joo insists that strange events have become frequent since Su-mi and Su-yeon returned. Her pet bird is slain and found in Su-yeon's bed. In a rage, she locks Su-yeon in the wardrobe, and after Su-yeon is freed, Moo-hyeon asks Su-mi why she is making trouble.
Su-mi insists that the stepmother harasses Su-yeon, locking her in the closet. Moo-hyeon informs her that Su-yeon is dead, and that she is not getting better. The scene ends with Su-yeon emotionally screaming.
Su-mi wakes to find her sister missing and believes she sees her stepmother dragging around a bloody bag through the corridors of the house and beating it. Su-mi runs to the kitchen to grab scissors to free her sister but Eun-joo attempts to stop her by splashing boiling water from the kettle onto her. A fight ensues and Su-mi is rendered unconscious.
Moo-hyeon returns home to find an injured Su-mi, however all evidence is suspiciously gone as are the stepmother and bag.
The scene shifts, Su-mi is now shown as the stepmother. She looks up in surprise, and the camera rotates to show the real stepmother, standing in the door way, looking sympathetic. When the camera turns around again, Su-mi is back where she was. All memories flash through her mind that give evidence of her illness.
It is revealed that all along Su-yeon really has been dead, and the stepmother was absent. Su-mi was acting as the stepmother and imagining her sister throughout the film because of a severe dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
.
Su-mi then flashes back to a time when Eun-joo was a live-in nurse caring for the girls' sick mother. The girls sense that Eun-joo and Moo-hyeon are flirting. Su-mi displays her disapproval toward Eun-joo, who in turn takes her anger out on Su-yeon. Su-yeon then returns to her room and collapses onto her bed, in tears. Su-yeon's mother is shown trying to comfort her as she too starts crying.
The flashback ends, and the stepmother sits alone in the quiet home. A noise comes from Su-yeon's room. When she investigates, the wardrobe opens and from it crawls out the ghost, presumably of either Su-yeon or her mother. The scene ends ambiguously with a scream.
The flashback picks up again from when Su-yeon had fallen asleep, with her waking up and discovering her dead mother inside her wardrobe, who had hanged herself with an article of clothing. Terrified, Su-yeon shakes the body and screams. A bottle of pills drops and spills open, while Su-yeon accidentally pulls the wardrobe down on top of herself, causing her to scream again.
Various people in the house hear the bang, but not the scream. Out of everyone, only Eun-joo (the nurse and future stepmother) goes to investigate. She discovers Su-yeon screaming for help and clawing at the wardrobe. Eun-joo leaves rather than helping Su-yeon, but then changes her mind and heads back for the scene. En route, she passes Su-mi coming out of her room to investigate the noise. An argument starts between Eun-joo and Su-mi. During the argument, Su-yeon is shown whimpering under the wardrobe.
After the argument, when Su-mi tries to leave the house, Eun-joo stops her. Eun-joo warning Su-mi that she may come to regret this moment, seeming to have lost all intention of helping Su-yeon after the argument. Su-mi dismisses the warning as nonsense and angrily marches out of the house. Outside, Su-mi passes Moo-hyeon, who was going to investigate. Moo-hyeon assumes that the noise was Su-mi's, and he ends up not entering the house.
The scene switches back to Su-yeon crying out for Su-mi's help, because Eun-joo decided not to go back and help her. Su-yeon continues clawing at the wardrobe until she eventually dies. Outside the house, Su-mi turns back long enough to exchange angry stares with Eun-joo, who is standing on the balcony. The film ends with Su-mi continuing to walk away from the house, but stopping to pause and think.
As the credits scroll, an image is shown of Su-mi sitting on the dock by the pond. She is in the same outfit as in an earlier scene: The day she had come home and had done the same with Su-yeon. However, this time, Su-mi is sitting alone.
Cast
- Im Soo Jung as Su-mi
- Moon Geun YoungMoon Geun YoungMoon Geun-young is a vivacious and multi-talented South Korean award-winning actress, commercial film star, and model. Affectionately called "Korean nation's little sister," Moon started modeling at the age of 12 and appeared in the documentary film On the Way the following year...
as Su-yeon - Yeom Jeong-ahYeom Jeong-ahYeom Jeong-ah is a South Korean actress.- Film :*Jeon Woo Chi *Small Town Rivals - cameo*The Worst Guy Ever *The Old Garden *Boy Goes To Heaven...
as Eun-joo - Kim Kap-suKim Kap-suKim Kap-soo is a South Korean actor. His acting debut was in 1977. Kim is a high profile actor in his age bracket and has had a long career as an actor on the stage, in television dramas and film. He is well respected in Korea for his acting ability and is a sought after lecturer...
as Moo-hyeon
Production
The film is based on a popular Korean fairy tale "Janghwa Hongryeon jeonJanghwa Hongryeon jeon
Janghwa Hongryeon jeon is a Joseon-era Korean folktale.- Introduction :Once upon a time, there was a man named Bae whose wife had a dream where an angel gave her a beautiful flower. Nine months later, she gave birth to a pretty baby girl, who the couple named, "Janghwa"...
" which has been adapted into film versions in 1924
Janghwa Hongryeon jeon (1924 film)
Jang-hwa and Hong-ryeon is a 1924 Korean silent film. The film is based on a popular Korean fairy tale "Janghwa Hongryeon jeon" which had been adapted into film versions in 1924, 1936, 1956, 1962 and 1972....
, 1936
Janghwa Hongryeon jeon (1936 film)
Story of Janghwa and Hongryeon is a 1936 Korean silent film. The film is based on a popular Korean fairy tale "Janghwa Hongryeon jeon" which had been adapted into film versions in 1924, 1936, 1956, 1962 and 1972.-Cast:*Su-il Mun*Ye-bong Mun...
, 1956
Janghwa Hongryeon jeon (1956 film)
Janghwa Hongryeonjeon is 1956 South Korean horror film. The film is based on a popular Korean fairy tale "Janghwa Hongryeon jeon" which had been adapted into film versions in 1924, 1936, 1956, 1962, 1972, 2003, and 2009.-Synopsis:Janghwa Hongreonjeon is film based on a popular Korean fairy tale...
, 1962
Dae Jang-hwa Hong-ryeon jeon
(The Story of Jang-hwa and Hong-ryeon (Dae Jang-hwa Hong-ryeon jeon) is a 1962 South Korean film directed by Chung Chang-wha. The film is based on a Korean folklore story called Janghwa Hongryeon jeon which had been adapted into film versions in 1924, 1936, 1956, 1962, 1972, 2003, and...
, 1972
Janghwa Hongryeon jeon (1972 film)
Janghwa Hongryeonjeon is 1972 South Korean Horror film. The film is based on a popular Korean fairy tale "Janghwa Hongryeon jeon" which had been adapted into film versions in 1924, 1936, 1956, 1962, 1972, 2003, and 2009.-Synopsis:Janghwa Hongreonjeon is film based on a popular Korean fairy tale...
, and 2009
The Uninvited (2009 film)
The Uninvited is a 2009 American remake of the 2003 South Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters. It is unrelated to another 2003 Korean horror film and a 1944 American film, both of which have the same name.-Plot:...
.
In the original Korean Folktale the sisters' names are Janghwa and Hongryeon (Rose Flower and Red Lotus). In the film, they are Su-mi and Su-yeon (still mean Rose and Lotus).
Lim Su-jung (Su-mi) originally auditioned for the role of Su-yeon (played by Moon Geun-young).
Kim Ji-woon originally wanted Jun Ji-hyun
Jun Ji-hyun
Jun Ji-hyun also known as Gianna Jun, is a South Korean actress and model. She had her breakthrough role in 2001 as The Girl in the film My Sassy Girl which became the highest grossing Korean comedy of all time...
to play Su-mi, but she refused it because she thought the script was too scary. Ironically, her next film was an unrelated horror film, The Uninvited
The Uninvited (2003 film)
The Uninvited, also known as A Table for Four, is a 2003 South Korean psychological horror film directed by Lee Su-yeon.-Plot summary:...
.
Reception
It is both the highest-grossing Korean horror film and the first to be screened in AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatres. With a limited American release starting December 3, 2004, it grossed $72,541. A Tale of Two Sisters garnered very positive reviews, with a 87% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Meanwhile, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
scored the film 65 out of 100, meaning Generally Favorable Reviews from 19 critics.
Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
described A Tale of Two Sisters as "a triumph of stylish, darkly absurdist horror that even manages to strike a chord of Shakespearean tragedy
Shakespearean tragedy
Shakespeare wrote tragedies from the beginning of his career. One of his earliest plays was the Roman tragedy Titus Andronicus, which he followed a few years later with Romeo and Juliet. However, his most admired tragedies were written in a seven-year period between 1601 and 1608...
– and evokes a sense of wonder anew at all the terrible things people do to themselves and each other."
Awards and nominations
2003 Blue Dragon Awards- Best New Actress - Im Soo Jung
2004 Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival , previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller and science fiction films. It takes place in Brussels, every year in March...
- Silver Raven - Yeom Jeong-ahYeom Jeong-ahYeom Jeong-ah is a South Korean actress.- Film :*Jeon Woo Chi *Small Town Rivals - cameo*The Worst Guy Ever *The Old Garden *Boy Goes To Heaven...
2006 Chlotrudis Awards
- Nomination - Best Supporting Actress - Yeom Jeong-ahYeom Jeong-ahYeom Jeong-ah is a South Korean actress.- Film :*Jeon Woo Chi *Small Town Rivals - cameo*The Worst Guy Ever *The Old Garden *Boy Goes To Heaven...
2004 Fant-Asia Film Festival
- Most Popular Film
2004 Fantasporto
Fantasporto
Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...
Film Festival
- International Fantasy Film Best Actress - Im Soo Jung
- International Fantasy Film Best Director - Kim Ji-woonKim Ji-WoonKim Ji-woon is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Kim Ji-woon has a history of successfully tackling a wide range of film genres, garnering a cult following among Asian films fans all over the world.-Career:...
- International Fantasy Film Best Film
- Orient Express Section Special Jury Award
2004 Gérardmer Film Festival
- Grand Prize
- Prix 13ème Rue
- Youth Jury Grand Prize
2003 Pusan International Film Festival
Pusan International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
- Best New Actress - Im Soo Jung
2003 Screamfest Horror Film Festival
Screamfest Horror Film Festival
Screamfest Horror Film Festival is the largest horror film festival in the United States. Some of the largest horror online publications have called it the "Sundance of Horror". Previously held at Loews Universal Studios Cinemas, Universal CityWalk, the festival is now held annually at the...
- Best Picture
2003 Sitges Film Festival
- Nomination - Best Film
Remake
DreamWorks announced the two lead actresses on June 28, with Emily BrowningEmily Browning
Emily Jane Browning is an Australian film actress and fashion model, known for her roles as Violet Baudelaire in Brad Silberling's 2004 film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, as Anna Ivers in the 2009 film The Uninvited, as Babydoll in Zack Snyder's 2011 action thriller Sucker...
as Anna Ivers (Su-mi), and Arielle Kebbel
Arielle Kebbel
Arielle Caroline Kebbel is an American model and actress. Arielle is perhaps best known for her roles in films such as American Pie Presents: Band Camp, John Tucker Must Die, Vampires Suck, and Aquamarine, as well as TV series including The Vampire Diaries, Gilmore Girls, and Life Unexpected, on...
as Alex Ivers (Su-yeong). Although originally titled A Tale of Two Sisters like the original film, it was later renamed as The Uninvited.