Hansel and Gretel (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
Hansel and Gretel is a 2007
South Korea
n horror film
.
On the terrace her parents are waiting with her two siblings, who are then introduced as Manbok, her older brother, and Jeongsun, her little sister. Their parents behave unusually, jiggling their feet and scratching their necks. The next day when Eunsu woke up, he saw many sweets on the table, and the children were following every move he made. He decides to leave, but came back into the house because the darkness was quickly approaching. As he tried to get out of the house again, he discovered that the parents were leaving, and they tell him to take care of the kids. He begins to wonder why Manbok is so full of anger, and why the children always watch the same, sadist TV show over and over, and he wonders about the creepy sound he hears in the attic every night.
Soon he found out from their mother, who was hiding in the attic, that she and her husband were not their real parents. Their car broke down on the same highway where Eunsu was stranded, and when they explored the woods, they met Jeongsun. She told him not to believe the children. The day after, it was snowing, and as Eunsu makes his way out for the third time, he meets Manbok and a couple walking towards the house. The husband was a deacon, who seemed very nice and got the children's sympathy, while his wife had a malicious aura about her. As Eunsu kept looking for clues, he realized that the meat they ate for lunch and dinner was actually the cooked body of the missing 'father',and his wife had now turned into a china doll. He also noticed that the deacon's wife had disappeared after blaming Jeongsun for stealing her ring. At night, he sees Manbok going into the woods. He goes to follow him, and makes a trail of breadcrumbs so he wouldn't get lost. He was surprised to learn that the deacon's wife had been turned into an oak tree.
Manbok finally stops in front of a mysterious door, leading into a room. Manbok put down the notebook that he and his sisters were working on throughout the movie. As he heads through the door, his face changes to an old man's face. When he leaves, Eunsu immediately goes into the room to find out what's going on. He looked over the notes in the notebook, and found out that the children were over thirty years old. Suddenly Younghee comes in, apparently sleepwalking, and as they talk, Eunsu looks at her face, which is now an old woman's face, which causes Eunsu to back off in shock, and he hits the bookcases in the room, which causes all the notes to fall off the shelves. As he reads the notes, Manbok narrates the story, revealing the reason why he wanted to get rid of the couple who used to be his 'parents'. While they were playing, Jeongsun accidentally stepped on shards of broken glass, and the husband did absolutely nothing, instead quarelling with his wife. This angers Manbok, so he uses his powers to cut the husband's fingers, and drops them into the boiling pan. Since then the couple became aware of his powers, and tried not to mess up, or they would end up dead.
Eunsu sees more of the childrens' drawings in the notebook, such as a woman with her legs and arms cut, a woman turned into an oak tree, a woman in a dress with red crayons being splattered on her face, and a man who was dressed like him laying on the grass beside the red flowers he had seen on his way out. He realizes the notebook pictured his own story, and he knew he'd better stop the kids before they got bored with him and murder him.
Meanwhile, Younghee went back to the house after hearing Byeon(the deacon) singing. Eunsu decides to go back too, and finds out Byeon is a leader of a religious cult who tried to kill the children,and he was holding Jeongsun hostage. He knocks Byeon out and asks the children what happened. As Younghee begins the story, the scene turns into a flashback.
The kids were living in an orphanage called "House of Happy Children". The caretaker was abusive, he raped the girls and beat up the boys. Manbok tried to save his friend Seungho from being beaten up for spilling the food they were eating, but he failed and his friend ended up being locked in a dark room. Younghee and Jeongsun once tried to run away, but then came back, ending in Younghee being taken into the caretaker's room, to save Jeongsun from being raped. One Christmas Eve, they wondered if Santa Claus would give them presents, because they thought they weren't very good that year. This conversation leads Manbok to activate his powers by blasting the TV, but he didn't realize until the next morning when Santa Claus did come, and told Manbok and his sisters that their dreams would come true if they really wanted and imagined it, and he gave them a Hansel and Gretel storybook. They believed they must follow the story, even the part where Gretel kills the evil witch, and they think they must do this to all bad adults. The three of them then see Seungho being forced to get in a sack, where he is beaten to death. Manbok feels that this must stop. He and his sisters sneak up to the locked room, and Manbok is amazed that he can unlock the door by just imagining it. They try to give candy to their friends inside, but soon realize that they are all dead. Unfortunately the caretaker found them and was going to burn them in the fireplace, but they had had enough. Manbok screamed (at the same time in the present, he screams when Byeon rises and tries to kill Eunsu), causing a whirlwind to kick up(in both the flashback and the present day) which throws the caretaker into the fireplace, and Byeon is thrown out of the house and stabbed to death.
The winds stop, and the children ask Eunsu to stay with them. But Eunsu tells them that his loved ones are out there. He suggests taking the children outside with him, but they refuse, saying adults will always be bad. Eunsu argued that if they kept doing what they were doing, they would be the bad adults too. Suddenly Younghee whispers "Burn the notebook, so you can get out of here.", and before Manbok can stop him, he does so. As the book slowly burned, Eunsu glanced at the children, who were crying. The screen fades to black.
Eunsu wakes up in the place where Younghee found him. He walks up the road and finds the cops, who tell him the tragic stories of Highway 69, and that they are amazed that he survived.
One year later, on Christmas, Eunsu has married Haeyoung, and they have a baby boy. Haeyoung asks Eunsu to go buy milk. As he went out, he narrated about the story, wondering if it was real or if it was a dream. He has collected news clippings which show that Deacon Byeon was missing, so the seems to have been true. As he heads out, he finds a notebook-the same notebook that the children used. He is surprised, and as he leafs through the pages one by one, he finds them blank until the last page, which shows three children dressed like Manbok, Younghee, and Jeongsun all holding hands and smiling, meaning that they finally gave up and realized that they don't need parents to be a family. Eunsu looks out the window, and outside in the snow, Manbok, Younghee, and Jeongsun turn around and make their way back into the woods.
More International Film Festival to be announced
Other Reviews :
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n horror film
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...
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Synopsis
The scene is opened with pictures from a storybook that tell Hansel and Gretel's story, then the scene fades to black. The scene then shifts to Eunsu, a salesman, driving his car along Highway 69 while talking to his girlfriend (Haeyoung) on the phone. Apparently, Haeyoung is four weeks pregnant and telling him to come be by her side for the remainder of the pregnancy. But he tells her that his mother is ill and he had to visit. As they quarrel along the way, Eunsu accidentally hits a big rock and his car falls down the side of the road. He opened his eyes and realized that his car fell hours ago, and that he was "stranded" in a dark forest. He tried to keep awake as he walked in the woods, but soon fell unconscious. He opens his eyes again and finds light, and sees it is in a little girl's hand. The little girl helped him up, and as they were walking Eunsu asked what her name was, and she told him it was Younghee. He follows her into a big, neat house in the middle of the forest. The house's signboard reads "House of Happy Children".On the terrace her parents are waiting with her two siblings, who are then introduced as Manbok, her older brother, and Jeongsun, her little sister. Their parents behave unusually, jiggling their feet and scratching their necks. The next day when Eunsu woke up, he saw many sweets on the table, and the children were following every move he made. He decides to leave, but came back into the house because the darkness was quickly approaching. As he tried to get out of the house again, he discovered that the parents were leaving, and they tell him to take care of the kids. He begins to wonder why Manbok is so full of anger, and why the children always watch the same, sadist TV show over and over, and he wonders about the creepy sound he hears in the attic every night.
Soon he found out from their mother, who was hiding in the attic, that she and her husband were not their real parents. Their car broke down on the same highway where Eunsu was stranded, and when they explored the woods, they met Jeongsun. She told him not to believe the children. The day after, it was snowing, and as Eunsu makes his way out for the third time, he meets Manbok and a couple walking towards the house. The husband was a deacon, who seemed very nice and got the children's sympathy, while his wife had a malicious aura about her. As Eunsu kept looking for clues, he realized that the meat they ate for lunch and dinner was actually the cooked body of the missing 'father',and his wife had now turned into a china doll. He also noticed that the deacon's wife had disappeared after blaming Jeongsun for stealing her ring. At night, he sees Manbok going into the woods. He goes to follow him, and makes a trail of breadcrumbs so he wouldn't get lost. He was surprised to learn that the deacon's wife had been turned into an oak tree.
Manbok finally stops in front of a mysterious door, leading into a room. Manbok put down the notebook that he and his sisters were working on throughout the movie. As he heads through the door, his face changes to an old man's face. When he leaves, Eunsu immediately goes into the room to find out what's going on. He looked over the notes in the notebook, and found out that the children were over thirty years old. Suddenly Younghee comes in, apparently sleepwalking, and as they talk, Eunsu looks at her face, which is now an old woman's face, which causes Eunsu to back off in shock, and he hits the bookcases in the room, which causes all the notes to fall off the shelves. As he reads the notes, Manbok narrates the story, revealing the reason why he wanted to get rid of the couple who used to be his 'parents'. While they were playing, Jeongsun accidentally stepped on shards of broken glass, and the husband did absolutely nothing, instead quarelling with his wife. This angers Manbok, so he uses his powers to cut the husband's fingers, and drops them into the boiling pan. Since then the couple became aware of his powers, and tried not to mess up, or they would end up dead.
Eunsu sees more of the childrens' drawings in the notebook, such as a woman with her legs and arms cut, a woman turned into an oak tree, a woman in a dress with red crayons being splattered on her face, and a man who was dressed like him laying on the grass beside the red flowers he had seen on his way out. He realizes the notebook pictured his own story, and he knew he'd better stop the kids before they got bored with him and murder him.
Meanwhile, Younghee went back to the house after hearing Byeon(the deacon) singing. Eunsu decides to go back too, and finds out Byeon is a leader of a religious cult who tried to kill the children,and he was holding Jeongsun hostage. He knocks Byeon out and asks the children what happened. As Younghee begins the story, the scene turns into a flashback.
The kids were living in an orphanage called "House of Happy Children". The caretaker was abusive, he raped the girls and beat up the boys. Manbok tried to save his friend Seungho from being beaten up for spilling the food they were eating, but he failed and his friend ended up being locked in a dark room. Younghee and Jeongsun once tried to run away, but then came back, ending in Younghee being taken into the caretaker's room, to save Jeongsun from being raped. One Christmas Eve, they wondered if Santa Claus would give them presents, because they thought they weren't very good that year. This conversation leads Manbok to activate his powers by blasting the TV, but he didn't realize until the next morning when Santa Claus did come, and told Manbok and his sisters that their dreams would come true if they really wanted and imagined it, and he gave them a Hansel and Gretel storybook. They believed they must follow the story, even the part where Gretel kills the evil witch, and they think they must do this to all bad adults. The three of them then see Seungho being forced to get in a sack, where he is beaten to death. Manbok feels that this must stop. He and his sisters sneak up to the locked room, and Manbok is amazed that he can unlock the door by just imagining it. They try to give candy to their friends inside, but soon realize that they are all dead. Unfortunately the caretaker found them and was going to burn them in the fireplace, but they had had enough. Manbok screamed (at the same time in the present, he screams when Byeon rises and tries to kill Eunsu), causing a whirlwind to kick up(in both the flashback and the present day) which throws the caretaker into the fireplace, and Byeon is thrown out of the house and stabbed to death.
The winds stop, and the children ask Eunsu to stay with them. But Eunsu tells them that his loved ones are out there. He suggests taking the children outside with him, but they refuse, saying adults will always be bad. Eunsu argued that if they kept doing what they were doing, they would be the bad adults too. Suddenly Younghee whispers "Burn the notebook, so you can get out of here.", and before Manbok can stop him, he does so. As the book slowly burned, Eunsu glanced at the children, who were crying. The screen fades to black.
Eunsu wakes up in the place where Younghee found him. He walks up the road and finds the cops, who tell him the tragic stories of Highway 69, and that they are amazed that he survived.
One year later, on Christmas, Eunsu has married Haeyoung, and they have a baby boy. Haeyoung asks Eunsu to go buy milk. As he went out, he narrated about the story, wondering if it was real or if it was a dream. He has collected news clippings which show that Deacon Byeon was missing, so the seems to have been true. As he heads out, he finds a notebook-the same notebook that the children used. He is surprised, and as he leafs through the pages one by one, he finds them blank until the last page, which shows three children dressed like Manbok, Younghee, and Jeongsun all holding hands and smiling, meaning that they finally gave up and realized that they don't need parents to be a family. Eunsu looks out the window, and outside in the snow, Manbok, Younghee, and Jeongsun turn around and make their way back into the woods.
Characters
- Kim Manbok: He was the oldest of the children,The main antagonist of the film and he cared for them so much. Apparently, as Eunsu found out in an old book, he was born in 1959. He lived with his sisters in the orphanage since he was 5, because "his father used to beat him up, so he's still a bit gloomy". He had the power to control things with his mind, or telekinesis. After he killed someone, he drew the death of the person in detail, in his notebook. He always looked so mysterious very ruthless and had a very bad temper. In the beginning and flashbacks, Manbok was shown to be a 13-year-old. He was portrayed by Eun Won Jae from Spring WaltzSpring WaltzSpring Waltz is the fourth and final installment of Yoon Seok-Ho's seasonal drama series, Endless Love directed by Yoon Seok-Ho, following the preceding Autumn in My Heart, Winter Sonata and Summer Scent.- Series Development :...
- Kim Younghee: She was the one who took Eunsu. Younghee always tried to keep things in control. Though, her past was so sad. She and her sister ran away from the orphanage but came back because they couldn't get out. At night she always got bad dreams and would sleepwalk. She told Eunsu, "He always tells me that I'm pretty...." referring to the "Father" of the orphanage who used to rape young girls, like her. Young-hee was born in 1960, a year younger than Manbok.Shim Eun-kyung played her character.
- Kim Jeongsun: She's 7 years old by that time they killed the caretaker, and was told by every adults "she's a bit weak". She hated grown-ups. She liked to laugh and play with her dolls, which she always tortured. She can bring imaginary things alive like his brother (the part when Eunsu told them a story of fairies, she put down a doll and suddenly it was alive and flew to the sky. She and Younghee could see it, which made it weird for viewers if it's really alive because Eun-soo didn't notice at all).
- Lee Eunsu: the protagonist of the story. He accidentally got into their house. He wanted to get out, even in every situations. But finally he told the children how much he love them and he wanted to stay, but his girlfriend needed him. So he went back, and was still thinking of the children. He made clippings of newspapers about the disappearance of Byun (he did this in the ending) and still figuring out why he still thinks of the children, but finally was relieved that they're living happily. He takes a favor in Younghee.
- Deacon Byeon: the second antagonist of the story. The last victim of the Kim siblings, he was a leader of a religious cult and thought the children were "Satan's children". He's a pedophile too. It turned out when he was younger, he killed his own father "I sent my father to heaven,". Finally he was stabbed by knife and died.
- Kyeongsuk: Byeon's wife, who intended to take away the children's jewelries. But after she blamed Jeongsun for her lost jewelry, Manbok turned her into an oak tree.
- Haeyoung: Eunsu's girlfriend. She didn't know what happened
Trivia
- The second time Eun-soo tries to get out, he came back to the house and asked the kids, who were playing, for help. Young-hee said, "You should've marked your way with breadcrumbs," pointing to the original story where Hansel would use breadcrumbs as marks to get back home. In the scenes after, Eun-soo is taking Young-hee's advice when following Man-bok into the woods.
- Kyung-sook, after stopping into the house, noticed some jewels and whispered, "Then, there must be a pumpkin wagon and red shoes somewhere." Reminding of the tales of Cinderella and the tragic Red Shoes (which are very coincidentally both South Korean horror films).
- There is another scrapbook which Man-bok had and it contained pictures of them playing in it, but until the end of the movie it didn't tell what the story had to do with the book. The book was shown in the flashbacks (when Man-bok told the new father about the scrapbook and showed it to him) and when the deacon looked over some pages and found a knife.
Cast
- Shim Eun KyeongShim Eun KyeongShim Eun-kyung is a South Korean actress, who has starred in a number of television dramas, such as Hwang Jin-yi and Legend. Her education includes studying in Eonbuk Elementary School. Her hobbies are singing and taekwondo. She won the KBS Best Teen Actors category in the year 2006 and 2008...
(심은경) as Young-hee (영희) - Cheon Jeong-myeong (천정명) as Eun-soo (은수)
- Eun Won Jae (은원재) as Man-Bok (만복)
- Jin Ji Hye (진지희) as Jung-Soon (정순)
- Yeong-Nam Jang (장영남) as Soojeong (Someone SpecialSomeone SpecialSomeone Special was the official U.S. Navy recruiting film for the U.S. Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War era. This film was shown to all U.S...
, Murder, Take One) - Kyeong-ik Kim (김경익) as Kyoung-sook
Credits
- Director: YIM Phil-Sung (그놈 목소리 Antarctic JournalAntarctic JournalAntarctic Journal is the feature film debut by South Korean director Yim Pil-sung. The movie mixes elements of psychological thriller and classical horror films while showing the hardships met by a modern antarctic expedition trying to reach the pole of inaccessibility...
- 38th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival [Orient Express Award – Casa Asia], Baby - 56th Venice Film Festival) - Cinematographer: Kim Ji-yong (달콤한 인생 A Bittersweet LifeA Bittersweet LifeA Bittersweet Life is a 2005 South Korean film directed and written by Kim Ji-woon and starring Lee Byung-hun...
, 달콤한 인생 Forbidden Quest) - Set Design: Ryu Seong-hee (Old BoyOld boyOld boy may refer to:* Any male former pupil of schools in Britain, some schools in Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean .* A cadet who has attended St...
, 달콤한 인생 A Bittersweet LifeA Bittersweet LifeA Bittersweet Life is a 2005 South Korean film directed and written by Kim Ji-woon and starring Lee Byung-hun...
, The HostThe Host (film)The Host is a 2006 South Korean monster film, which also contains elements of comedy and drama films. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho, who co-wrote the screenplay, along with Baek Chul-hyun....
, Memories of murderMemories of MurderMemories of Murder is a 2003 South Korean crime-drama film directed by Bong Joon-ho. It is based on the true story of the country's first known serial murders, which took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province...
) - Screenplay : 김민숙 (KIM Min-sook) & YIM Phil-sung
- Original story : 김민숙 (KIM Min-sook)
- Editor : KIM Sun-min (Memories of murderMemories of MurderMemories of Murder is a 2003 South Korean crime-drama film directed by Bong Joon-ho. It is based on the true story of the country's first known serial murders, which took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province...
, The HostThe Host (film)The Host is a 2006 South Korean monster film, which also contains elements of comedy and drama films. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho, who co-wrote the screenplay, along with Baek Chul-hyun....
- Best Editing in the Asia-Pacific Film Festival 2006 and Best Editing in the Grand Bell Awards South Korea 2007) - Music Director : 이병우 (Byeong-woo LEE) (그놈 목소리 Voice of a murderer, The HostThe Host (film)The Host is a 2006 South Korean monster film, which also contains elements of comedy and drama films. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho, who co-wrote the screenplay, along with Baek Chul-hyun....
, Purpose of love, A Tale of two sisters) - Lighting director : SHIN Sang-yeul
- Executive producer : Miky LEE
- Co-executive producer : CHOI Jae-won
- Producers : CHOI Jae-won & SEO Woo-sik
- Associate-producer : KANG Young-mo
Festivals
- Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival 2008 - Special Mention from the European Federation of Fantastic Film Festivals Jury
- Vancouver International Film Festival - Closing film, Dragons and Tigers section
- Sitges International Fantasy Film Festival 2008 - Nominated, Best Film
- London Film Festival 2008
- Gérardmer Film Festival 2009 - Nominated, Grand Prize Competition
- Fantasporto International Film Festival 2009
- Calgary Underground Film Festival 2009
- Dublin International Film Festival 2010
More International Film Festival to be announced
International Release
: January 16, 2009 in Theatre- Quebec : Montréal : March 6, 2009
- Canada : Toronto : March 27, 2009 & Vancouver : April 24, 2009
- France : in DVD April 1, 2009
Reviews
- From Calum Waddell, Fangoria: "...now you can add Hansel and Gretel to the list of instant classics. This freaky fable manages to outdo even the likes of Pan's Labyrinth and The Orphanage in its presentation of a bold and beautiful, but still downright terrifying, adult nightmare. See it and prepare to be amazed. It is one of the year’s best."
- From Rob Daniel, Sky Movies: "...likely to become one of the year’s freshest, most memorable horror movies. Stylish, imaginative, and with a third act story twist, this is yet further proof that Korea currently stands as Asia’s premiere film factory. ... this delightfully grim horror is worth seeking out. Just follow the breadcrumb trail of positive reviews."
- From X, Twitchfilm: "It’s bizarre, deliriously creative and joyously grotesque... Every small detail shines... visually arresting. It one of those films that use every inch of film stock in a creative way, convey the right vibes, and set the whole thing on fire with their power."
- From AnthroFred, Slasherpool: "A Tale of Two Sisters meets Pan's Labyrinth in this dark fairy tale that breaths some fresh air into the South Korean horror industry. Hansel and Gretel is one of the most powerful movies I've seen in a long time. It’s pure genius."
- From Andre Koh, The UrbanWire: "Good acting aside, Hansel and Gretel looks good to watch, boasting great set design, creating fantasy-like visuals that go hand in hand with the impressive cinematography."
- From Rob Nelson, Variety: "...effective and handsomely produced, Hansel and Gretel puts the "grim" in Grimm while placing South Korean director Yim Phil-sung on the shortlist of Pan's Labyrinth emulators to trust."
Other Reviews :
Technical specifications
- Origin Country : South Korea
- Format: 35 mm
- Duration: 117 min
- Color
- Sound: Dolby SRD