StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The Movie Diorama Yet another soul draining experience where I'm left thinking "no wonder I have no emotions, films just drain them til I have none left". I mean this was powerful without the story being overly heavy handed, an impressive directorial debut from Lee Su Jin. Based on a sexual violence case in 2004, a young girl seemingly attempts to blend in when she transfers to a new school. Unfortunately though, her harrowing past catches up as she struggles to flee from it. It's no spoiler, it's been well documented and is in the synopsis, that the sexual assault was a horrific gang rape. That's not the purpose of this film. This is purely a character study on a psychologically and emotionally damaged girl who has been the victim of a disgusting crime. The sexual scenes were heartbreaking. To see someone go through that is not an easy watch, and is clear why this was an independent film. Any big production studio would've exploited this story and toned down the graphic nature. But it's required. It's a powerful visceral image that enhances the pain and suffering Han Gong-Ju is going through. This is a very intimate and personal character study. Her development as you see her slowly blossom and crawl out of this dark nightmare that is overshadowing her is perfection. Instantly you connect with her. You know from the first few scenes that something has happened to her to cause all of this grief. Chun Woohee gives an understated and nuanced performance, she is able to capture the fragility and tenderness of her character beautifully. The pacing occasionally feels sluggish, but it's dealing with an important subject so I appreciated the fact it took its time. The ending was slightly ambiguous, yet I was still gobsmacked. Han Gong-Ju is yet another brilliant addition to Asian cinema. I would only recommend if you are into serious mature dramas, some scenes will cause discomfort and distress...trust me!

missraze What I like about this film is that it's nothing like the pop culture k-dramas, though its publicity should be on their level. There are no pretty boys who throw their swooping hair out of their faces before glaring what's meant to be seductively, nor any who powder their faces, and no scantily clad young women bouncing around with brown hair dye in the latest clothing and high heels throughout a ridiculous plot centering around their high school crush. There's no pop music to keep you energized. Though this film could've used a little energy. A film with promise slowly but eventually showed me not even halfway through that this was gonna be a long, dry sit leading to nowhere. I'm not saying this movie had to be some kind of torture porn. That's what Japan is good at, and not in a bad way do I say this. But not even Korea's most popular "thrillers" like ...*sigh* "Oldboy" and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" or whatever it's called, are all that thrilling. Both of those films stood behind the line and never crossed it nor approached it, yet they are strangely upheld as disturbing masterpieces. Ha. The story that inspired this film is far more interesting, though it's not supposed to be. Teenagers get bullied and tortured and extorted by a gang and their friends over a long course of time, and no one helps them, it is said. People say it is based on a particular 2004 incident though this film was made 10 years later. I think it's negligent to say it is based exclusively on a case so long ago, as if many similar cases in Korea have not happened since then, regardless of the film crew's inspiration.This film, however, doesn't really respect this situation that allegedly inspired the movie itself, strangely. The movie is about 110 minutes, and I'd like to say 80 of those total were based nothing on the incident. It just silently followed the actress around at school, at work, at her new home, at swimming lessons, writing songs, and remembering stuff. All the while I'm thinking it's going to lead to this big reveal that was promised. There was none. It seems what the film did was: film the flashbacks first. Then film her in her new life, where she starts over at a new school and in a new place to stay. And then in the editing room, they just ripped these scenes apart and then lazily strung them together in a loose pattern of flashbacks and current life. This is poorly done and gradually detaches you from the main character and eventually the film and the storyline. And I can imagine that's not any film's goal. But as this film is a sensitive subject, I can see if this was an intentional tactic to try and not upset anyone too much as real lives are involved. However, all of that aside, it does make the film seem pointless. And I want 112 minutes of my life back. If you want to see an exciting film about rape revenge or dealing with the aftermath, and one out of Korea, then look at "Don't Cry, Mommy." This film more bravely and thrillingly takes you from the girl's life as a social, normal teen, to her tragedy, to her legal troubles with the perpetrators, to her emotional aftermath, to her mother's. It's amazing how they bunched all of that together in one film, and I believe it was shorter than this one (ok I just looked: Don't Cry Mommy is 90 minutes. That means 30 minutes shorter than this film. Yet way better and never straying from its purpose). It can be done.*Also, the ending of this film has serious nerve. This film didn't deserve an emotional response that its last scene tried to create. The compelling storyline should have been told better, especially if it took 10 years to tell it.

Radu_A Korean film has been pretty tough on its homeland. Much non-romantic lore of late handles mishandled or downright criminal police procedure or judiciary mistakes, and/or rape and abuse based on true stories. Other than the impeccable technical credits one has gotten used to in Korean film, most of these films impress by a story-driven writing that has become somewhat lost in Western film, where drama tends to involve more of the individual actor's abilities of expression - that makes them sometimes a little emotionally overwrought to Western viewers; examples for this may be 'Way back home' (2013) or 'Sea Fog' (2014), which are very good films but sometimes overdo things a bit.'Han Gong-ju' is different. It focuses almost entirely on its principal character, played with outstanding reservation by Chun Woo-hee. The story jumps unpredictably back- and forwards, making it initially quite hard for the viewer to follow. But what may seem a weakness is actually the film's greatest strength, because the viewer is left with no choice but to follow the events through Gong-ju's own eyes - therefore the ugly truth, once revealed, hits twice as hard as it normally would because the various tensions in the plot are allowed to build up slowly. The only weakness in my opinion is the actual scene of the crime, which could have been edited more respectfully, but then again this is a graphic age we're living in.In short, this is an exceptional character-driven piece about the most difficult subject of all to handle in film. A must for any serious cineast, but not for the faint of heart.

Tom Dooley Han Gong Ju is a young school girl who is suddenly up rooted from her home and taken to a new district to live and attend a new school. All we know is that there has been 'a scandal' at her old school and that she was directly involved. Her school teacher takes her to live with his mother - who runs a little supermarket.Han Gong Ju then tries to rebuild a life devoid of the past, but her curious detachment acts as a lure for some of her new class mates and try as she might the past always has a strange way of catching up with us.This is probably a slow burner, but the direction and pacing make it feel more immediate than it actually is. The performances are all sufficiently nuanced to keep one guessing as to what really happened and as such the past is done in a slow reveal through flash backs. The back story could have been fleshed out better but once gain we have enough hints and subtle asides that help put all the pieces together. This is one where your full attention is required, but that is quite easy as it is very gripping. Another great piece of cinema from South Korea.