Saturday, October 8, 2011

End of Animal (2010) The Korean Cultural Service's screening Tuesday


Tuesday is the next free screening at the Tribeca Cinema's in Manhattan from the Korean Cultural Service. The doors are at 630 and the film is at 7. This time out the film is a disturbing off kilter film called End of Animal. I was lucky enough to be able to see the film a couple weeks back thanks to the good graces of the KCS. What follows is what I wrote up right after I saw it.

A truly unique film that defies conventions and creates perhaps what is another world or reality a couple of degrees off from this world.

I'm left wanting to see it again but at the same time not wanting to feel that dis-eased (a term used in a review at Korean Film. org.) ever again. For give me for stealing the term used elsewhere but had you sat and watched this film you would understand what I mean about feeling dis eased.

The premise has a young woman heading to her mother's house so that she can give birth. The cab stops and picks up a stranger who seems to know everything, including about the impending moment when all electrical powered objects will cease to work. What happens after that is a quietly disturbing tale as the young woman meets and interacts with some people in the area where she is stranded.

I'm not going to say more other than if you want to feel ill at ease see this film. There is a slowly building sense that all is night right with the world either in the film or elsewhere. Its quietly disturbing because it's full of its own logic. The reason its all troubling is that things are just close enough to real that you're messed up by whats off- which very often you can't point out but which you know is wrong.

I know I'm not being forth coming with details, and that's intentional, partly because if I told you what happens you wouldn't think much of it, and partly because if you see it and not know what is happening it will mess you up. As I said I want to see what just f-ed up my head and yet I don't want to go back in that space. (And don't kid yourself I'm not talking about it because I can keep the film at a distance.)

Don't get me wrong there is almost nothing graphic or overtly wrong, its all subtle things that just build and make you wonder what it's all about. And the question of what it's all about has resulted in long conversations between Mondocurry and myself. We've both been trying to get a handle on some of this film.

The thought of sitting in a theater and watching this film is kind of not a pleasant one. I don't like the idea that one can't look away or attempt to distract one's self in a theater.

Then again I've already seen this film and I don't have to dive back in and see it.

If you want to see something special, if you want to see something that you may find disturbing and the source of long conversations do try to get to the Tribeca Cinema's Tuesday

I don't know what to say- largely because I don't know what to think or feel.

In all seriousness do go see the film. Its been a few weeks since I saw the film and it's still hung around the corners of my head. If I wasn't going to the New York Film Festival on business related to this blog I would probably be heading down to see it again. If you haven't anything planned for Tuesday night, and even if you do, head to Tribeca and see this film, because it's a really wicked little film.

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