Stoker


 * 1. For this assignment, think about some of the thematic, and stylistic motifs that you've seen in the four previous films by the director that you've watched. What do you notice in this film that fits in with this director's body of work? **

Chanwook Park views the profound inner workings of humankind, such as suppressed desires, enmity, retaliatory spirit and guilt. He shows the process of the main characters dealing with their internal conflicts through some extreme measures, which involve even brutal and miserable demises. In this movie, Stoker, he shows somewhat strange process of India's growth, which she eventually finds her psychopathic identity after meeting her uncle whom she resembles a lot in terms of true nature of inner side. While the uncle struggles to take out the true nature of India, he kills innocent people in the house who may seem as obstacles to his plan. India's psychopathic identity is hinted when she gets excited to witness her uncle's murder, and realized when she brutally kills uncle and a policeman. In addition, he tends to end the films with catastrophic ending, in which the main characters who once desired delightful revenge or great self-satisfaction face destruction with the problems remaining still unsolved.

His professional use of mise-en-scene characterizes his works Auteurism films. He directs the actors to wear props that will later work as important plot devices and contribute to communication of the themes of the movies. The props include the actors’ make-ups, hairstyle, and clothes. He also uses wallpapers of geometric shapes to reveal the main characters’ mental states and develop the audience’s understanding of the plot and the theme. In Stoker, he uses specific colors to describe the characteristics of each main character. For example, for India, he uses yellow color as a symbolism of her state that she waits or stays neutral until she finds her true identity as a psycho. In addition, he frequently uses extreme close-up shots of the actors, especially the ones shooting only their eyes. This kind of camera shot well conveys the main characters’ complex internal conflicts, such as growing anxiety or guilty conscience. In this movie, India's mother is closed up when she asks to herself who really India is in a very confused face.

__ Sympathy for lady Vengeance __ 1. Mise-en-scene: the director's use two contrasting colors to express the motifs of the movie was very impressive. The female main character, Geumja is directed to wear thick red eye make-up, and to pray in front of red candles everyday. These red props well represent Geumja's enmity and desire for vengeance towards Mr. Baek. In contrast to red, he uses white tofu, cake and snow to symbolize Geumja's another desire for salvation and retention of innocence after the vengeance. With two colors demonstrating universal motifs, antipathy and innocence, the director enhances the conveyance of both the plot, what the main character wants, revenge through murder of Mr.Baek, and the theme, what the main character needs, eternal salvation from sin.
 * 2. What are some of the most iconic director's choices that you've seen in any of the five films you've watched? What directors choices stood out the most to you? **

2. Dutch angle: the director often takes the main character in medium shots at dutch angle. It well shows Geumja's complicated inner feelings, in which she feels eagerness to succeed her long-desired vengeance against Mr. Baek, and compunction for the innocent victims involved in her cycle of sins at the same time.

__ Oldboy __ 1. Long take: unlike the use of mise-en-scene, and dutch angle that are repeated in the director's several other films, this iconic choice stays only in this movie. There is one scene in the movie called "claw hammer scene," that the main character, O-dae-su beats 50 enemies on his way back to the cell with only one claw hammer. This scene very iconic because it is taken in 3 minutes of long take without single editing. This scene well portrays O-dae-su's strong will to know the reason of his imprisonment and to revenge the one in charge of it by showing his incessant and persistent fights with the enemies in one scene.

2. Extreme close ups: the director takes O-dae-su at extreme closed-up shots to transmit his thoughts and emotions more vividly. In the scene where he cuts his tongue with scissors to beg Woojin for forgiveness, O-dae-su's face and eyes are closed up. His face and eyes filling the full screen clearly transmit his fear and his desperate situation, in which he beseeches woojin's clemency that Woojin does not tell O-dae-su's daughter the truth about her relationship with O-dae-su.

__ Thirst __ 1. Mise-en-scene: the director uses different colors to characterize the main characters in this movie. He directs the female main character, Taeju to always wear blue and brown clothes to represent oppression of her desires and dull and suffocating life followed by. He directs the male main character, Sanghyun to wear white cloth and play white recorder to symbolize his obsession with innocence and abnegation of secular things.

2. Dutch angle: the scene where Sanghyun hangs on the wall of hospital and reveals his identity as a vampire to Taeju is taken at dutch angle. The use of dutch angle gives slanted view of the scene, and contributes to establishment of growing tension and uneasiness. This angle and tension generated by the angle reconcile with the situation that Taeju is expected to be shocked by the unveiling identity of Sanghyun.

3. Sound: control over non-diegetic and diegetic sound is very iconic in this movie. When desires of the main characters are expressed as they leak blood, kiss, and drink wine and vodka, only the diegetic sounds of leaking blood, kissing and drinking are maximized and the rest of the non-diegetic background musics are excluded to emphasize the particular diegetic sounds.

__ Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance __ 1. Sound: exclusion of diegetic sounds in specific scenes is very iconic in this movie. In order to demonstrate Ryu's inability to communicate with the world due to his disability, the director puts sound for one scene and doesn't for another scene. For example, there is one scene where Ryu happily eats instant noodle, while her sister suffers from heart failure at his back. In a scene where her sister suffers and emits a groan, the director allows diegetic sounds to be heard, and in a scene where Ryu eats instant noodle, the director excludes all the sounds (including both the diegetic and non-diegetic) from the scene. It is to emphasize the set-up that Ryu is the deaf, and the motif of the film, uncommunicated vengeance. The uncommunicated vengeance is that Ryu and Dongjin take revenge against the ones who took away their beloved family members, while they do not realize they are unconsciously involved in a sin and are ultimately being aimed by another one.

2. High camera angle: at the end of the movie, Dongju succeeds his vengeance by killing Ryu who kidnaps his daughter. Dongju takes tied Ryu inside the shallow river and cuts Ryu's achilles tendon. This scene is taken at extremely high camera angle (bird eye's view), so that the process of Ryu's blood quickly spreading and filling the green river is clearly shown.This bird eye view makes Ryu relatively small, weak and inferior character who shows only his crouching back in the water and fails to be the owner of his own vengeance (the original title for this Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is 'Vengeance is mine"). This high camera angle also helps the director emphasize Dongjin's temporary victory as an owner of his vengeance by highlighting Ryu's death through clear contrast between red blood and the green river.

__ Stoker __ 1. Mise-en-scene: India's process of growing and finding her identity is shown through the props and the actors' acting. There is a scene where India gently hits the egg on the hard surface of the table. Her act of breaking the egg means opening an egg for her growth, and her listening to the sound of egg breaking means her realization of her own identity with "Stoker" lineage and traits. There is also a scene where India wears hills that she receives for her 18th birthday present. At the same time, the hills are made of snakeskin, and pairs of her sneakers are put in a low of U shape. This gives a sense that as snake slips out of its skin for growth, India grows up and encounters a moment when she realizes her true identity as a psycho.

2. Match cut: although match cut is not really repeated in his any other films, it is very iconic and phenomenal in this particular film. Scenes where India and her father went hunting before are often done match cut with the other scenes representing the present throughout the movie. For example, a scene that India brushes her mother's hair dissolves into a scene that her mother's hair turns to field of reeds where India and her father hunted animals. This flashback scene is recycled for several times throughout the movie as the director juxtaposes this scene that she waits right timing to catch prays with the other scenes that India waits for the right timing to commit murder through match cut. The director's use of this editing enhances smooth flow of the plot and emphasizes India's qualifications, such as animal instinct or patient, for a skilled hunter.