Revenge has never been so bittersweet

huntsmonsters:

Shot Construction - 1/? - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance Dir. Park Chan-Wook
I’m a total nerd for film and shot construction, and I think some people still don’t think about the fact that the close-reading techniques used in literary studies can be applied to film. Never forget that a good director usually structures shots with purpose, filming constraints notwithstanding, and if you notice something like a shot structure being repeated over and over, it’s probably for a reason.

I figured I might as well start with a master of visual symbolism, Park Chan-Wook, who clearly adores coding this stuff thematically into his shot structure. Analysis, like anything else in the sphere of criticism, is a matter of opinion and dissection, so this is just what I get from the shot structure of this film.

From the top down:

• Left/right opposition in almost every shot including Geum-Ja and Jenny. Symbolizes their opposition but also their harmony as mother and daughter. The space between them also grows smaller throughout the film until they are literally pressed against each other when they reconcile.
  
• Color structure - Geum-Ja in blues with blue background, Geun-shik in the red vest with red background highlighting contrasts between the two characters, warm demeanor against cold.
• Kneeling - typically appears in scenes of prayer, where Geum-Ja is asking forgiveness. (also see bottom right). More interestingly, note the claustrophobic framing of the candles and the walls/furniture, symbolizing feeling of being trapped in sin.
• Geum-Ja in close-up - Typically the character is depicted at a neutral camera angle in violent scenes. She’s shot from below, often looking down, when thinking of sins she has commited or plans to commit. This shot structure appears many times during the movie. Compare this to one of the final shots, from above, looking up, when the deed is done and she is seeking to be forgiven.
• Women and the adversary - These are just two examples of the many shots of Geum-ja and adverserial male figures. She is usually shot on an equal playing field with them, in profile, directly at opposition. Compare to the shot in the row second from the bottom, where Geum-Ja’s friend is again shot in profile at the dinner table (as she has been in almost every scene she appears with Baek). This time, after she drugs him, she is positioned higher than him, literally, in the shot structure (one could draw a diagonal line from the top of her head to his) displaying the shift in power structure. The same line exists in the shot beside it with Geum-Ja and Baek, a perfect triangle that firmly establishes the position of power in the scene.
• The group shots - Mixed in are the shots of groups. Particularly the group of vengeful parents is shot all in a row, all on equal footing, and all included in the shot at once, indicating their togetherness in the plot, that they will sink or swim together.

(via spiraphobia)

-Did you kill him?

-Not yet

(Source: jimmyconways, via fuckyeahasianhorror)