Film: Hansel & Gretel
Release date: 6th April 2009
Certificate: 15
Running time: 116 mins
Director: Yim Pil-sung
Starring: Cheon Jeong-myeong, Shim Eun-kyung, Jang Young-nam, Ji-hee Jin, Kim Kyeong-ik
Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Horror/Mystery
Studio: Terracotta
Format: DVD
Country: South Korea
The Grimm’s classic fairytale Hansel and Gretal is one that lives forever in the memory. With its gingerbread house and wicked witch, it is a children’s tale that possesses joyful wonderment and creepy scares in equal measure. When Yim Pil-sung released this film in 2007, he promised to pay homage to such beloved fairytales; however, the famed story which lends its name to Pil-sung’s film is observed but not adapted here.
Salesman Eun-soo, on his way to visit his sick mother, drives down a deserted bypass when he receives a phone call from his pregnant and irate girlfriend. As the two argue, Eun-soo loses control of his car and crashes into the surrounding forest. As he awakes in a state of shock, he is greeted by a young red-hooded girl named Hee. He follows Hee to her house with the promise of hospitality for the night.
The house lies deep in the forest in beautiful surroundings. Eun-soo is amazed by the picture perfect state of the house and its grounds - the sign on the outside reads: “House of Happy Children”. Inside the house, he is greeted by Hee’s older brother Man-bok and younger sister Jung Soon. The children’s parents complete this ‘perfect family’. They offer to take Eun-soo in for the night until they can get him help, as the family has no phone and no means of contacting the nearby town.
The next day Eun-soo gives his thanks and heads back into the forest to recover his car. He walks and walks through the seemingly endless forest but becomes more and more lost amongst the trees and bushes. Hours later, he arrives impossibly back at the house. He stays another night still eager to return to his pregnant wife, but in the night he is troubled by strange noises from the attic as well as arguing between the kid’s seemingly scared parents.
The next morning he awakes early to find the parents have left for town without him. When he again winds up back at the house, after getting lost in the forest, his suspicions begin to grow. The parents are missing, the forest is inescapable and the children seem intent on keeping him at the house to look after them. It is growing ever clearer that this fairytale house and these perfect children are hiding a sinister secret...
It is in the film’s attention to minor details where it succeeds. Ryu Seong-hee worked as production designer on Oldboy and The Host, and here he transforms the world of the film into something rich in eerie macabre and tirelessly faithful in its legacy to fairytales. A lasting tone of weird is set about as Eun-soo sits down to dinner with the family at a table filled with candy, colourful cakes and buns. This imagery extends to the children’s toys, storybooks and paths laid with breadcrumbs. This achieves the feel of an early Tim Burton, transforming the idyllic ‘50s style family into something altogether unsettling.
It is refreshing to see an Asian horror that does not rely upon extreme measures to give its kicks. Asian horror is, of course, revered for producing extreme terrorfests such as The Ring and Audition. Hansel & Gretal is not another demonic kid horror either, although the children are disturbing with their innocent facades. In truth, the film plays out more like a thriller, as we are presented a series of plot twists and red herrings. The discovery of the mother in the attic is particularly mind-bending, and there are an abundance of mysterious adults, acts of the supernatural and secrets hidden in the forest. All of these factors continue to rouse your suspicions and keep you engrossed until all is revealed at the end - this is despite its overly-long running time.
Kim Min Suk’s story appeals more to your emotions than your fear. Like in the The Orphanage, the focus on the characters and the tragedy of their story washes away the tones of horror to leave a heart warming and lasting conclusion. Misconceptions of the children’s motives and confused wrong-doing are changed with the story of how they came to be. The film looks at the effects of unrequited love and a want to belong, and these shine through as the film’s most effecting themes.
In a film that depends so heavily on mystery and fantasy, it is also refreshing that the ending doesn’t give too much away. The predictable last half hour of explanation is in keeping with the films surreal atmosphere - we are enlightened but are left with plenty to base our own personal interpretation and experience of the film on.
Hansel & Gretal works on many levels. The film has a magical and original script supported by equally magical visuals. The capture of the snow filled Korean forest and claustrophobic house create a feeling of wonderment straight out of a fairytale. This has maybe gone a little unnoticed outside of its native Korea, but it is well worth chasing up. A big surprise for its charm and inner delights, this is a horror film with a very sweet tooth. LW
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