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my one gripe with it was that it gets very uncomfortable to watch (trigger warnings all over the place) as the movie tends to be extremely graphic when describing and showing the type of abuse suffered by these children.
if you can stomach it, go for it.
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Story: The story, sadly true, is about deaf and mute children who suffer constant sexual abuse from the people paid to protect them.
The movie is a lot more graphic than I would have originally imagined it being, and in the end, that's what makes this movie so amazing. It seems so incredibly real the whole time you're watching it that it just breaks your heart. Every scream, every tear, and every bit of abuse you witness on screen just tears you up inside.
I really enjoy the pace of the movie. We get some time to see the main characters, build a connection with them, and see how affected they are by the abuse, and this movie leaves a huge impact on you because of that.
Acting/Cast: Gong Yoo has been my favorite actor from the second I started watching Korean dramas/movies. Given the storyline and his ability to always grab me with his acting, I knew I wouldn't regret my choice to watch this movie. I was definitely not disappointed by this man. His ability to just jump into any role and play it perfectly is fantastic.
Baek Seung Hwan, Kim Hyun Soo, and Jung In Seo all deserve praise for their acting in this movie. They all managed to portray abused children so perfectly that you believe every single second of it. When they cry, you cry; when you have to sit there and watch them get sexually molested, you cry.
If you're anything like me though, even though each of their stories breaks your heart, Baek Seung Hwan's acting/character will just kill you.
Jang Gwang also did a fantastic job in his role. Not only did he have to play twins; he had to play twins that both sexually molested students.
Music: I only remember two songs from this movie, and that's only because they play a pretty vital role. Normally I would score low for that, but the lack of music playing in the movie really helped. Instead of distracting you with music, it lets you focus on everything that's happening.
Rewatch Value: So far, I've watched this twice. I'm sure I'll watch it many more times in the future.
Overall: Overall, this movie is sheer perfection. It's brilliantly told, the acting is spectacular, and it manages to just make you sit there and think long after you've finished it.
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That being said, the story is a very painful face slap of injustice and a sad reality. It's a great movie for it does exactly what its meant to do and you feel exactly what your meant to feel. It's really sickening to see how inhuman people can be. The characters are very authentic and the actors delivered well.
Though it's a good movie worth the watch, I don't know how many people would enjoy the re-watch.
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I usually don't watch things like this put the plot pulled me in. Its based off a true story which made it harder to watch.
The acting was very good. I didn't think young kids could act like this. The kids were the ones that made me cry the most.
So I want people to watch this. I want people to watch and see how good these actors are and how good the movie is. I loved it. No, I won't re-watch it. My heart can't handle that.
Its more then I expected.
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Acting/Cast: Phenomenal acting and great cast. This must have been hard for the children to act out. It takes real skill to portray the emotions in the way these kids did without having actually experiencing such events. They were truly talented. Only thing I'm left wondering is if the people who portrayed the antagonists had to take breaks in between scenes due to the overall stress of the story. This had to have been hard on the actors as well due to the overall story.
Music: I only recall a couple songs being played in the movie, but the instrumentals and music were decent.
Rewatch Value: This was an emotionally hard video to watch, and to many it might be too hard to watch again. But I could see myself watching it again, and possibly trying to get a friend to watch it with me as well.
Overall, this was a great movie, but you better be emotionally prepared for what you're about to see. If you're expecting an ending where justice is served in full, you'll be very disappointed. I highly recommend this film to someone who wants their hearts to be truly touched and for someone who wants to see the darker realities that exist in today's world. To me, this is a must-see. In fact, I think this could have easily been drawn out to be turned into a minidrama series.
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if you have a heart, you will be left in tears and rage
FIRST IMPRESSIONAm SILENCED after watching this movie. I ain’t unable to explain the pain I feel which is making me think of this diseased society where no one is safe. WHY? Because the justice sides with the money and victims are SILENCED to let them live in the society.
PLOT VIEW
The first half of the movie is showing us the crime being taken place and the second half is a courtroom drama. Every moment, every scene, every dialogue, breaks the soul into a thousand pieces, mere thinking this isn't just a movie but is a real case, some disabled children actually had to go through this. The movie makes one uncomfortable with explicit scenes and its supposed to make you feel that way to get in the shoes of a spectator where you did nothing.
the movie shows also show vast discrimination happening in society poorly people are brought with money, where rich people take bribes. No interpreter for the disabled people which like humiliating them for being that way.
What makes this adult do such felony because they know the society is of respectable people who will remain silent for their reputation. The prosecutors, judges, teachers, schools, and parents will remain silent if they are bought with money. How do such people live by selling their professional integrity for few bucks? But as human beings where does our soul die and we fail to protect such kids. Not just kids but teens, grown-ups too and not just girls but boys too. If the crime is committed the perpetrator's good reputation and deeds are taken into account on the other side victims dressing, behavior is described, why such discrimination, just because they are underprivileged? There should be no less than execution as the punishment for such crimes.
ACTING/CAST
Gong Yoo never disappoints with his acting chops. He is remarkable with an average art teacher reputation, we can see how he represents all of us who wants to but fight. All the kids were no less, each expression without saying anything they just said their story to the world.
Yun Doo, Yoo Ri, and Min Soo have shown a wonderful performance. Min Soo specially sweeps you off the feet with his intense character portrayal and storyline. These child actors actually felt like a living demonstration of the horrible incident that had happened.
MUSIC
The music actually isn't there but it still has a main part in the movie. The whole movie will feel like a raw conversation.
REWATCH
This movie can be rewatched if you are good at taking disturbing issues. I will rewatch this but not now, after when I have overcome its trauma.
APPRECIATION
This movie is based on the book The Crucible by Gong Ji Young who knows if she had faced a rebound for writing this book. But glad that this novel was made into a movie that had such a huge impact to make the S.Korean government amend the laws.
With the first scene car and the child in a tunnel, the movie sets its bar high that it is not going to be an easy watch. You might have to pause at some point to take a breath and calm yourself down or maybe take time to cry out loud because tears just don’t seem to stop. And I always say take some popcorn and tissue to watch a movie, but for this movie only tissue is needed.
RECOMMENDATION
This movie is for people who can process child molesting, abuse. It also good for some law inspiration as this movie was able to shook the society. if anyone has an interest in human rights then have a watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
I went into this movie after reading its basic summary. Since it had Gong Yoo in it, I decided to go for it. I did no prior research beforehand and after finishing the film, I realized I should have.This movie is not easy to watch, by any means. And I think that's what the makers of this movie intended it to be, and that is why it got the response it did. Did you know that this is a story based on true events? Did you know an author named Gong Ji Young wrote a book on said events? Did you know that Gong Yoo read it while he was in the army and decided to make it into a movie? This movie, caused such a visceral public reaction, that it was forced to revise a law, a law which enabled offenders of this particular crime get off with light sentences, and after the legislation was passed, the offenders were then punished justly, years after the actual crime was committed?
For those who didn't know, they know now.
The movie starts off on a morbid note. From the beginning, you are gripped by this sense of foreboding that things will take a dark turn, and oh lord, do they ever. There were times, I wanted to stop watching and never think about it, but I managed to make it to the end, somehow.
People heavily critiqued the scenes where that showcased the abuse. I can understand where they're coming from, because who wants to see that? But, in my opinion, those very scenes helped drive the point home. The point being that we live in a society where these abhorrent atrocities take place. People like these, exist. They look just like us. They are us. They don't look like the embodiment of evil, they look like your average person, your friendly neighbor, the scruffy teacher who's always in a hurry, or a member of a religious group. People who are hailed as paragons of virtue. People like these take advantage of children, because they know they're easy to manipulate and abuse and that they will get away with it.
Every actor, played their role well. To the point they made your skin crawl and your gorge rise. The actors playing the children, especially. I cannot even imagine how they managed to play the roles they did.
I can't say anything for its rewatch value. For me, once was more than enough.
Another thing that made this movie hard to forget was how the story of Minsu ended and the movie's ending. It was tragic and it was realistic. It made you realize, that justice does not always prevail, and that the bad guys get away. I will end this review by a quote from the movie, which gives you much to think about;
"Watching them grow so well, it makes me think that we should not fight to change the world itself but to stop it from changing us. "
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