Controversial filmmaker Kim Ki-duk's latest film, Pieta, recently beat Paul Thomas Anderson's masterpiece The Master to the Venice Film Festival's top prize, the Golden Lion. Did the film deserve it? It certainly wasn't better than The Master, but it did deserve it. Pieta is not a pleasant film to watch, it is very disturbing. But the incredibly underrated South Korean director does manage to draw some grand emotion. It's not on a very large scale, and on an obviously small budget, but that doesn't stop it's brilliantly crafted brutality from consuming you. The story is that of a young man who works for loan sharks, brutally threatening debtors into paying back. One day, a woman appears and begins to follow him, claiming to be his long lost mother. He at first treats her with contempt and disgust, but her motherly love touches him, and his heart begins to soften for this woman who he doesn't entirely trust. The highlight is the two leading performances, with the ruthless protagonist Kang-do portrayed brilliantly by Lee Jung-jin, and his potential mother acted lovingly by Jo Min-su. They have incredible chemistry together, the likes of which I have not seen for quite some time. They project their emotions at each other and at the audience very well, playing very human and very real characters. The most brilliant aspect of the film, however, is the disturbing nature, which is achieved by not showing the violence graphically. Most other movies with similar violent situations such as Saw show it too graphically, which does not scare, it simply disgusts. The way the camera pans away or just isn't in the same room at these moments adds a sort of intense ferocity to it, something which those other films are sorely missing. Another great aspect is the absence of music throughout most of the film, which adds to the intense atmosphere. Overall, an incredibly crafted film with some great performances. I just wish it would get a wider release, that's all.
9/10
