Koreans are best at making thrillers, and 'The Guest' is excellent proof of that.

On July 30, a new Korean hit 'The Guest' (Chimipja), an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Son Won-pyeong, is released in Russian online distribution. She also served as the screenwriter and director of the film, so all her ideas and concepts are carefully transferred to the screen.

Intriguing from the very start

At the center of the story is architect So-jin (Kim Mu-yeol), who lost his sister in childhood and has now also lost his wife, who died in a car accident. While he is trying to come to terms with his wife's death, a relative who disappeared more than 20 years ago (Song Ji-hyo) bursts into his life like a hurricane. Instead of joy at the return of his sister, So-jin is tormented by doubts, as he is not sure if the girl is who she claims to be.

The daring intrigue in the film 'The Guest' starts winding up from the very beginning. From the first minutes, the main character, and along with him the audience, plunges into an atmosphere of psychological mind games. You can immediately start making guesses about the mysterious 'relative' in an attempt to outpace So-jin, or you can immerse yourself at a leisurely pace in the paranoid mood of the hero, so that the catharsis achieved by the brutal denouement is even more vivid.

Not just a thriller

'The Guest' is one hundred percent genre cinema. At the same time, although the film looks and feels like a classic thriller, it touches on some quite interesting philosophical questions. Son Won-pyeong chose the themes of home and family as the key topics. She clearly illustrates how illusory the main values in a person's life can be and what distortion of them can lead to. Even the strongest structure can collapse like a house of cards if you change just one variable — in this case, this element is the hero's sister who has returned from 'oblivion'.

The controversial ending doesn't spoil the overall impression

One of the 'tricks' of Korean cinema is traditionally considered to be a bright and ambiguous ending. This also applies to the film 'The Guest'. At some point, it may seem that the creators of the film overdid it a bit in their desire to surprise and shock the viewer. Because of this, the internal logic of the story suffers somewhat, not to mention the realism of what is happening.

The final resolution of the tangled story can be attributed to artistic license. And if you don't try to ask too many questions of the narrative, you can get true enjoyment. After all, the technical side of the film (solid cinematography, a worthy soundtrack, and excellent acting by the lead actors) is performed at a high level.

Is 'The Guest' worth watching?

'The Guest' can be recommended both to fans of Asian cinema and to lovers of solid psychological thrillers, where the intensity of events rises with every minute, and a shocking ending can leave a lasting impression.

Trailer:

We express our gratitude to the company PROVZGLYAD for providing the materials and legal distribution of the film in Russia. Watch on popular online platforms starting July 30.