A neo-Gothic riff on the Hans Christian Andersen tale (and
classic Michael Powell movie), "The Red Shoes" is an above-average
slice of Korean horror with strong ancillary potential in Western
markets. Already sold to several territories in Asia and Europe,
yarn about a pair of women's shoes whose wearers end up with their
feet chopped off has proved a moderate performer locally, with some
700,000 admissions in its first two weeks since June 30 release.
Late-night fest slots also look in the cards, and fantasy events
are a given.
Sophomore outing by Kim Yong-gyun is totally different from his
graceful romancer "Wanee & Junah" (2001), which took an almost
mystical approach to its central relationship. There's also an
escalating violence to the main mother-daughter relationship in
"Shoes" that may surprise many Westerners.
Creepy pre-title sequence, set in Seoul's subway, sets the mood,
with a schoolgirl finding the title heels on a platform. When
another girl steals them off her by force, latter is chased through
the subway and ends up dead and, well, footless.
Pic's semi-grungy look, all wintry lighting and desaturated colors,
continues into the main story, centered on an optometrist, Seon-jae
(Kim Hye-su), who walks out on her philandering hubby and sets up
home with her 6-year-old daughter, Tae-su (Park Yeon-ah). It's
already clear, from Kim's stressed perfperf, that Seon-jae is one
sandwich short of a picnic -- and the pair's move into a spooky,
grimy apartment, full of dodgy electricals and grimy porcelain,
makes little sense rationally. But in genre terms it works fine,
with mobile camerawork maintaining tension and the atmospheric art
direction conveying a slightly twisted, fairy tale flavor.
Finding the aforesaid shoes in a subway carriage one day, Seon-jae,
whose hobby is collecting exotic heels, takes them home. However,
when she wears them, she starts to "see" the story -- set in 1944,
Japanese-occupied Korea -- of a beautiful ballet dancer and her
jealous female rival in which the same shoes figured.
Meanwhile, tiny Tae-su, who attends ballet school, also covets the
shoes, especially as the tyke finds she can dance much better when
wearing them. Mother and daughter start to spat, especially when
mom brings home an interior designer (Kim Seong-su) who's working
on her new office. Meanwhile, the shoes lead to more grisly deaths
by their wearers, including Seon-jae's tubby friend, Mi-heui (Go
Su-heui), who steals them one night.
Though it's set in present-day Seoul, film creates a whole
self-contained world of its own, using a small cast, often deserted
locations and a script that keeps the focus tight on the action,
shocks and mother-daughter-shoes triangle. Said heels are actually
a sensual, velvety pink rather than bright red, which makes a
convenient contrast to the (literally) gallons of blood unleashed
in the special effects.