Resurrection of the Little Match Girl (2002) User Reviews

Sound and fury

[tofuman-3 · 7/10 · 20 February 2003]

The movie bombed in the box office. It was one of the most expensive movies to make in Korea. I surely hope this doesn't deter the most innovative and honest artist in Korea from making more masterpieces.

The movie seems strangely main-stream compared to his former movies. (Lies, Bad movie,...) When I first heard that he's making a big-budget fantasy action film, I was worried because I didn't want him to waste time making the same undistinguishable movies as others. But still, I gave him a benefit of doubt, and went to see the movie anyway. And I'm very glad I did.

The story seems borrowed from that old mother goose PC adventure game where everything in the tale is mixed up and your mission is to fix things up so that events unfold according to the original mother goose story.

We have a boy and a girl, who meet in a virtual reality game. We are introduced to many 'colorful' game characters, the most interesting of which is a biker of ambiguous sexuality who's played by the chinese transsexual dancer Sing Jin.

The plot is actually quite incomprehensible and much hyped eye-candies are nowhere near remarkable. Those are the main reason the movie failed in the box office. But probably those are not the point of the movie. I think the movie is trying to show the harsh reality veiled under the high-tech sheen. The power levels and the favorite things of characters - which are shown on-screen when the game characters are introduced - do not tell anything about the character just as the praises about the fast economic growth of Korea doesn't tell about the cultural, emotional vacancy at the heart of the country.

promising, but ultimately flat

[coolbkool-1 · 6/10 · 10 April 2005]

As I was watching "Sungnyangpali sonyeoui jaerim" I felt that it had a lot of promise as a creative, over-the-top, self-conscious thrill ride with underlying social commentary on Korean popular culture. But I thought it fizzled off to a flat, unnatural conclusion that made the movie seem like it was reaching in vain for something higher. And in reaching, it lost within itself any potential for critical self-awareness.

The film is a pretty fair summary of late 90s, early 2000s Korean popular culture. The real-life pop-star playing a pop-star is comparable to having Justin Timberlake cameo as a teenie-bopper idol; and the other real-life pop-star who plays the champion pro-gamer is like having LL Cool J star in a dramatic role (with special emphasis on the word "dramatic"). Although I must admit that Kim Jin-pyo gave a pretty convincing and successfully comic performance. And, I guess it's only fitting that a country as wired as Korea and a popular culture that drives an arcade owner to his death by a combination of starvation and sleep deprivation brought on by a fortnight Starcraft marathon could produce such a feverishly obsessive movie that could just as well have been an elaborate role-playing computer game.

In any case, I still enjoyed the film for creatively blurring fantasy and reality. I think the movie opens up an interesting exploration into the eventual merging of cinema, video games, and music video into a true single-serving multimedia experience. Indeed, without the over-arching Halo/Doom/Area51 aura, I think the excessive violence and action sequencing would not have been able to escape being accused of being hackneyed and overtly borrowed, let alone be stomached. Kill Bill it is not, but I liked it and laughed quite heartily at the expense of my peers back in the motherland.

I've seen better movies...

[Kosinus · 5/10 · 22 August 2003]

... the makers watched Matrix? perhaps Avalon? thinking: we can do that, too? well... cut out all those oh so funny scenes, focus on the story-line and you get a nice and interesting movie. Still fun to watch, just don't expect too much and try not to compare this one to any other movie...

Visually enticing, maddeningly vague and bound to be a cult classic

[BrianThibodeau · 25 August 2004]

RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL (2002), an ambitious cyber-punk actioner from the director of 2000's LIES and 1996's A PETAL. It's one of the few Korean films I've seen that has polarized audiences as much as it has. An expensive failure upon its first release, the film has, with a couple of repeat viewings on DVD, started to grow on me, not that I didn't like it in the first place.

The narrative has a socially disaffected gamer attempting to make the title game character fall in love with him before she dies while fending off an array of well-armed oddballs. Eventually though, she rebels against the system with a Great Big Gun. There's a tricky blur between real world and game world in this often maddeningly vague film, and I'm still not sure I've read all the director's messages correctly, or if he even makes them at all, but the visuals are so enticing, the action so deliberately overblown, and the philosophy so seemingly just out of reach, it's tough to stop watching (and watching again). I suspect that this film will develop a strong cult following in the years to come, with even many of those who absolutely hated it re-approaching it from different angles and perhaps finding new meaning in it.

Despite it's Korean setting and cast, it's probably the least Korean-feeling Korean film I've yet seen, generally eschewing themes of identity and patriotism as well as the maudlin melodramatics so often found in Korean cinema. Somehow, I suspect that was all intentional. Unfortunately, the Korean DVD of this title had no English subs, so most people who've seen it subbed have had to spring for the bootleg. I give it an 8.

Bad Sci-fi, Good Caricature

[ectype · 7/10 · 10 January 2006]

Like the cult hit The Matrix, Sun-woo Jang's latest sci-fi work The Resurrection of the little match girl contrived an exquisitely woven web of ruthless reality and subversively violent fantasy-land in which our heroes and heroines had alternated from being manipulated by game players to manipulating one another by themselves. Combining such game-within-game plot with the original idea of the well-known Danish fairy tale by HC Andersson, the director captures fatuous egotism and unreasonable superciliousness of the X-Generation.

This time his approach appears much closer to the heart and mind of the contemporary Korean young groups. They have seemed so lost in their real society that they have been consuming time and money in the internet world in order to find the release. It is, therefore, quite natural that frequent abusiveness, pervasive violence, sardonic cartoonized characters take up the major part of the movie. The most refreshing point is owed to utilizing the "little match girl", who is pathetic in the beginning and becomes a revengeful lady in the latter part.

Unlike the cult hit The Matrix, the obviously obnoxiousness of this movie lies in the lavish minor characters, most of whom could not function effectively or contribute to the development of the complicated plot but trivialized and metamorphosed into an enervating mess.

Recommend it to those who like Director's previous anarchist work Bad Movie and Lies, then put it away if you're a fan of cult classic.

An Oddball Failure

[NIXFLIX-DOT-COM · 4/10 · 28 August 2003]

RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL is an oddball of a movie. It's half satire, half parody, and sometimes plain silliness. The director is an Indie favorite, but for some reason he was given a lot of money and told to make a movie out of it. Well he did, utilizing every single cent, but the problem is that he didn't have his heart in it. As a result, MATCH GIRL is visually competent and even terrific, but narratively speaking, it's a total mess.

There are some good ideas here, such as the mocking of Hollywood films driven by special effects. And yet the movie never really makes you laugh. There are no chuckles to be had, and if anything the film just feels incredibly half-hearted on just about everything it attempts. Again, there just doesn't seem to have any focus to the picture, or any actual WILLINGNESS to make a good movie.

For what it is, MATCH GIRL certainly looks nice. It's just not worth talking about that's all.

4 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie or reviews of other foreign films)

Video game themed bizarreness

[Vartiainen · 6/10 · 7 October 2015]

In my experiences Korean films tend to be just as strange and baffling as their pop music is. And this film is certainly the crowning achievement of that. Loosely adapting the Hans Christian Andersen children's tale The Little Match Girl, it tells about Ju (Hyun-sung Kim), a Chinese restaurant delivery guy, who dreams about becoming a pro-gamer like his friend Lee (Jin-pyo Kim). But, we often dreams about things we really shouldn't, as Ju finds out when he shows kindness to a lonely beggar girl selling lighters and gets pulled into a strange video game where the goal is to act out the events of the original tale… while also dodging other players who all want to kill you.

It's weird, it's nonsensical, it's utterly bizarre. And like it almost always is with these types of films, either you love or you hate it. Personally I love it, to an extent. I still require a semblance of order when it comes to storytelling and the flow of the plot, and this particular movie is barely acceptable in that regard. Especially the start of the second act is very hard to follow, style over substance more than anything else, and it takes you a while to get back on track.

The characters are also not very captivating. They're mostly in the story to pull off stunts and highly choreographed fight scenes, and while all of them are gimmicky, that is to say you can easily tell them apart from one another, they're not people in the real sense of the word. They're cardboard characters. Ju has probably the most character out of all of them, but even he doesn't really evolve all that much throughout the film. Mostly he's there to act as the audience surrogate.

But, if you're going to watch this film, you're going to watch it for the visuals, the craziness. And for that it's a very good film. It's always moving, always doing something. Sure, the special effects are not as great as they could have been, had they had an A-list budget, but they're good enough to support the story and only really start to show their cheapness during the final climax when the crazy visuals ramp up.

And that's the movie in a nutshell. It's more style than anything, but the style itself is very pleasing, and you certainly won't be bored. Is it for anyone? Absolutely not. But if I have aroused your curiosity, then I definitely recommend giving it a chance.

Virtual matching

[Killer-40 · 8/10 · 8 November 2002]

This is not a follow-up of Kaurismäki's MATCH GIRL - although director Jang Sun-woo is an ironic and sometimes cynical artist. His unpredictability led to the documentary-styled LIES in 1999, a sadomasochistic story that is unconventionally introduced by one actor's explanation about why he chose to participate in the movie. THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL took almost four years to be completed and has those moments, too, where we are reminded that we are 'only' watching a movie. Fantasy film fans usually don't like this breaking-up of the narrative. That might be the reason for a box-office failure of the film in Korea so far. It's budget is one of the highest in the history of Korean film (10 m USD) and justified by all the spectacular stunts and shoot-outs and digital references that seem to say laconically: What's all that fuzz about MATRIX? As we know from former movies of Jang Sun-woo (like A PETAL) he never forgets to comment on social topics. The story is about a guy who needs to log into a virtual game to get rich through fighting other players and saving the poor and starving MATCH GIRL (a figure known from Andersen's tales). Whether you feel computer games are ridiculous after the movie or you reflect about unjustified possession ratios in your society, the movie with its choice of different though on first sight unhappy endings might leave you puzzled - exactly the way it is done. "Techno-Taoist" was this approach to the SF-genre called, and surely those who expect martial arts and BULLETS IN THE HEAD-action will be as pleased as those who look for another playful and wise Jang Sun-woo flick. Be advised not to leave the movie during the end credits. It should be 124 minutes long ...

Ambitious, Flawed Yet Brilliant

[c75 · 10/10 · 25 January 2004]

The other reviews here make many good points. It is true that "Resurrection Of The Little Match Girl" is a very unorthodox film and it is certainly true that it does have its problems. But, quite simply, I was thrilled and excited watching it in a way I have been by few other movies.

Most films do not take anywhere near as many risks, or have anywhere near as many ideas, as this movie. True, the film does seemingly try to work in every single genre simultaneously and wildly fluctuate between reality and fantasy, humour and sadness, beauty and violence. But I felt this was a definite strength. From the USA to Mainland Europe, from Britain to Asia, there are so many films that do not push boundaries, do not take risks and are far too scared to step outside themselves and I think this film should be applauded for daring to risk these flaws.

For all of its faults, this was easily far and away the best film I saw in 2003.

Hyperkinetic Tampopo for the modern times.

[dennisyoon · 8 March 2004]

Just like Tampopo made fun of so many genres the Resurrection of The Little Match Girl is the modern incarnation. Video games, Matrix themes, wacky characters abound in a dimension hopping adventure that comes from everywhere. HK action and Wire Fu with Matrix graphics and Music Video FX make for a very busy film that goes all over the place and doesn't let up. I can see why it might have tanked in Korea because the story is really over the top and the characters aren't developed as much as the FX and Gun fighting craziness.

I didn't know what to expect so I couldn't stop watching because it was unpredictable and all over the place. Being a fan of over the top violence and unusual narratives I came away thinking this was ambitious and gets and A+ for effort. Forgot the story but did get swept away by the goofy fun and visuals.

Dazzling Post-Modernist Existential Reflection

[vovnutar · 10/10 · 26 January 2004]

The Ressurection of the Little Match Girl is a hong-kong frenzy-paced post-modernist reflection on the human condition as a computer game in which the goal (if you decide that there is one) is to figure out which goal to pursue, through structural and explicit references builds on such films as Brazil, Matrix, Existenz & Tron. The film has humor, and gleefully manages to be cynical and sentimental, a labyrinth of stylizations and a crystal pure polyhedron of an internal structure all at the same time.

This is the best film I have seen so far this year, and might well be the best for the whole year as well.

Not well-made Sci-fi movie, but...

[mezquita · 10/10 · 23 September 2002]

This movie is known as the biggest budget movie in korean movie history. But the director, jang is not good at this kind of blockbuster movie. He is good at art film, so this movie is not well-made sci-fi movie. But from the point of art film, this is charming and attractive. I was very interested, but many of korean viewers were angered with this movie. I am very curious what response will happen if this movie is seen to other country's people. This movie is far from any kind of hollywood sci-fi movie. This point is a merit of this movie, but it might effect to fail in boxoffice.

In conclusion, I recommend this movie because of its unique style. If you are very anxious for unique and new style, this movie might be a kind of answer.

Foolish and Ill-conceived

[yojimbo999 · 17 March 2003]

the film purports to "parody" THE MATRIX, but instead how can you "parody" a movie if you spend just as much on the exact same special effects and pretty much re-did whole scenes and scenarios from the movie you're supposedly "making fun off?" if only the filmmakers/producers had taken the time to write a decent, original script and then shoot the movie as a straight drama instead of trying to "wink" at us, MATCH GIRL would have had the makings of a terrific sci-fi actioner. instead, it's just lame, not terribly bright (even though it tries very hard to be so), and its attempts at cleverness and breaking the 4th wall is rather understated and weak.

so, to all of you "hip" filmmakers out there, the lesson is this: if you got the budget for it, don't waste your money copying other movies and calling it a "parody". just make your own movie.

Another Jang Sun-Woo miracle

[poikkeus · 10/10 · 25 September 2008]

Director Sang Sun-Woo has been the guiding force behind a series of often visionary films notable for their willingness to take chances. A PASSAGE TO BUDDHA was the stroking updating of a Buddhist scripture; LIES, conversely, was his unrated tale of sexual perversion; A PETAL is one of the more shocking stories of childhood lost; A ROAD TO THE RACETRACK is a penetrating battle of the sexes.

With MATCH GIRL, Jang updates the legend to modern Korea - of course, with a differences. A clumsy, dull man in his early 20s is a social failure and probably doomed to poverty and loneliness, but in a Seoul rippling with video game parlors, he finds a game that operates on a different level. Giving away more would take away from the surprise to be enjoyed here.

Jang keeps his allegory cooking with a striking set of characters (all of them after the Match Girl), and a playful humor that works even on multiple viewings.

Each of Jang's film's has a sense of visual freshness. but this one is a complete surprise.

Strange ride...

[Wilpuri · 1 October 2003]

What kind of movie is this? Ummm.. well it's... weird. It's VERY weird actually... It's like someone wanted to make mixture of Fallen Angels, Nowhere to Hide, Avalon, Matrix, Unreal Tournament, Rainbow Six and... Little Matchgirl!

I have to say that I liked this movie. It was beautiful, strange and full of humor and spectacular action. The actors were good and the effects were mostly brilliant.

I'm not going to tell you anything about the plot, because... it's so strange, twisted and complicated and you don't really need to know it before you see the movie.

I think that the weirdest thing in this movie is that they used NYLON BEAT'S song in the movie! It was quite surrealistic to watch a South-Korean movie and listen to a FINNISH popmusic! I have to say that I HATE Nylon Beat, but somewhy their music worked in this movie... and actually all music in this movie was quite good.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes to watch original an different movies..... this definitely is a DIFFERENT movie...

A tricky blur between real world and game world in this often maddeningly vague film

[BrianThibodeau · 30 August 2004]

RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL (2002), an ambitious cyber-punk actioner from the director of 2000's LIES and 1996's A PETAL. It's one of the few Korean films I've seen that has polarized audiences as much as it has. An expensive failure upon its first release, the film has, with a couple of repeat viewings on DVD, started to grow on me, not that I didn't like it in the first place.

The narrative has a socially disaffected gamer attempting to make the title game character fall in love with him before she dies while fending off an array of well-armed oddballs. Eventually though, she rebels against the system with a Great Big Gun. There's a tricky blur between real world and game world in this often maddeningly vague film, and I'm still not sure I've read all the director's messages correctly, or if he even makes them at all, but the visuals are so enticing, the action so deliberately overblown, and the philosophy so seemingly just out of reach, it's tough to stop watching (and watching again). I suspect that this film will develop a strong cult following in the years to come, with even many of those who absolutely hated it re-approaching it from different angles and perhaps finding new meaning in it. Despite it's Korean setting and cast, it's probably the least Korean-feeling Korean film I've yet seen, generally eschewing themes of identity and patriotism as well as the maudlin melodramatics so often found in Korean cinema. Somehow, I suspect that was all intentional. Unfortunately, the Korean DVD of this title had no English subs, so most people who've seen it subbed have had to spring for the bootleg.