I eagerly bought Dream on DVD and could not wait to watch it based on my previous experience with Kim-duk Kim's work. One of my all time favorite is Seom (The Isle) and the other Hwal (The Bow) not to mention Address Unknown and Spring, Summer,.... wow all great movies. However, after watching Dream and throughout the film I tried to see what the point of this film is. Maybe it is because I am not fully aware of cultural things in Korea or because I am a type of person who doesn't sleep a lot and cannot relate to the characters but I couldn't get the point of the film specially when a lot of things Jin (Jô Odagiri) and Ran (Na-yeong Lee) could do to solve their problem. One being falling in love with each other as mentioned by the doctor (which apparently they did towards the end of the movie) amongst other things. I was disappointed with Mr. Kim's new work as he is very talented and should know that all his movies are important and he should choose projects more carefully not to taint his reputation.
10 Reviews
Impressive Kim-Ki Duk's Film..
bahadircoskun15 October 2008
I watched this movie at the festival of ''Film Ekimi'' in Istanbul.
I got excited when I learned that Kim-Ki Duk's film would be shown in the festival,I guessed we were going to watch a nice movie and at the end of the film I was not mistaken.
Film's subject is shortly;A man dream she caused a car crash, then discovers a real hit-and-run accident. The driver is arrested by police as the prime suspect, though she claims she was not responsible.
The film is very impressive and has got a shocking scenario.Kim-Ki Duk handled human relationships successfully and he edited very well.I hope many people will watch this movie..
I got excited when I learned that Kim-Ki Duk's film would be shown in the festival,I guessed we were going to watch a nice movie and at the end of the film I was not mistaken.
Film's subject is shortly;A man dream she caused a car crash, then discovers a real hit-and-run accident. The driver is arrested by police as the prime suspect, though she claims she was not responsible.
The film is very impressive and has got a shocking scenario.Kim-Ki Duk handled human relationships successfully and he edited very well.I hope many people will watch this movie..
Ki-duk dreams of Odagiri
Onderhond22 December 2008
Dream (or Bi-mong, as is the Korean title) is already Ki-duk's 15th film. It's also the 15th Ki-duk film I watched so obviously you can consider me a fan. Ki-duk is a director who's known to stay pretty close to what he does best, so even though the differences between Dream and his earlier films might not seem stellar, they do present a big deviation for Ki-duk standards. Yet in the end, Dream is still 100% Ki-duk and couldn't have been made by any other.
Central to Dream is the casting of Jo Odagiri, Japanese acting talent who's often considered to be Tadanobu Asano's professional twin (and rightfully so). Odagiri is known for his interesting choices in film and his foreign appeal. Even their looks seem to match from time to time. Odagiri plays a large part in Ki-duk's latest and marks Ki-duk's first big deviation. It's the first time a foreign film star takes the center stage in one of his films.
Probably even bolder is the fact that Odagiri is allowed to speak Japanese throughout the whole of the film. There is no language barrier for the characters, which is a pretty rare choice to make. Even though it is never specified whether Odagiri plays a Japanese or Korean character, the way Japanese and Korean are mixed is very unnatural. Still, after a few minutes of getting used to it only works in favor of the film as Odagiri can focus on acting rather than struggle with a foreign language.
Ki-duk's second departure from his signature style is the amount of dialog featured in the film. Not exactly the first time he allows his characters to communicate verbally (cfr Time - Shi Gan), but it still feels very un-Ki-duk-like. On the other hand, it fits the film well and Ki-duk does a much better job of handling the dialog than he did with Time. And even though there might be more dialog to Ki-duk standards, there are still pretty long stretches were characters do little more than grunt and act, especially near the end of the film.
Apart from these two deviations, all crucial Ki-duk elements are still very much in place. There are the strong key performances, very troubled and somewhat enigmatic characters, a touch of magic and at the end there is hope, tragic as the events might have been. And in between all that there is enough confusion and symbolism to keep people who like to puzzle more than satisfied.
Visually Ki-duk is aiming for a more outspoken visual style here. He's not completely succeeding but the key scenes are all well directed and from time to time there is some stellar imagery to admire. Still, there is room for improvement as some scenes still feel a bit bland compared to the others. Much better is the soundtrack, which is every bit as mystical as it is special. Though a little overdone in the dream segments, the singing near the end of the film really gives the film some extra chills and cuts right through the bone. No idea which language was used for the songs, but it fit the film wonderfully.
Apart from the strong leads, the big plus of Dream is it's exceptional concept. Rather than spoil it here - it is much nicer to find it out for yourself - I'll say that it is every bit as magical as Bin-Jip's finale. Ki-duk eases the viewer into the story and goes full out in the last half hour, turning the film around again to be all you'd expect from a Ki-duk film. Characters are hurting, reality is often as flaky as dreams can be and tragedy lies just around the corner.
The scene in the field near the river marks a shift to Ki-duk's usual trickery and from there on the film is elevated to a higher level. Odagiri is as strong as ever, his female companion acts on an equal level and the both of them really bring Ki-duk's Dream to life. If you get past the excessive dialog (for a Ki-duk film at least) and accept the quirky (but smart) mix of Korean and Japanese, Dream's another Ki-duk film rivaling the best of his previous work.
Since Bin-Jip, only Shi Gan was a small disappointment. Apart from that one, Ki-duk seems to be on a roll with a string of near-masterpieces almost uncontested by any other director. That said, I think Ki-duk is still missing that final touch to make his films into true full-fledged masterpieces. Some more attention to the visual side and a little more attention to the integration of the soundtrack, but it seems he's getting there, slowly but surely. Odagiri's presence was a smart move, so was the strong and exceptional idea behind the film. One of Ki-duk's best, no doubt. 4.5*/5.0*
Central to Dream is the casting of Jo Odagiri, Japanese acting talent who's often considered to be Tadanobu Asano's professional twin (and rightfully so). Odagiri is known for his interesting choices in film and his foreign appeal. Even their looks seem to match from time to time. Odagiri plays a large part in Ki-duk's latest and marks Ki-duk's first big deviation. It's the first time a foreign film star takes the center stage in one of his films.
Probably even bolder is the fact that Odagiri is allowed to speak Japanese throughout the whole of the film. There is no language barrier for the characters, which is a pretty rare choice to make. Even though it is never specified whether Odagiri plays a Japanese or Korean character, the way Japanese and Korean are mixed is very unnatural. Still, after a few minutes of getting used to it only works in favor of the film as Odagiri can focus on acting rather than struggle with a foreign language.
Ki-duk's second departure from his signature style is the amount of dialog featured in the film. Not exactly the first time he allows his characters to communicate verbally (cfr Time - Shi Gan), but it still feels very un-Ki-duk-like. On the other hand, it fits the film well and Ki-duk does a much better job of handling the dialog than he did with Time. And even though there might be more dialog to Ki-duk standards, there are still pretty long stretches were characters do little more than grunt and act, especially near the end of the film.
Apart from these two deviations, all crucial Ki-duk elements are still very much in place. There are the strong key performances, very troubled and somewhat enigmatic characters, a touch of magic and at the end there is hope, tragic as the events might have been. And in between all that there is enough confusion and symbolism to keep people who like to puzzle more than satisfied.
Visually Ki-duk is aiming for a more outspoken visual style here. He's not completely succeeding but the key scenes are all well directed and from time to time there is some stellar imagery to admire. Still, there is room for improvement as some scenes still feel a bit bland compared to the others. Much better is the soundtrack, which is every bit as mystical as it is special. Though a little overdone in the dream segments, the singing near the end of the film really gives the film some extra chills and cuts right through the bone. No idea which language was used for the songs, but it fit the film wonderfully.
Apart from the strong leads, the big plus of Dream is it's exceptional concept. Rather than spoil it here - it is much nicer to find it out for yourself - I'll say that it is every bit as magical as Bin-Jip's finale. Ki-duk eases the viewer into the story and goes full out in the last half hour, turning the film around again to be all you'd expect from a Ki-duk film. Characters are hurting, reality is often as flaky as dreams can be and tragedy lies just around the corner.
The scene in the field near the river marks a shift to Ki-duk's usual trickery and from there on the film is elevated to a higher level. Odagiri is as strong as ever, his female companion acts on an equal level and the both of them really bring Ki-duk's Dream to life. If you get past the excessive dialog (for a Ki-duk film at least) and accept the quirky (but smart) mix of Korean and Japanese, Dream's another Ki-duk film rivaling the best of his previous work.
Since Bin-Jip, only Shi Gan was a small disappointment. Apart from that one, Ki-duk seems to be on a roll with a string of near-masterpieces almost uncontested by any other director. That said, I think Ki-duk is still missing that final touch to make his films into true full-fledged masterpieces. Some more attention to the visual side and a little more attention to the integration of the soundtrack, but it seems he's getting there, slowly but surely. Odagiri's presence was a smart move, so was the strong and exceptional idea behind the film. One of Ki-duk's best, no doubt. 4.5*/5.0*
Despite some excellent performances the film suffers from an artificial construction that drives it into a predetermined direction (spoilers)
dbborroughs25 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Kim Ki-Duk's tale of how a man and a woman become linked by dreams.
It begins with Jin waking up from a vivid dream involving a car accident. Going to the scene he finds th police are investigating a hit and run accident. Following information from a traffic camera the police go to Ran's home find that she was asleep. Hauled to the police station Ran tries to protest but there are pictures of her driving the car. Jin tries to intercede and soon its discovered that Ran has taken to sleep walking recently.It seems that when ever Jin dreams Ran acts out his dreams but in an opposite way which means that Jin who is trying to see his ex-girlfriend whom he still loves, causes Ran to see her ex boyfriend whom she despises.
This is a dark romantic tale is an often uncomfortable to watch since we know what the dreams mean. Ran is getting hurt because of what Jin is dreaming and there is little that the pair can do. Well acted, we feel for the characters because the actors makes it clear that sometimes its so hard to stay awake. They have created two nice characters that we feel bad for.
Unfortunately the film has a couple of problems that work against the valiant attempts of the actors. First the score is not very good. It seems to belong to some cheesy exploitation film from the 1970's. For me it was all wrong and from the first notes it set a really bad mood. The other problem is that script doesn't really work. The characters are never fully fleshed out and as much as the actors try to breath life into them they sill feel a bit hollow or unformed. The trajectory of the story kind of seems too artificial. The film seems not to always be moving in a natural direction, I had the feeling that the director wanted it to go in a certain direction and thats the way it goes. This being a Kim Ki-Duk film it's ripe with a sense of darkness and or even dread. This is not a wholly happy tale even if it is ultimately a love story (there is some violent imagery).
In the end I don't know what I make of it. I like the idea, I like the characters, but there is something about the way the film is told that rubbed me the wrong way. I think its an interesting misfire. (And lest you think that I don't "get" Kim Ki-Duk's style or his films, understand that I am a fan having all but his first three films in my collection.) if you're a fan of the director or adventurous, I think its worth trying for the characters and the pieces that work, but at the same time I'd wait for it to be a rental or (less likely) on cable.
Between 5 and 6 with my feelings toward the film bouncing back and forth between the ratings
It begins with Jin waking up from a vivid dream involving a car accident. Going to the scene he finds th police are investigating a hit and run accident. Following information from a traffic camera the police go to Ran's home find that she was asleep. Hauled to the police station Ran tries to protest but there are pictures of her driving the car. Jin tries to intercede and soon its discovered that Ran has taken to sleep walking recently.It seems that when ever Jin dreams Ran acts out his dreams but in an opposite way which means that Jin who is trying to see his ex-girlfriend whom he still loves, causes Ran to see her ex boyfriend whom she despises.
This is a dark romantic tale is an often uncomfortable to watch since we know what the dreams mean. Ran is getting hurt because of what Jin is dreaming and there is little that the pair can do. Well acted, we feel for the characters because the actors makes it clear that sometimes its so hard to stay awake. They have created two nice characters that we feel bad for.
Unfortunately the film has a couple of problems that work against the valiant attempts of the actors. First the score is not very good. It seems to belong to some cheesy exploitation film from the 1970's. For me it was all wrong and from the first notes it set a really bad mood. The other problem is that script doesn't really work. The characters are never fully fleshed out and as much as the actors try to breath life into them they sill feel a bit hollow or unformed. The trajectory of the story kind of seems too artificial. The film seems not to always be moving in a natural direction, I had the feeling that the director wanted it to go in a certain direction and thats the way it goes. This being a Kim Ki-Duk film it's ripe with a sense of darkness and or even dread. This is not a wholly happy tale even if it is ultimately a love story (there is some violent imagery).
In the end I don't know what I make of it. I like the idea, I like the characters, but there is something about the way the film is told that rubbed me the wrong way. I think its an interesting misfire. (And lest you think that I don't "get" Kim Ki-Duk's style or his films, understand that I am a fan having all but his first three films in my collection.) if you're a fan of the director or adventurous, I think its worth trying for the characters and the pieces that work, but at the same time I'd wait for it to be a rental or (less likely) on cable.
Between 5 and 6 with my feelings toward the film bouncing back and forth between the ratings
A dream is a dream is a dream...
otto-erik20 November 2009
The Chinese philosopher Chuang-Tzu dreamed he was a butterfly and when he woke up he thought maybe he now was a man in a butterfly's dream. I think you can see the whole film as a dream and as such it is just perfect. In the real world it's of course impossible for a Japanese to be understood in Corea, speaking his own tongue -it's not like e.g. a Swedish actor in a Norwegian or Danish film- but in a dream it's even natural. Also, the "comical", bloody stay-awake-scenes should be seen as dream-scenes; I guess in real life you would drink a lot of coffee instead of stabbing yourself! So, my recommendation is: give the film a second chance and look upon it as a dream.
Loving apart
p-stepien26 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Kim Ki-Duk is a bit of a celebrity down here in Poland, especially in the art circles. This position was a bit hurt by his immense failure of a movie "Time", but memories of past glory persist. "Dream" was therefore awaited with clenched fists and some drool pouring from the mouths of critics.
"Dream" tells a story of two people - a man and a woman - whose lives become intertwined by a weird twist of fate. Apparently when they both sleep the man dreams, whilst the women ends up sleepwalking and executing the dream. When this reality folds they unwillingly start connecting their lives together - they attempt various schemes to solve the issue - with more or less limited results. Will they be able to stop the dreams? Will the dreams connect them eternally or destroy them?
The movie itself fails to make any such impression asthe director's glorious predecessors, but thankfully it is watchable, if extremely flawed. To a large part the movie is even enjoyable, thanks to it's slightly slapsticky humour focused on methods of trying not to fall asleep. In the meantime issues of love, solitude, connection are hardly dealt with or are subtly touched. That is until the final third, when the movie increasingly and unsuccessfully goes into "Old Boy" territory plus some cheesy Korean love flick. The romance doesn't work and isn't believable, while the grand finale instead of being somber and melancholic ends up being laughable and... cheesy.
Definitely not the corn on the cob any fan of Kim Ki Duk was expecting. But I least several times I had a good honest laugh (as intended hopefully by the director, although I wasn't always sure). The problem remains however the impossibility to turn a blind eye on the slightly ridiculous last 30 minutes, even more so due to the fact that it was so out of focus from the less serious start to it.
And not even the beautiful cinematography can help with this movie playing out like a Brazilian soap with a supernatural twist to it...
"Dream" tells a story of two people - a man and a woman - whose lives become intertwined by a weird twist of fate. Apparently when they both sleep the man dreams, whilst the women ends up sleepwalking and executing the dream. When this reality folds they unwillingly start connecting their lives together - they attempt various schemes to solve the issue - with more or less limited results. Will they be able to stop the dreams? Will the dreams connect them eternally or destroy them?
The movie itself fails to make any such impression asthe director's glorious predecessors, but thankfully it is watchable, if extremely flawed. To a large part the movie is even enjoyable, thanks to it's slightly slapsticky humour focused on methods of trying not to fall asleep. In the meantime issues of love, solitude, connection are hardly dealt with or are subtly touched. That is until the final third, when the movie increasingly and unsuccessfully goes into "Old Boy" territory plus some cheesy Korean love flick. The romance doesn't work and isn't believable, while the grand finale instead of being somber and melancholic ends up being laughable and... cheesy.
Definitely not the corn on the cob any fan of Kim Ki Duk was expecting. But I least several times I had a good honest laugh (as intended hopefully by the director, although I wasn't always sure). The problem remains however the impossibility to turn a blind eye on the slightly ridiculous last 30 minutes, even more so due to the fact that it was so out of focus from the less serious start to it.
And not even the beautiful cinematography can help with this movie playing out like a Brazilian soap with a supernatural twist to it...
Disappointing Dream
nil-sama13 October 2008
Coming from Kim Ki Duk, I expected much more out of this movie. If you've read the summary, you've basically spoiled the entire movie for yourself.
Even the shots of this film were dull compared to Kim's other films.
Odagiri Joe also speaks entirely in Japanese in this movie, while all other characters speak in Korean, yet everyone understands each other. If you don't speak either language, you may enjoy the movie much more than I did.
Overall, I can only give "Dream" a 4/10. Die hard Kim Ki Duk fans be warned.
Even the shots of this film were dull compared to Kim's other films.
Odagiri Joe also speaks entirely in Japanese in this movie, while all other characters speak in Korean, yet everyone understands each other. If you don't speak either language, you may enjoy the movie much more than I did.
Overall, I can only give "Dream" a 4/10. Die hard Kim Ki Duk fans be warned.
Frankly, a bad film
regnarghost15 April 2009
A man and a woman's life becomes entangled as she does what he dreams, or in other cases,he experiences what she does while sleepwalking. Its a storyline that Kim-Duk should feel right at home with. And for the first twenty five minutes or so it looks promising. Rich atmosphere with tasteful use of music. I was just waiting for him to really start WORKING with the story and ideas at hand.
I don't think he does that. To me it looks like Kim-Duks abandons much of his graceful soul-searching in favor of fleshy melodrama. Especially the awkward shouting-scene at the field, but the whole film has something contrived about it. The main-character are very illogical in their thinking, with may indicate that the film is meant to work on a allegorical level, but I'm dubious. The cinematography too strikes me as bland, with some interesting exceptions. There are faint echoes of 3-Iron here, the film that more and more stands out as his masterpiece, but lacks most of its subtle grace.
Well, until the end that is. The breathtaking and magical scene where she "escapes" confirms that Kim-Duk still has it in him,(but I'm not wild about how it ties everythinkg together so neatly), as much as i respect him as an artist, i think Kim-Duk needs to relocate and form ranks.
I don't think he does that. To me it looks like Kim-Duks abandons much of his graceful soul-searching in favor of fleshy melodrama. Especially the awkward shouting-scene at the field, but the whole film has something contrived about it. The main-character are very illogical in their thinking, with may indicate that the film is meant to work on a allegorical level, but I'm dubious. The cinematography too strikes me as bland, with some interesting exceptions. There are faint echoes of 3-Iron here, the film that more and more stands out as his masterpiece, but lacks most of its subtle grace.
Well, until the end that is. The breathtaking and magical scene where she "escapes" confirms that Kim-Duk still has it in him,(but I'm not wild about how it ties everythinkg together so neatly), as much as i respect him as an artist, i think Kim-Duk needs to relocate and form ranks.
Plot
andrenalin_0422 April 2009
In this unusual and slightly ominous romantic fantasy from Korea, Joe Odagiri stars as Jin, a young man who experiences a foreboding nightmare about a traffic accident and feels compelled, upon waking, to travel to the same spot he visited in the dream. As it turns out, a hit-and-run accident indeed occurred there; curious, Jin tails the police to the home of the suspect - a beautiful young woman named Ran (Lee Na-Young) who vehemently denies involvement and cites, as an alibi, the fact that she slept the entire night. Jin relays the specifics of his dream to the cops and insists that they arrest him; they dismiss him as a crank and arrest Ran instead, but in time the young man and woman discover a bizarre pattern: when he dreams of specific events, she acts out those events in real life.
A Nutshell Review: Dream
DICK STEEL9 August 2009
Someone mentioned to me once that the films by Kim Ki-duk is like an acquired taste. Personally I had not taken that advice and dove into the deep end, only to find myself stuck in a confluence of mixed feelings, where some of the films had excited, others had disappointed going nowhere, though you must admit that there are always plenty of imagery in his films to admire, and a premise like none other.
Within the first 20 minutes, we get introduced to the main characters, and the interesting, though weird premise that they find themselves in. Jo Odagiri stars as Jin, a man who often finds himself dreaming about some very vivid events, then out of curiosity one day, he visits an accident site that he dreamt about, and lo and behold, the exact same situation that he had seen subconsciously.
His curiosity led him to dig further, and here he comes across Ren (Lee Na-yeong), a woman who sleepwalks. In more bizarre terms, Jin soon realizes that whatever he dreams of, Ren somehow will sleepwalk and execute it on his behalf, in real time. Hence the stage is set for this fantastical movie, where a couple find themselves having power over each other, and made more acute when they discover that perhaps their respective ex-lovers have got a part to play in their predicament as well.
You'd come to expect that perhaps Jin and Ren would fall for each other, and this was even suggested at, but of course Kim Ki-duk would never go for the plain and ordinary. Instead he skews this potential love story into something more intense, and comical even especially when the couple try their very best not to fall asleep, one to prevent executing things against her wishes, while the other not wanting to impose his will onto another.
Alas the ingredients that went into the film turned out to be not my taste. Everything went really weird especially when Kim settled for some gory moments of imagery to continue his story, some of which are squirmish enough to want to make you shut your eye from the nightmare. Also, having Jo Odagiri speak in Japanese throughout, and the only character to do so, seemed too strange as well, where everyone else was speaking in Korean. I suppose like Kim's earlier film in casting Chang Chen resulted in his character being mute, was nothing more than overcoming a technical challenge in making the actors speak the Korean language. Straddling the thin line between reality and fantasy would have afforded a tale told in this manner, but certainly this wasn't my cup of tea.
The Closing Film of this year's Korean Film Festival, those in attendance will attest to bewildered voices whispering sighs of disapproval and sniggering at how ridiculous the film had unravelled itself into. I suppose if not for Jo Odagiri's role, many would have not batted an eyelid at yet another Kim Ki-duk offering for the masses. Was I disappointed? Yes, as the film could have been much more rather than a self-indulgent movie.
Within the first 20 minutes, we get introduced to the main characters, and the interesting, though weird premise that they find themselves in. Jo Odagiri stars as Jin, a man who often finds himself dreaming about some very vivid events, then out of curiosity one day, he visits an accident site that he dreamt about, and lo and behold, the exact same situation that he had seen subconsciously.
His curiosity led him to dig further, and here he comes across Ren (Lee Na-yeong), a woman who sleepwalks. In more bizarre terms, Jin soon realizes that whatever he dreams of, Ren somehow will sleepwalk and execute it on his behalf, in real time. Hence the stage is set for this fantastical movie, where a couple find themselves having power over each other, and made more acute when they discover that perhaps their respective ex-lovers have got a part to play in their predicament as well.
You'd come to expect that perhaps Jin and Ren would fall for each other, and this was even suggested at, but of course Kim Ki-duk would never go for the plain and ordinary. Instead he skews this potential love story into something more intense, and comical even especially when the couple try their very best not to fall asleep, one to prevent executing things against her wishes, while the other not wanting to impose his will onto another.
Alas the ingredients that went into the film turned out to be not my taste. Everything went really weird especially when Kim settled for some gory moments of imagery to continue his story, some of which are squirmish enough to want to make you shut your eye from the nightmare. Also, having Jo Odagiri speak in Japanese throughout, and the only character to do so, seemed too strange as well, where everyone else was speaking in Korean. I suppose like Kim's earlier film in casting Chang Chen resulted in his character being mute, was nothing more than overcoming a technical challenge in making the actors speak the Korean language. Straddling the thin line between reality and fantasy would have afforded a tale told in this manner, but certainly this wasn't my cup of tea.
The Closing Film of this year's Korean Film Festival, those in attendance will attest to bewildered voices whispering sighs of disapproval and sniggering at how ridiculous the film had unravelled itself into. I suppose if not for Jo Odagiri's role, many would have not batted an eyelid at yet another Kim Ki-duk offering for the masses. Was I disappointed? Yes, as the film could have been much more rather than a self-indulgent movie.
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