Princess Aurora (2005) User Reviews

Revenge of a Mother

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 25 July 2010]

In Seoul, the thirty-three year-old Jung Sun-jung (Jeong-hwa Eom) sees an abusive stepmother beating up on her stepdaughter in the bathroom of a department store and she stabs the woman to death with a stiletto. Detective Oh Sung-ho (Seong-kun Mun) interviews the little girl and watches the tape of the surveillance camera of the department store, finding the lead of Sun-jung. However he does not disclose his discovery to his partner. Sun-young works in a car dealer of Porches and then she kills a young woman in a massage house and later her lover in his apartment. The partner of Sung-ho finds the sticker of cartoon character Princess Aurora in each victim and Sung-ho meets and has sex with Sun- jung that is his ex-wife. She steals his handcuffs and kidnaps a taxi driver, killing him later. Then she abducts and kills the son of the owner of the restaurant Hanseung. Sung-ho finally discloses to his chief Byun Sang-ho that the serial-killer is his ex-wife and their six year- old daughter Oh Min-ah that they called Princess Aurora had been abducted, raped, killed and dumped naked in a landfill on the day of her birthday exactly one year ago. They discover that Sun-jung has kidnapped the defense attorney Kim Wu-Taek that had defended the killer Hong Gi- beom that was sent to a mental institution instead of prison. The police and the press head to the landfill where Min-ah was found expecting to meet Sun-young and her hostage.

"Orora Gongju" a.k.a. Princess Aurora is another great Korean movie of revenge of a mother. The story is very well constructed, with an excellent screenplay that discloses the plot like a puzzle like most of the Korean films. The story begins with a serial-killer murdering people apparently without any connection but in the end there is an explanation for each death. The direction and the performances are also top-notch. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Princesa Aurora" ("Princess Aurora")

A Korean tale of revenge

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 26 April 2007]

But not the best that has been produced in that land. If your looking for the revenge master, look no further than "Park Chan-Wook" (or you can put the Park at the end, like it's done in Korea) and you'll get the best!

Having said that, the story presented here is not bad. Not bad at all and the acting is quite good also. But the pacing, the rhythm and the overall flair of this movie, never quite feels right. The script could've used a few rewrites and I'm pretty sure, there could've been a few better fleshed out characters. But this still is very emotional and you might not like what you see, especially concerning the ending (and yes the last sentence is intended to be understood in more than one way!)!

Grim and gripping in equal measure

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 5 January 2015]

A pretty good South Korean thriller, although not quite up there with the likes of THE CHASER or MEMORIES OF MURDER. PRINCESS AURORA sees the inimitable Eom Jeong-hwa as a wronged mother who sets out on a seemingly random massacre of people who offend her, and of course the police are hot on her trail.

I find these Korean police procedural films to be typically gripping and PRINCESS AURORA is no exception. I loved the mystery aspect of the storyline, which gradually unfolds towards crystal clarity at the climax, even though I did easily guess the twist ending this time around. The film is also interspersed with those stark, gruesome set-pieces that the Koreans portray so well.

The acting is excellent and complements the script well, and the only reason I haven't given this a higher rating is because the subject matter is so dark. It's ultimately a very sad and depressing movie, but that doesn't stop it from being decent; it's just not one of those films that screams entertainment value at you.

Revenge tale with an Uhm Jung Hwa touch

[phd_travel · 7/10 · 31 January 2021]

Uhm Jung Hwa movies are all good and she excels at playing the beautiful sales lady and ruthless killer out to avenge her daughter. Quite violent but always watchable. It is fun to see how things play out as she gets her revenge one by one. Eagerly anticipate the explanation on how things come together and are linked up and it is delivered. The ending is satisfying.

Sharp direction and good tone. Good vendetta movie.

Some films are just good

[mrswizz · 8/10 · 15 November 2006]

Okay, so as a fan of the Korean cinema look I brought Princess Aurora... and I have to say that I was VERY impressed. It is a difficult film to watch at times, and it does take a while for the film to get going.

I'm not going to put in any spoilers but if you do not want to know anything at all about the film please just accept that it is worth it and stop reading.

Im trying not to sound to geeky but imagine if David Mamet (glengarry glen ross, Ronin) wrote for chan Wook Park (old boy, lady vengeance) and you would know what I mean.

OK, so half an hour into the film I thought it was just another murder film, but it really is so much more.

It is not perfect by any means. the police seem clumsy at times and the film gel as well as it could, but this is all for a reason, and that reason is shown in the 20 minute finale which is better than anything Hollywood can do. It is the type of ending that has you literally hiding behind a cushion one minute, then jumping up and cheering the next.

If you liked lady vengeance or dark water, this is a film for you, if you like good cinema that makes you think then again this is a good movie for you.

Park may be the fashionable director at the moment, and rightly so if you have seen his films, but Eun-jin Bang who directed this film is definitely one to look out for. Also, you should watch this before Hollywood remakes it, which no doubt it will at some point.

I just liked the movie, and I hope more people give it a go.

too much korean movie to like this

[fluffset · 4/10 · 10 February 2014]

I've watch a lot of korean stuff and this one is so cliché and boring, ruthless murder and the stupid cop. Story looks really really dumb, we know if this thing happen in our real world all police will catch the murderer instantly because the crime she did is not smart at all. Took a very long time to catch a stupid killer. Then, I guess all korean people are really heartless to ignore an innocent child who walking around the city and highway. This movie is so overrated, just credit for all actor because they are acting very well but the story is really dumb. I've watch too many korean movie to like this, better watch "Memories Of Murder" again and again.

Only a loving parent will understand how she feels

[darkmax · 8/10 · 26 October 2008]

For those of you that like the amount of cruelty and bloodshed in Lady Vengeance, this film will seem subtle.

The acting of the female lead is convincing enough to warrant the 106 minutes of it.

At first, the movie seemingly revolves around a young woman who kills mercilessly for justice. However, as the story continues, her actions became methodical and preempted. Only at the very end of the story do we actually get to know the angst, grief and pain that forced her into such a state of mind.

This movie, although Korean, also reflects on the other Asian societies where wealth, materialism and self-centredness are overshadowing the importance of kindness and virtue.

Over-the-Top and Over-rated

[Billy_Crash · 5/10 · 30 March 2009]

The movie started out with one heck of an inciting incident, immediately bringing the audience into the story. But after establishing the characters, it went "Hollywood" and downhill.

Some reviewers may get caught up with the story and its content, but its execution is over- the-top and silly.

***spoiler alert***

When the killer drags the lawyer to the dump where her daughter was found dead, police and media show up for a Hollywood circus that's just too silly. Worst still, her ex-husband cop couldn't figure out where she was going until the last possible minute - and he didn't realize his dead daughter's birthday was coming up? Come on!

Even worse, after she's arrested and convicted, she ends up in the same mental institution with her daughter's killer so she could get her ultimate revenge. Ludicrous and stupid. Beyond that, unlike her previous victims who've suffered, she merely taps into his jugular and he peacefully bleeds out when her ultimate rage should have shined through.

Save your time and avoid what could have been a fantastic film.

Not really a revenge film after all

[rsl39 · 10/10 · 28 March 2007]

In an interview with cine21 magazine director Pang Eun-jin refers to her film Princess Aurora as "a melodrama, and a very dark one at that." Unfortunately, too many people have been fixated on comparing it (often unflatteringly) to Park Chan-wook's Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. The two films have very little in common, in fact. Pang's film is a movie about grief, and the actions of the lead character are more representations of that overwhelming grief than they are about getting even. There's none of the emphasis on careful plotting and methodical execution that we get in Lady Vengeance-- just a series of seemingly unconnected crimes. In this sense, the film is more like Hitchcock's Marnie, or Truffaut's The Bride Wore Black than it is like Park's film. Indeed, the sequence in the hospital seems to be a clear reference to Truffaut's film version of the Cornell Woolrich novel. The performances in the film are all first rate, and the single flashback sequence toward the end of the film (the flashback that explains the motivations for the lead character's actions) is both heartbreaking and horrifying. Princess Aurora is a commentary on Korean society (e.g., the position of women in Korean society, Korean society's view of children, etc.), not a simple story of revenge. Where Park's film is a overwhelming and spectacular, Pang's film is quiet and thoughtful--the type of film that will leave viewers capable of appreciating its subtle style thinking for some time. It is an underrated masterpiece.

It started out quite good, but then the movie suddenly went downhill...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 15 August 2023]

I have seen the 2005 South Korean movie "Orora Gongju" (aka "Princess Aurora") once before, though I have to admit that I have entirely forgotten about the movie's storyline. And thus, as I had the opportunity to watch it again here in 2023, of course I did so.

And having just sat through 106 minutes of this, I realize now that there was a reason for why I had forgotten about this movie, because it just wasn't a particularly good movie. The storyline in "Orora Gongju", as written by Pang Eun-Jin and Min-Hui Seo, started out quite good and the movie was rather enjoyable, right up to about halfway through, then the narrative went crashing downhill fast and the movie lost all momentum and became quite an insufferable drag to sit through.

The acting performances in "Orora Gongju" were good, despite the fact that the actors and actresses didn't have a fully wholesome script to work with.

Visually then "Orora Gongju" was not overly impressive. There were some watchable violence scenes to spruce up the ordeal, but that was about it.

Ultimately, then director Pang Eun-Jin didn't manage to bedazzle me with this 2005 movie. And having revisited it now, and gotten its narrative refreshed, I can honestly say that I am not returning to watch the movie again. Nor is it a movie that I will recommend for fans of the South Korean cinema to rush out and get to watch, if you haven't already seen it.

My rating of "Orora Gongju" lands on a very generous four out of ten stars.

Impressive film of blinding revenge driven by emotion

[thomvic · 8/10 · 8 October 2011]

So I was out one day at my local video store and I rented 10 Asian films as I'm quite a fan of Asian cinema. I got round to watching this and have to say I had quite a good time with this and was quite impressed.

The film does sort of play along with you and doesn't have any answers for the first hour or so. All you pretty much know is that you have your leading heroine (or anti heroine to some) Jung Sun (Jeong-hwa Eom) who looks perfectly innocent and cute, works as a car salesperson and starts going on a killing spree for reasons ambiguous to the audience to begin with. And she keeps playing a cassete tape that has a kid singing a song.

Obviously people kill for a reason - whether they have a tormented psychological issue, or are just plain psycho or may be killing thinking they are doing society good by killing people deemed a nuisance or unnecessary to live (think Taxi Driver style). So I knew there was something more to this character, and luckily the film delivers on that aspect and the reasons for each murder she does is explained at the end as you have no idea why she has targeted some of her victims.

Towards the end, it does sort of get a bit over the top but I didn't mind it and made me sympathise a lot more with the character. The policemen working on capturing her are stupid only because of the fact that the main cop also has a role to play in all that is happening.

I won't say what her motivations are for killing her victims - it makes it more surprising and involving when you find out for yourself. Perhaps you could say the end is slightly cliché but I think it was well deserved in terms of its outcome.

The performances are pretty good, especially from Jeong-hwa Eom who is able to pull the film on her shoulders and combines beauty with deadly vengeance all in one while also displaying human emotions in terms of her past. While the killings can get repetitive as you still don't really know where some of it is going, it pays off at the end, though some things were a bit hazy in terms of how she just happened to have luck in finding some of her victims after everything that happened.

What the film also sends in terms of its message is how we can sometimes overlook simple acts of kindness which can actually prevent major problems or accidents from happening. Our own selfish desires or self interest often results in harm to others which is apparent in any society whether it be Korean or in any other part of the world.

So yeah, I would recommend this film as it was pretty solid and I found myself enjoying it while also packing an emotional depth in its form.

Unfortunately Not Very Suspenseful

[chicagopoetry · 5/10 · 29 March 2010]

For all it has going for it--the potential for a good twist, a unique combination of being a vigilante film and being a detective on the scent of a serial killer film, a plot concerning a woman getting revenge upon some real sleazoids that could have reached I Spit On Your Grave or Stiletto proportions, some great cinematography with a dark atmosphere, and an eerie Sybil split personality ending--Princess Aurora nevertheless ends up missing the mark. It's flaw is that is is not very suspenseful. Perhaps something is lost in translation in the captioned version, but nevertheless, the acting is not very emotional, the murder scenes, although unique, don't come as any surprise, and the plot quickly becomes transparent and predictable. For all the good ideas it has, it still just goes through the motions with only one or two true startles.