Soul (2013) User Reviews

Oddball psychological drama with supernatural undertones

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 20 June 2014]

A chef collapses suddenly and goes into a comatose state. He is returned to his father who lives up a mountain. Murders immediately follow.

Soul is quite a strange movie. It's typified by a brooding atmosphere that never lets up. It's downbeat more than thrilling and that may be a challenge for some viewers. It's certainly a film that operates in a minor key and you need to be able to get into its unusual rhythms in order to be able to take anything away from it. Whatever the case, it's certainly very beautifully shot, with some great shots of the mountainous, woodland area in particular. The ambient humming soundtrack compliments the images and gave off a sort of Twin Peaks-ominous-mountain-forest vibe. It's certainly distinctive. The story-line on the other hand is slow paced, a little too slow-paced at times in all honesty. And I don't think I necessarily completely got it if I am truthful, there may have been a cultural gap here I suspect. It seemed to tap into Taiwanese ideas about the spirit world which I didn't really understand. But that's hardly the film's fault. On the other hand, the slightly surreal setting was pleasingly weird, with characters using a small monorail to ascend and descend the mountain. On the whole, an interesting, downbeat psychological drama. Not for all tastes but interesting as an example of Taiwanese cinema.

A brooding nightmare.

[shaolinjim-603-669227 · 7/10 · 17 April 2014]

I'm only reviewing this here as there are no other reviews and I'd hate a fantasy/horror lover to miss this. So please don't expect a well written review.

No spoilers.

Our protagonist works as a chief in the city. He collapses mysteriously at work and ends up stuck in some kind of waking coma. Baffled doctors leave him to his friends/family who take him to his father in the middle of god-only-knows-where. And then the journey begins.. With a genuine 'wait, did that just happen?' moment.

It's a dreamy, brooding film, with a tiny cast, shot around a massively isolated and elevated farm in the middle of a wet, steamy jungle. I don't remember much about the score but the ambient jungle noises work perfectly with the mysterious, menacing and unpredictable setting. It seems like the perfect place to film such a story.

Dialogue is at times minimal, which is going to irritate some, with a few 'just please have a conversation about what just happened' moments. And this would usually annoy me, BUT it somehow works. It slowly makes sense as you begin to understand what might be going on in the heads of the two main characters - who are coming to terms with both what's going on and the world around them. And when a third party turns up with a lot to say it's both jarring and a joy to watch.

The actions of one of the leads is also, initially, a little hard to fathom. But considering his age, the setting and a few plot developments you should eventually swallow it. This is a completely different world we're dealing with here, and these characters have issues to say the least.

The violence is handled well and carries the same sense of bizarre wonder the rest of the film drags along with it. One of the final scenes is genuinely tense and compelling.

It forces you to fill in a lot of gaps as it very slowly unravels, so patience and imagination is required. It does thankfully wrap up well I thought.

If, like me, you're on a world-wide quest to find all as many random, thought-provoking films as you can - and you're not overly critical about low budget experimentation - I recommend this. It's a dark, sometimes sleepy film that I'm glad I watched alone. It's not one for a room full of chatty people and a bottle of wine. Unless you're all wired up identically. Enjoy!

Interesting, but tries too hard

[evening1 · 6/10 · 28 September 2020]

I have rarely observed such unrelenting beauty in the backdrop of a film. Upcountry Taiwan is gorgeous! Indeed, this dazzling film has much going for it. However, more simplicity, and tighter editing, would have enhanced it greatly.

Here we have the story of A-chuan (Hsiao-chuan Chang), a withdrawn young man who has never recovered from witnessing his father, Wang (Jimmy Wang Yu), end the life of his terminally ill mother. One day, A-chuan has a paranoid break from reality, and he fatally stabs the older sister who had helped to raise him. That's when "Baba" steps in for the first of several brazen rescues. He'll stop at nothing to protect his prized, only son.

The performances here are all strong, and the storyline involving. However, the movie falters when it veers into supernatural terrain. This is a story about psychosis, and that's enough to captivate. We don't need all the bells and whistles!

I caught this film on the TV station of the City University of New York. It was followed by a taped discussion between CUNY film Professor Jerry Carlson and director Mong-hong Chung, who revealed that idiosyncratic filmmaker David Lynch has been a key influence. No surprise (the unnecessarily loftily titled) "Soul" definitely recalls "Twin Peaks" (1990). Its score also brings queasy reminders of such horror classics as "Halloween" (1978) and "Suspiria" (1977). In addition, this movie pays homage to "The Vanishing" (1988) in its preoccupation with insects. In the interview, Chung also notes the influence on him of Roman Polanski, whose "Repulsion" (1965) resonates noticeably here.

I am grateful to have spent a magical year of my youth in Taiwan after studying Mandarin at Penn State. How wonderful to reacquaint myself here with such local comfort foods as rice gruel ("porridge"), and braised pork with soy sauce. I also greatly enjoyed hearing Mandarin spoken, and have resolved to resume my dormant studies of the language!

Director Chung succeeds in creating a sense of claustrophobia in "Soul." However, sections of the film, although atmospheric, only add filler and confusion. Old Wang's dream, and A-chuan's interlude with the Messenger, might easily have remained on the cutting-room floor. On the other hand, every moment spent with Constable Yang (Pong Fong Wu) was a delight, and it's a shame to spend so little time with this blustery cop. (How sad to read on Wikipedia of Mr. Wu's premature death, only months ago.)

One of the biggest mysteries in this production is the monorail-like conveyance that ferries our crew through the rain forest. C'mon, who builds such a thing in the backwoods? It's a red herring, that, while intriguing, distracts from other important questions to consider in the narrative.

One thing I remember about Lynch's "Blue Velvet" is its disturbing premise that the ordinary cloaks perversion. That message also reverberates in "Soul." Who would ever suspect the faded Wang of anything? The ultimate survivor, he has a single M.O.: "Survive at any cost." I suppose there's a lesson in that for us all.

Complete Waste of Time.

[ThunderQunt · 2/10 · 16 August 2021]

Allow me to start by saying that I have never ever rated any movie less than a 4. But I did for this one. Check my rating history, this is the lowest I have ever given. I always have faith in a movie. But I cannot with this one.

I have never ever quit watching a movie because of how ridiculous it is. But I did for this one.

The first few minutes of the film, I even thought to myself "this looks confident and well-thought out". Ominous and foreboding. Has a sense of unease. Alas, all of that was true, but for negatively embarrassing reasons.

The movie just falls into a disgracing combobulation of terrible acting, terrible speechwriting, terrible delivery, and summarily, terrible directing.

Acting was damagingly unbelievable. Speech writing and delivery was cold, sometimes comedically bad. The movie has no sense of direction to carry it forward along the slow and dragging minutes. I have no interest at all to want to continue watching; it was instead replaced with the burning interest to write a damning review for this as a warning for others to stay away. But then again, I might suggest you to watch it just for the sake of argument. I've read the other reviews as well as the award nominations and winning descriptions. However, I could not agree with any of them. The only thing I will give a basic pass for is for the few minutes in the opening. The music was appropriate and the scene was foreboding and has a sense of unease.

Stay away unless you like garbage. But then again, a trash for me might be a gem for you. Take this review as it is: my personal opinion. Goodbye and take care.

Another psychological horror you don't want to miss

[Ramuna · 8/10 · 3 February 2015]

I must say I'm glad I pick out this film to watch for once in a while you find gem among dirt, and I must admit I am very astound of the eerie ambiance created, the mesmerizing and surreal setting, the slow yet never boring pace. It's a journey into the dark side of a human being and whether or not supernatural was involved, it left completely to an open interpretation just as the whimsical motive each characters carry with.

I won't be long with my review since other reviews on this page have basically said it all. I just want to say that a true psychological horror fans would definitely appreciate this and to miss it would be a sin.

The Shining and The Exorcist With a twist

[Genkinchan · 8/10 · 11 April 2022]

This is actually the first Chung Mong Hong movie that I watched back when it actually releases due to Jimmy Wang Yue was in the movie... he make a comeback to the silver screen after his retirement...

This is the third time I watched it ... I still enjoyed every part of it.. this movie is categorise under horror genre Si please don't treat it as a drama/ thriller

The movie is about Ah Chuan who is possessed by a ghost came back home to his dad because of illness soon things started to goes wrong with him brutally killing his sister.. his dad came to knew about it tries to help and cover for his son.. cleaning up all the evidence.. and eventually lock him up in a shed house up the mountain... his brother in law came looking for them too.. trying to protect his only son.. the dad killed his son in law... initially we knew that because of fatherly love make what the dad does... but the interaction between Ah Chuan and his dad.. the remorse, the guilt, the secret... the compensation.. and the stubbornness of Chuan dad and finally taking the rap for his son and end up in the sanitarium..

Seeing the action the small kid soul who possessed Chuan left him.. the movie action scenes the blood scene was so realistic not CGI... the acting was top notch... the tension... the drama...