H (2002)

Director:

Jong-hyuk Lee

Writer:

Jong-hyuk Lee (writer)

Release Date:

27 December 2002 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

An Intelligent Thriller

Plot:

A serial killer named Shin-Hyun gives himself up to police. He confesses to committing a series of particularly...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Police | Serial Killer | One Letter Title | Multiple Personality

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jung-ah Yum	...	Detective Kim Mi Yun
Jin-hee Ji	...	Detective Kang Tae Hyun
Ji-ru Sung	...	Detective Park
Seung-woo Cho	...	Shin Hyun
Woong-ki Min	...	Choi Young Jin
Yong-soo Park	...	Chief Jang
Hyuk Poong Kwon	...	Captain Lee
Eol Lee	...	Detective Han Jung-Woo
In-kwon Kim	...	Huh Young-Taek
Kil-soo Park	...	Bae Yong-Man
Sun-kyung Kim	...	Dr. Chu Kyung-sook
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bu-seon Kim
Roe-ha Kim
Seon-mi Yeon

Also Known As:

Murmurs (South Korea) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence and language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-18 | Japan:R-15 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | USA:R | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Busan, South Korea

Company:

KTB Entertainment Corporation

Trivia:

In Korea, "going to the beach" is synonymous with committing suicide.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the club scene where Young-taek kills the lesbian, he grips her head below her chin and starts cutting her ear. In the next shot, a close up, his grip on her face and the knife has suddenly changed and he hasn't started to cut her ear off yet.

A rich film describing a core male dilemma

The frame is a thriller with victims and chasers. Yet, the content is richer. The description of females vs. males is especially intriguing. The main female characters Detective Kim Mi Yun and Dr. Chu Kyung-sook are both more intelligent than their male counterparts and they both stay cool while the males are either easily aroused or do not understand. It is true that all the victims are females. Yet, the killings are connected with the reproductive capacity of the females that the males do not possess and can not control. A main motive is the pregnant women's ability to kill their (male) foetuses. The most influential male character, Shin Hyun, murderer now in a prison, has a non sexual foetus like aura. The killings are carried out as revenge on the women for this ability, obviously and totally in vain. Thus, the film describes a core dilemma true for all males. However, I am not aware of a comparable open description in European literature of film. Yet, I have seen it in Japanese films (e.g. Shindo's Onibaba). – A most interesting film.