Dark and beautiful. I loved it

Rating: 10/10 (18 June 2007)

First and foremost, I loved this movie. It had me glued to the screen and when it was over I felt satisfied and passionate, so much so that I decided to write this review. What I love about this movie is its darkness and how certain scenes, like when he is turning the pages of the photo album, just make your stomach drop.
Second, I really cannot believe the amount of people that dismiss this movie because of its violence. It just doesn't make sense to me. The only violent parts in the movie are the teeth pulling, the corridor fight, and the tongue cutting. I have seen much more violence in other films that have not been bashed this badly. And as for the octopus, I can understand how that would bring up some issues in the US and other countries but I think it would probably be considered even humorous in some Asian countries. I once saw a man bite the head of a snake off on the discovery channel but I didn't hear anything about that the next day. I actually liked the octopus scene, although it wasn't vital to the storyline, it was just very interesting to watch. I'm sure someone will, or has, come up with some type of symbolism for this scene, whether realistic or far-fetched.
I think what turns people off from this movie is the theme of incest or they simply didn't understand, and claim that the message of the film is to "keep your mouth shut." In my opinion this film was about blind love. Woo-jin Lee fell in love with his sister, society immediately disagrees and his sister is led into suicide. He then devises a master plan (very unrealistic but entertaining) to teach Oh Dae-su his feeling for his sister by tricking him into falling romantically in love with his own daughter. We see how Dae-su actually empathizes with Woo-jin Lee (even though attempting to kill him on more than one occasion) by wanting to be brainwashed at the end so he can continue his love with his daughter. By doing so he is showing that he actually wants to be in love knowing that she is his daughter, however, without having the pressures of society weighing over him. He fell in love with her, just as Woo-jin Lee fell in love with his sister. The only difference is that Woo-jin Lee knew it was his sister and Dae-su did not know it was his daughter. The reason why the relationship between Dae-su and his daughter actually works out in the end is because Mi-do is unaware and Dae-su is brainwashed, so society cannot judge them as the catholic school children judged Woo-jin Lee. This film could take another theme with the same message dealing with different social classes, races, or other things that society looks down on in relationships, but it would definitely not have the same impact as a taboo subject such as incest.
This is simply my take on the movie, everyone takes something different out of art, don't let anyone else define what you perceive.
P.S. - I do not agree with incest, it's a movie, the message is its beauty.