SYNOPSICS
Sungnyangpali sonyeoui jaerim (2002) is a Korean movie. Sun-Woo Jang has directed this movie. Eun-kyeong Lim,Hyun-sung Kim,Jin-pyo Kim,Sing Jin are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2002. Sungnyangpali sonyeoui jaerim (2002) is considered one of the best Action,Comedy,Sci-Fi movie in India and around the world.
To Chinese restaurant delivery boy 'Ju', the only joy in life is spending time at the electronic game room. One day, 'Ju' who was engrossed in an electronic game as usual, is advised to log-on to a game called RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL. The match selling girl of Andersen's fairytale is revived through the game, and 'Ju' is drawn into the little girl's virtual reality. As reality and cyberspace interchange, 'Ju', like in the famous fairytale, is given the mission to save the little girl from danger and lead her to a peaceful death. However, the two are not only confronted by a gigantic force called the System, that attempts to stop them, but other obstacles that place their lives in danger...
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Sungnyangpali sonyeoui jaerim (2002) Reviews
Virtual matching
This is not a follow-up of Kaurismäki's MATCH GIRL - although director Jang Sun-woo is an ironic and sometimes cynical artist. His unpredictability led to the documentary-styled LIES in 1999, a sadomasochistic story that is unconventionally introduced by one actor's explanation about why he chose to participate in the movie. THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL took almost four years to be completed and has those moments, too, where we are reminded that we are 'only' watching a movie. Fantasy film fans usually don't like this breaking-up of the narrative. That might be the reason for a box-office failure of the film in Korea so far. It's budget is one of the highest in the history of Korean film (10 m USD) and justified by all the spectacular stunts and shoot-outs and digital references that seem to say laconically: What's all that fuzz about MATRIX? As we know from former movies of Jang Sun-woo (like A PETAL) he never forgets to comment on social topics. The story is about a guy who needs to log into a virtual game to get rich through fighting other players and saving the poor and starving MATCH GIRL (a figure known from Andersen's tales). Whether you feel computer games are ridiculous after the movie or you reflect about unjustified possession ratios in your society, the movie with its choice of different though on first sight unhappy endings might leave you puzzled - exactly the way it is done. "Techno-Taoist" was this approach to the SF-genre called, and surely those who expect martial arts and BULLETS IN THE HEAD-action will be as pleased as those who look for another playful and wise Jang Sun-woo flick. Be advised not to leave the movie during the end credits. It should be 124 minutes long ...
Ambitious, Flawed Yet Brilliant
The other reviews here make many good points. It is true that "Resurrection Of The Little Match Girl" is a very unorthodox film and it is certainly true that it does have its problems. But, quite simply, I was thrilled and excited watching it in a way I have been by few other movies. Most films do not take anywhere near as many risks, or have anywhere near as many ideas, as this movie. True, the film does seemingly try to work in every single genre simultaneously and wildly fluctuate between reality and fantasy, humour and sadness, beauty and violence. But I felt this was a definite strength. From the USA to Mainland Europe, from Britain to Asia, there are so many films that do not push boundaries, do not take risks and are far too scared to step outside themselves and I think this film should be applauded for daring to risk these flaws. For all of its faults, this was easily far and away the best film I saw in 2003.
Visually enticing, maddeningly vague and bound to be a cult classic
RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL (2002), an ambitious cyber-punk actioner from the director of 2000's LIES and 1996's A PETAL. It's one of the few Korean films I've seen that has polarized audiences as much as it has. An expensive failure upon its first release, the film has, with a couple of repeat viewings on DVD, started to grow on me, not that I didn't like it in the first place. The narrative has a socially disaffected gamer attempting to make the title game character fall in love with him before she dies while fending off an array of well-armed oddballs. Eventually though, she rebels against the system with a Great Big Gun. There's a tricky blur between real world and game world in this often maddeningly vague film, and I'm still not sure I've read all the director's messages correctly, or if he even makes them at all, but the visuals are so enticing, the action so deliberately overblown, and the philosophy so seemingly just out of reach, it's tough to stop watching (and watching again). I suspect that this film will develop a strong cult following in the years to come, with even many of those who absolutely hated it re-approaching it from different angles and perhaps finding new meaning in it. Despite it's Korean setting and cast, it's probably the least Korean-feeling Korean film I've yet seen, generally eschewing themes of identity and patriotism as well as the maudlin melodramatics so often found in Korean cinema. Somehow, I suspect that was all intentional. Unfortunately, the Korean DVD of this title had no English subs, so most people who've seen it subbed have had to spring for the bootleg. I give it an 8.
Dazzling Post-Modernist Existential Reflection
The Ressurection of the Little Match Girl is a hong-kong frenzy-paced post-modernist reflection on the human condition as a computer game in which the goal (if you decide that there is one) is to figure out which goal to pursue, through structural and explicit references builds on such films as Brazil, Matrix, Existenz & Tron. The film has humor, and gleefully manages to be cynical and sentimental, a labyrinth of stylizations and a crystal pure polyhedron of an internal structure all at the same time. This is the best film I have seen so far this year, and might well be the best for the whole year as well.
Hyperkinetic Tampopo for the modern times.
Just like Tampopo made fun of so many genres the Resurrection of The Little Match Girl is the modern incarnation. Video games, Matrix themes, wacky characters abound in a dimension hopping adventure that comes from everywhere. HK action and Wire Fu with Matrix graphics and Music Video FX make for a very busy film that goes all over the place and doesn't let up. I can see why it might have tanked in Korea because the story is really over the top and the characters aren't developed as much as the FX and Gun fighting craziness. I didn't know what to expect so I couldn't stop watching because it was unpredictable and all over the place. Being a fan of over the top violence and unusual narratives I came away thinking this was ambitious and gets and A+ for effort. Forgot the story but did get swept away by the goofy fun and visuals.