Micro Reviews

Thirst had a lot of promise but fell far short of it, and at an exhausting length. This movie is about 30 minutes too long. Park Chan-Wook tries to mix too many genres; the result is an incoherent mess that only works sometimes and misses as a whole. It begins with the promise of an artistic, intellectual vampire story but sadly devolves into a shock-for-the-sake-of-shock style horror story with farcical humor, that along with the mishmash of genres, just seems incongruous with the earlier tease of something smarter.

Revanche is a movie I was looking forward to seeing, and it didn't disappoint. It is the type of film that made me a lover of cinema in the first place; but sadly, films like this rarely get made anymore. Spielmann directs with great control and economy, drawing wonderfully understated performances from his actors. In the opening scene, something makes a splash in a pond, sending ripples across the still water. Revanche takes a lot from this opening shot, the quiet of the woods disrupted by a loud splash, the stillness of the water broken and the ripples that this creates. But there is also the reflecting nature of the water's surface, and the murkiness beneath. Yes, I'm deliberately being vague; and I (as usual) recommend skipping the trailer and opting for a pure cinematic experience.

Thirst

Score: 52%

Revanche

Score: 79%