Bah, trying to summarize a Ki-duk Kim film is like trying to describe the way a meal tastes delicious if you just ignore the fact that it looks like ass. Ok, Maybe not that harsh... At least not with Samaritan Girl. I should use that simile in my review for Bad Guy... What I'm really trying to say is that you cannot truly summarize this or any of his movies. So don't judge the movie by summary alone. It's best to just watch it, and see for yourself. Ki-duk Kim's movies are art. In his films, he shows Sides of humanity that most people refuse to see and accept. Well, I apologize for the long intro, here's the summary of the movie...

Basic and simple. Two young Teens (about 15, I'd say), Jae-yeong and Yeo-Jin, are very close friends who are trying to raise money to travel to Europe. Jae-yeong becomes an underage prostitute and Yeo-Jin sets up the appointments and manages the money. Yeo-Jin does not like Jae-yeong prostituting herself, but continues to help her friend. Soon, Jae-yeong gets caught by the police, and jumps out of the 3rd story motel to escape them. Yeo-Jin takes Jae-yeong to the hospital. To try to spoil as little as possible, Jae-yeong dies, and Yeo-Jin begins to prostitute herself to understand her friend better. Soon, her father finds out about Yeo-Jin's secret.... I know it sounds like I just spoiled the entire movie for you, I didn't. I actually told you less than what other summaries tell. Believe me, that little paragraph doesn't even begin to explain the movie.

Where do I begin on how much I loved this movie? After watching Bad Guy, I was very interested in Ki-duk Kim's style. I watched a few of his other movies, and realized I was in love. I read about Samaritan Girl and wasn't that interested in it. The summary didn't seem to interest me much. Luckily I decided to go ahead and watch it. I was so glad I didn't pass this movie up!

Samaritan Girl plays on the side of an observer. He never really takes a side, just shows you everything and lets you decide. You feel for the girls knowing their too young to truly understand the consequences of the things they do. You also feel for the father realizing how much he really loves his daughter. In Korea, and most eastern countries, family honor is really important. In their views, prostitution not only shames yourself, but shames your entire family. Ki-duk Kim shows the sufferings of not only the teen daughter, but also the father, in these painful steps in their lives.

The entire time I was watching this movie, I was shaking my fist saying "Damn you Ki-duk Kim!! Damn you!!" The movie messes with your emotions. I'd say this movie has the record of the amount of times I've cried in a movie. Of course, it just depends on what things will get to you, some people probably watch this movie without shedding one tear. I, on the other hand, bawled my eyes out like a little baby at the end. Samaritan Girl is a rather harsh movie. I watched part of this movie with my hand over my face, peeking through my fingers saying "Oh God Oh God Oh God Oh God Oh Shit!!" Of course, it could be because I got into the characters too much. But that's what makes a film good! Not only was this movie extremely beautiful with very believable characters, it also portrayed many sides of humanity. Innocence, innocence lost, love, sexuality, many things that I can't even describe. Like Ki-duk Kim's other movies, it's chalked full of symbolism.

I would like to talk more about the movie and to explain my thoughts on some parts, but I can't. Not without ruining the movie. Some people might find this movie slow, I, however, did not. I was glued to the screen the entire movie. Samaritan Girl was paced better than Bad Guy and The Isle. It started when it was supposed to start, and ended when it was supposed to end. That sounds odd, but the best way to explain it.

Samaritan Girl is full of stunning cinematography. Not nearly so much as some of his other movies because the setting of the movie is mainly placed in the city, but still it manages to be almost as beautiful.

The acting of Samaritan Girl is by far, superb. Yeo-reum Han (Jae-Yeong) melted my heart with her smile. Her character was so full of innocence and peace. Ji-min Kwak (Yeo-Jin) was simply stunning... The emotion she portrayed in this film was outstanding. She was so good at the confused, young, distressed teen. I was overtaken by Eol Lee (Yeong-ki) as Yeo-Jin's father. I loved him. I kept on thinking "Dude! TALK to your daughter." but I knew in the back of my head he couldn't. That kind of stuff is not easy to bring up.

*Daughter comes home from school*
Daughter: Hey Dad!
Dad: Hey! How was school?
Daughter: Good, I did well on my test today!
Dad: That's great! Hey, I caught you prostituting after school today, what have I told you about that??
Daughter: But Daaad..... All the other kids are doing it!
Dad: I don't care!! I told you not to do it again! You're Grounded!!
Daughter: *runs to room and cries* You're so mean! I hate my life!!

Yeah, if only it was that easy...

I said it before, I'll say it again, I LOVED this movie! I was really into all the characters. The father most of all, and the daughter too... so sad... poor girl.... Damn, that ending gets me every time *sniff*. I'd say if you haven't seen any Ki-duk Kim's movies, this would probably be the best one to see first. I have no complaint about this movie. Of course, it's not for everyone. You either like his movies, or you don't. Some people might watch this movie through fine, others might not last long. It all depends on yourself, and nothing I can say about this movie will prepare you. It either gets to you, or it doesn't. Hell, some people might not even find anything sad about this movie, and find it stupid and unrealistic. Whoever they are, needs to look inside themselves and find the part of their heart that died.

Acting:
I loved them all! They sucked me right into their characters.

Directing:
Ki-duk Kim, I love you!

Score:
Perfect for the movie. Was heard when it was meant to be heard. Ki-duk Kim likes to have lots of silence. He is amazing at having no sound at all, but still pulls you into his movies.

Action:
Besides the random slapping of the face, there's one scene... just the one scene... but that one scene was enough....

Gore:
After-the-fact Blood. Lots for a movie like this.

Boobage:
Surprisingly none for a movie like this, though there's a tasteful nude bath sequence with the two girls. You sick sick people that get off on that, shame on you! They're 15!!

Times it made Hawlee cry:
Damn you, Damn you all!! *runs to her room and cries*

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