ACF 706: Final screening of BESTSELLER at BAM as part of NYKFF 2010

Bestseller
Written and directed by Lee Jeong-ho
With Uhm Jung-hwa, Ryoo Seung-yong, Lee Do-Yeong
South Korea, 2010, 117 min.
NYKFF screenings mark film's New York Premiere
Final Screening: BAM Rose Cinema
Friday, October 1, 2010 @ 9:15 PM

Already shown twice at MoMA, this Friday's screening at BAM marks the third and final showing of the terrific mystery/thriller/horror tour de force at the New York Korean Film Festival 2010. For full info about the festival's complete lineup and schdule, click here.

Summary:
After suffering a breakdown, a successful writer rents a house in the countryside for herself and her young daughter. The daughter soon befriends a talkative "presence" in the house, and regales her mother with this new friend's stories. But when the mother starts writing the stories down, bad things begin to happen.

ACF mini-review:
Although it's not my favorite genre, I really enjoyed this film. The female writer has to deal with charges of plagiarism. In the course of trying to write a new book in a large villa near a rural town, she starts losing her mind while getting visions of a horrible incident that took place there years ago. The use of rapid fire editing at certain times really ups the anxiety ante. It's a gripping thriller with fantastic plot twists, and the entire cast is top rate. (Most fortunately there are no young girls with long straight black hair falling down in front of their faces, a cliche that has long ago lost its appeal.)

ACF Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars, highly recommended.