Samaritan Girl DVD Review:

When films take a topic as difficult as teenage prostitution, there are a few directions it can natural go. Many films fall into exploitation as a way of escaping the depressing reality that many don’t want to see, but director Kim Ki-duk has no problem facing the issue head on in Samaritan Girl. Depending on your reason for viewing the film, this may be very upsetting or a pleasant surprise, but either way the film is sure to be shocking.

When two high school girls, Yeo-Jin and Jae-yeong, make plans to travel to Europe they must find a way to pay for it. Jae-yeong begins to prostitute herself for the both of them while Yeo-Jin watches her back and handles the business side. There is a subtle lesbian relationship hinted at in the way Yeo-Jin reacts to the men sleeping with her friend, and with the way that they bathe each other after each job, but this question is never answered completely. Jae-yeong dies after making a strange decision to escape being captured by the police, and Yeo-Jin is left to deal with the loss. Deciding that she must return money, Yeo-Jin begins to sleep with all of the same men and give them their money back as a way of redemption for her friend’s death. While this portion of the film is powerful it doesn’t really begin its intensity until Yeo-Jin’s father discovers what she has been doing. He is a police officer and he soon finds himself using his powers to punish each man that sleeps with his daughter.

Trying to figure out why either of the girls are doing what they are doing left me confused and frustrated, but as soon as the father became the character that the film focused on I found the film to increase in its message and power. The struggle and the pain of Yeong-ki, Yeo-Jin’s father, spirals down and ends up looking somewhat like what I imagine Death Wish would have looked like had it been a character film rather than exploitation.

The ending of the film is somewhat subtle considering the peak that has been reached by Yeong-ki’s actions, but I found it to be a perfect ending for a film about a subject which cannot be wrapped up neatly no matter how the issue is looked at. The film ends up being a painful viewing experience which rarely is achieved, but serves a specific a purpose (the last great film to do this was The Woodsman).

The DVD has a fantastic cover photo, although it may be somewhat misleading to anyone who is uncertain of the film’s content. The fact that it has the subtitle “A Dark Tale of Revenge” may also lead consumers to misinterpret the film further. Although there is revenge in the film, it seems as though the point is more focused on redemption.

The film is shown in Anamorphic Widescreen and is a good transfer for the most part. Although some scenes are somewhat grainy it never deflects from the film. The Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound or DTS Surround Sound 5.1 with subtitles available in English and Spanish. There are only a few special features and they are not very good. There is a photo gallery and a group of trailers for other releases. It is also important to mention that the chapter listing within the DVD is difficult to navigate; having no photos or videos to help distinguish where in the film it is marking. It will take some trial and error to find your way to a certain section of the film.

Overall Samaritan Girl is a very powerful film that I would not recommend to anyone who isn’t willing to put a great deal of thought into the film after viewing it. There are many things about the film which are subtle, although remarkably well done.



Ryan Izay