Blood Rain

Rain does not always wash away the dirt. Sometimes it’s the other way round... A South Korean loose variation on The Name of the Rose (the film, not the marvelous book). The action takes place in the 19th century in an isolated place with a very closed community where certain rules reign. Here we have an unusually intelligent and thoughtful investigator; the division of the plot into individual consecutive days; the dense atmosphere of something dark; and, last but not least, violent murders of all different types. Technically, there is nothing to reproach; the setting, the music, and camera work are magnificent, as are the actors. Despite all the indisputable positives, I see a small minus in the fact that this time it is actually "purely a Western film" and, apart from one scene toward the end, it lacks the famous Asian otherness. I admit that it's not really a negative, but there's actually not much to reproach here - even with the characters, in my opinion, it is possible to orient yourself from the beginning without any problems. (11/09/2006)