"White Night", aka the Korean "Byakuyako"
Mar. 27th, 2010 12:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
uiscerosSo I finally got around to watching this. I honestly didn't know it existed until ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
princess_dexter told me about it.
White Night is based off of the Japanese novel Byakuyako (there's also a drama version, which is one of my favorite dramas of all time). It tells the story of Mi Ho and Yo Han, two people who had a fateful and tragic encounter when they were children, and who are now living with the consequences.
So first off, I liked the drama better. It's not because the movie is bad, in fact I quite enjoyed it, but rather because the movie didn't show as much character depth as it should have. Also, they tamed down the violence, and the general total and utter fucked-up-ness of the story a lot for the movie.
This was the last scene, a bit random, but nice. It showed Mi Ho and Yo Han when they were still in school, meeting but not talking, or getting too close. However it showed them happy. I like it when they're happy, since 99% of the time they're not.
One of my favorite parts of the drama Byakuyako is the necrophilia thing. They didn't include it in the movie to my total disappointment. It's weird to call it one of my favorite things because it's necrophilia, but it's honestly one of the defining moments of Ryo's life, and his descent into darkness. Without that moment in the movie, his character seemed really aimless. I did like how they left the part in about how Yo Han (Ryo) can't, uh, get off. I laughed when they mentioned it!
Another part of the movie I wasn't satisfied with was how Mi Ho (Yukiho) was portrayed. I think they made her a tad too sympathetic. They toned down her evil a lot. One of the best parts of Byakuyako to me was that Yukiho and Ryo were these utterly horrible horrible people, and yet you sympathized with them. It screwed with your mind like crazy. I didn't get that with White Night.
My last major disappointment was the lack of interaction between Mi Ho and Yo Han. These are two people who would do everything for each other. They need each, can't live without the other. And yet it didn't really seem like it. They barely interacted which for the most part was okay, since they were supposed to be separate, however the movie also didn't establish much of their relationship in the past. So if you didn't know the story ahead of time, you would wonder why Yo Han was so devoted to Mi Ho.
As with almost all kmovies, I found the story to be confusing. I did like the non-linear storytelling, but if I hadn't of know the plot ahead of time, I would not have been able to follow it at all. It jumped back and forth between time periods, without giving any indication. Random characters were introduced without explanation, and brought back for random cameos later in the film that confused me.
In general though, it was a good movie. I thought Go Soo and Son Ye Jin did very good jobs. But I do think that ultimately, Byakuyako did it better (especially with the acting, Ayase Haruka and Taki were PHENOMENAL in that drama).
This is Mi Ho. She is gorgeous, accomplished, smart, cultured, and set to marry a rich business man. However she is hiding a very dark secret (that when they were children, Yo Han killed his father who was sexually abusing her, and she killed her mother who was selling her to Yo Han's father, and framed her for the murder. They also killed a few more people, and did other stuff, but that's more on the side...)
Yo Han is a criminal, living life day to day, doing everything for Mi Ho. Unlike in Byakuyako, Mi Ho has a job, and a pretty nice apartment.
This is Shi Yeong, a private investigator working for Mi Ho's rich fiance, who is spying/doing a background check on Mi Ho. From the first moment I saw her, I was like "oh girl, you're going to get so killed"... I was right. This character was not in the drama.
Child!Yo Han and the detective who is obsessed with solving Yo Han's murder case. The detective in the movie has a more tragic storyline than the detective in the drama. I think Han Suk Kyu did an amazing job as the detective. He wasn't as creepy as Takeda Tetsuya in the role though. Not sure if that's good or bad...
I don't remember his name in the movie, but this is Koide Keisuke's character in the drama. He's very briefly shown in the beginning, and shows up at the end (wearing the Santa costume! That surprised me). Incidentally I missed his character a lot in the movie.
Child!Mi Ho (or rather, Ji Ah. When she was adopted her name got changed to "Mi Ho" in a creepy way... her adoptive mother had just lost her daughter, and started calling Ji Ah by her daughter's name, which was Mi Ho). The girl who played Mi Ho as a child was far less creepy than the girl who played young Yukiho in the drama. Again, not sure if that's good or bad. The creepiness did add to the character though.
So you know how I mentioned how the detective had a tragic backstory? Well, in trying to investigate Yo Han's father's murder, he had his son climb in the passageway that the killer used to escape the room (it's complicated to explain). Well, his son lost his grip, and fell down the passageway, dying. It was really sad, since the boy was wearing a Santa hat, and for some reason that makes me weepy...
This is another character they didn't really explain well. The movie starts with Yo Han killing a man, who we later find out is the man who was having an affair with his mother around the time his dad died. This man was no good, and was blackmailing him. Anyway, this is the detective who was investigating the death of that man. He contacts the OTHER detective, and things happen. Eventually Yo Han kills him too.
I love this shot because it's so fake looking. This is the boat where Yo Han killed his dad. His mom turned it into a bar, or something.
Yo Han has a bad habit of burying his victims (sunglasses-wearing detective, and private invesigator lady) beneath the flowers at Mi Ho's adoptive mother's house. Of course the flowers eventually die, and Mi Ho's mother digs them up. Unlike in the movie, this did not end up with Mi Ho killing her adoptive mother.
Poor Yo Han has nightmares about killing people... Of course he is shirtless and sweaty when he wakes up.
Mi Ho and her rich fiance.
This movie had a lot of really long sex scenes. Yo Han (and some random girl)'s was the most, uh, intense, happening when Mi Ho was in a car accident, which Mi Ho and Yo Han orchestrated (don't ask, I'm not sure).
BEEPER! I LOLed at that.
Naked ruminating. Brooding is always better when done naked.
Mi Ho is an art teacher at a school. She teaches her fiance's daughter. Said daughter embarrasses her, by spreading the fact that her mother killed someone around the school. This messes with her life, and makes her upset. (Incidentally, because of this she sets up her future step-daughter to be fake-raped by Yo Han... One of the many reasons Mi Ho is a horrible person)
Yo Han doesn't want to rape the girl, and meets Mi Ho on the streets, in the rain. They talk on cell phones, and Mi Ho convinces Yo Han to do it for her. I loved this scene. It was gorgeous.
After he attacks the girl (not really raping her, but doing enough so that she passes out thinking she got raped), Mi Ho and him share a small moment. She grasps his hand, and he pulls away, angry at what they did.
In this scene Mi Ho goes to Yo Han's apartment, to talk to him, knowing he is bothered by what they've done. They're separated by the door, and it's meaningful and pretty. Always separate.
Eventually Yo Han is caught (long story), and he stabs himself to provide a better future for Mi Ho. He falls from the top of a building, through the glass, and into the opening party for Mi Ho's store. Mi Ho moves to go to him, but remembers what she must do (stay away), and when asked by the detective if she knows him, she says no (this angers the detective, who says that despite everything Yo Han has done for her, she denies knowing him).
Despite this, Yo Han watches Mi Ho leave (seeing her younger self standing with her, looking back), and smiles, knowing she can live her life. I didn't like this part that much. In the drama it was obvious that Ryo wanted Yukiho to go on, and live. It wasn't that obvious in the movie (which made it seem like Mi Ho didn't love him). I liked the ending of the drama a lot, because it showed just how lost Yukiho was without Ryo. You don't see that here.
So yeah, IMO Byakuyako was better (though my version of better means it was more fucked up, more violent, and more insane...), but White Night was also a good interpretation.
princess_dexter told me about it. White Night is based off of the Japanese novel Byakuyako (there's also a drama version, which is one of my favorite dramas of all time). It tells the story of Mi Ho and Yo Han, two people who had a fateful and tragic encounter when they were children, and who are now living with the consequences.
So first off, I liked the drama better. It's not because the movie is bad, in fact I quite enjoyed it, but rather because the movie didn't show as much character depth as it should have. Also, they tamed down the violence, and the general total and utter fucked-up-ness of the story a lot for the movie.
This was the last scene, a bit random, but nice. It showed Mi Ho and Yo Han when they were still in school, meeting but not talking, or getting too close. However it showed them happy. I like it when they're happy, since 99% of the time they're not.
One of my favorite parts of the drama Byakuyako is the necrophilia thing. They didn't include it in the movie to my total disappointment. It's weird to call it one of my favorite things because it's necrophilia, but it's honestly one of the defining moments of Ryo's life, and his descent into darkness. Without that moment in the movie, his character seemed really aimless. I did like how they left the part in about how Yo Han (Ryo) can't, uh, get off. I laughed when they mentioned it!
Another part of the movie I wasn't satisfied with was how Mi Ho (Yukiho) was portrayed. I think they made her a tad too sympathetic. They toned down her evil a lot. One of the best parts of Byakuyako to me was that Yukiho and Ryo were these utterly horrible horrible people, and yet you sympathized with them. It screwed with your mind like crazy. I didn't get that with White Night.
My last major disappointment was the lack of interaction between Mi Ho and Yo Han. These are two people who would do everything for each other. They need each, can't live without the other. And yet it didn't really seem like it. They barely interacted which for the most part was okay, since they were supposed to be separate, however the movie also didn't establish much of their relationship in the past. So if you didn't know the story ahead of time, you would wonder why Yo Han was so devoted to Mi Ho.
As with almost all kmovies, I found the story to be confusing. I did like the non-linear storytelling, but if I hadn't of know the plot ahead of time, I would not have been able to follow it at all. It jumped back and forth between time periods, without giving any indication. Random characters were introduced without explanation, and brought back for random cameos later in the film that confused me.
In general though, it was a good movie. I thought Go Soo and Son Ye Jin did very good jobs. But I do think that ultimately, Byakuyako did it better (especially with the acting, Ayase Haruka and Taki were PHENOMENAL in that drama).
This is Mi Ho. She is gorgeous, accomplished, smart, cultured, and set to marry a rich business man. However she is hiding a very dark secret (that when they were children, Yo Han killed his father who was sexually abusing her, and she killed her mother who was selling her to Yo Han's father, and framed her for the murder. They also killed a few more people, and did other stuff, but that's more on the side...)
Yo Han is a criminal, living life day to day, doing everything for Mi Ho. Unlike in Byakuyako, Mi Ho has a job, and a pretty nice apartment.
This is Shi Yeong, a private investigator working for Mi Ho's rich fiance, who is spying/doing a background check on Mi Ho. From the first moment I saw her, I was like "oh girl, you're going to get so killed"... I was right. This character was not in the drama.
Child!Yo Han and the detective who is obsessed with solving Yo Han's murder case. The detective in the movie has a more tragic storyline than the detective in the drama. I think Han Suk Kyu did an amazing job as the detective. He wasn't as creepy as Takeda Tetsuya in the role though. Not sure if that's good or bad...
I don't remember his name in the movie, but this is Koide Keisuke's character in the drama. He's very briefly shown in the beginning, and shows up at the end (wearing the Santa costume! That surprised me). Incidentally I missed his character a lot in the movie.
Child!Mi Ho (or rather, Ji Ah. When she was adopted her name got changed to "Mi Ho" in a creepy way... her adoptive mother had just lost her daughter, and started calling Ji Ah by her daughter's name, which was Mi Ho). The girl who played Mi Ho as a child was far less creepy than the girl who played young Yukiho in the drama. Again, not sure if that's good or bad. The creepiness did add to the character though.
So you know how I mentioned how the detective had a tragic backstory? Well, in trying to investigate Yo Han's father's murder, he had his son climb in the passageway that the killer used to escape the room (it's complicated to explain). Well, his son lost his grip, and fell down the passageway, dying. It was really sad, since the boy was wearing a Santa hat, and for some reason that makes me weepy...
This is another character they didn't really explain well. The movie starts with Yo Han killing a man, who we later find out is the man who was having an affair with his mother around the time his dad died. This man was no good, and was blackmailing him. Anyway, this is the detective who was investigating the death of that man. He contacts the OTHER detective, and things happen. Eventually Yo Han kills him too.
I love this shot because it's so fake looking. This is the boat where Yo Han killed his dad. His mom turned it into a bar, or something.
Yo Han has a bad habit of burying his victims (sunglasses-wearing detective, and private invesigator lady) beneath the flowers at Mi Ho's adoptive mother's house. Of course the flowers eventually die, and Mi Ho's mother digs them up. Unlike in the movie, this did not end up with Mi Ho killing her adoptive mother.
Poor Yo Han has nightmares about killing people... Of course he is shirtless and sweaty when he wakes up.
Mi Ho and her rich fiance.
This movie had a lot of really long sex scenes. Yo Han (and some random girl)'s was the most, uh, intense, happening when Mi Ho was in a car accident, which Mi Ho and Yo Han orchestrated (don't ask, I'm not sure).
BEEPER! I LOLed at that.
Naked ruminating. Brooding is always better when done naked.
Mi Ho is an art teacher at a school. She teaches her fiance's daughter. Said daughter embarrasses her, by spreading the fact that her mother killed someone around the school. This messes with her life, and makes her upset. (Incidentally, because of this she sets up her future step-daughter to be fake-raped by Yo Han... One of the many reasons Mi Ho is a horrible person)
Yo Han doesn't want to rape the girl, and meets Mi Ho on the streets, in the rain. They talk on cell phones, and Mi Ho convinces Yo Han to do it for her. I loved this scene. It was gorgeous.
After he attacks the girl (not really raping her, but doing enough so that she passes out thinking she got raped), Mi Ho and him share a small moment. She grasps his hand, and he pulls away, angry at what they did.
In this scene Mi Ho goes to Yo Han's apartment, to talk to him, knowing he is bothered by what they've done. They're separated by the door, and it's meaningful and pretty. Always separate.
Eventually Yo Han is caught (long story), and he stabs himself to provide a better future for Mi Ho. He falls from the top of a building, through the glass, and into the opening party for Mi Ho's store. Mi Ho moves to go to him, but remembers what she must do (stay away), and when asked by the detective if she knows him, she says no (this angers the detective, who says that despite everything Yo Han has done for her, she denies knowing him).
Despite this, Yo Han watches Mi Ho leave (seeing her younger self standing with her, looking back), and smiles, knowing she can live her life. I didn't like this part that much. In the drama it was obvious that Ryo wanted Yukiho to go on, and live. It wasn't that obvious in the movie (which made it seem like Mi Ho didn't love him). I liked the ending of the drama a lot, because it showed just how lost Yukiho was without Ryo. You don't see that here.
So yeah, IMO Byakuyako was better (though my version of better means it was more fucked up, more violent, and more insane...), but White Night was also a good interpretation.
