Pieta

Bad people are bad, but they are people all the same. Do they deserve pity? Compassion? Sympathy? Empathy?

This movie, winner of the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice Film Festival, makes the viewer wonder about these questions. The self-investigation, in my case, was stirred by the continuous alternance of sweet and disturbing moments. The delicacy and intimacy of some feelings is crushed by the "disgustingness" that surrounds them, which, however, makes them seem all the more strong.

Very shortly, Pieta is the story of Lee Gand-Do, who is a "debt collector" for a usurer. His means are at the least diabolic, even though he does not seem to take any joy out of his job. One day, a person will enter into his life and will change everything, putting it all into perspective: he will have someone to care for and, as it turns out, someone to care for him. 

The elements that i mostly appreciated are:

• The theme. I have always been fascinated by the theme of feeling compassion for the evil. I, for once, cannot help it most of the time. In this picture, this subject is treated with intelligence. What matters is feeling the pietas or not feeling it; no particular reasons are necessary: either you feel sorry for and somehow attached to your torturer, or you don't. 

• The rendition of violence. This is no Quentin Tarantino movie, in which violence is shown so frequently and explicitly that it becomes a joke. Nothing is really shown in Pieta, but left to imagination and so becoming more terrible.

• The details. The trail of blood at the end; the hand coming too late after the choice; the slaps and the tears. These are only a few tiny peculiarities that make the difference in this movie; that make the audience feel part of the story or that make some feelings and images long-lasting; that capture a moment and deliver a message more than any word. 

• The settings. Seeing what goes on on the other side of the world is always interesting. In this movie, we get to see a piece of what happens when progress advances and the weak get crushed.

If I have to mention the one thing that I did not like are a few scenes or moments that are shocking only for the sake of it. Most shocking thing that happen in this movie have a purpose to me: they create atmosphere, they bring up the good feelings, they generate a strong memory, they deliver the desperation. However, I found that a few pieces did not do any of these and were, therefore, quite pointless to me. 

Director: Ki-duk Kim

Writer: Ki-duk Kim
Stars: Min-soo Jo, Eunjin Kang and Jae-rok Kim