Princess Aurora Director: Bang Eun-jin Screenplay: Bang Eun-jin, Kim Chang-re (from Seo Min-heui) Cast: Eom Jeong-hwa, Mun Seong-geun, Gweon Oh-jung, Choi Jong-weon, Hyeon Yeong, Kim Yong-geon, Kim Ik-tae, Park Hyo-jun, Jang Hyeon-seong Producers: Myeong Gye-nam Distributor: CJ Entertainment Korea 2005 | 106 min | 35mm Korean language, English subtitles
A serial killer commits horrible murders and tags her victims with stickers of a popular cartoon character called Princess Aurora. Detective Oh and his younger partner, Detective Jung are on the case. However, rapidly, Detective Oh, studying at night to become a Christian pastor, notices that the case may be closer to his past than he initially expected. What are the links that tie this man whose quest is to offer redemption to the brutal murderer? Princess Aurora premiered at the Fantasia Festival on July 7, 2006.
At first, the pace is quick with loud music and visual effects created to off balance viewers. By the time a regular image comes, we all know who will be the first victim. Although, just to make sure who is a victim, the director puts the dreaded music in there. The only thing we don’t know for sure is how they will, although there are enough hints, usually. The real mystery is piecing together the link that tie all the victims together. There really is no way to find out, except by waiting until the end, which drags on pass the climax for a long time.
Although moving rapidly at first, once the killing starts, the movie slows down. My real question is what took so long for Detective Oh to call a warrant against the murderer. In a sense, it’s like all those horror movies where the victims are just dumb. I wish there had also been more information as to the past relationship of the assassin and the detective. The movie went through a series of dramatic an overacted madness toward the climax making it seems like an American blockbuster, instead of a quiet Korean thriller.
The visuals were very polished. Perhaps too much. There’s a lot of art for art sake and grainy film filters to make everything look green and cold. One thing the director should have taken advantage of is the imagery of the Princess Aurora cartoon character. Sadly, although the movie bears her name, she was limited to little stickers. This is one of the flaws of the cinematography. Instead of concentrating on what the theme of the film was, it went in all directions, trying to create a sophisticated look for itself. There was no need for that.
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