This work, which integrates family ethics drama, thriller, and social reality criticism, is still extremely shocking even today. And 50 years ago, it was more like a bomb that caused an uproar. The film paid attention to many social issues at the time, and at the same time provided many fresh references for the Korean film industry in terms of film language.
At that time, the female child has always been an obvious social problem. Just like the news that the couple read at the beginning, the lace affair between the female child and the master is all too common. In South Korea at that time, wealthy families generally hired a maid to help themselves with housework, that is, the maid, also known as the food mother. Most of them were relatives from poor mountainous areas or fellow villagers from rural areas. Most of them could only get basic Food and lodging supplies, some can get a small amount of pay. At the same time, the lower girls have always been the sex dolls of the male masters, that is to say, as the owners of the middle class, they not only exploit the labor of the lower girls, but also arbitrarily occupy their bodies. The inferior women were one of the people with the lowest social status at that time. The hardships of life made them more eager for the life of the upper class, and it was this desire that gave birth to the inferior women with boundless desires.
When the director deals with these characters, his attitude is ambiguous. He does not deliberately praise or depreciate a character, but enriches the character of each character as much as possible, so that we can see their hateful side, Also feel their sad side. The girl played by Li Yinxin, although from the bottom of the society, is by no means a simple and well-behaved girl. From the first scene she appeared, this woman with a cigarette was proclaiming her wildness to everyone. The first time she came to the piano teacher's house to play the mouse-catching game, it was enough to show her scheming. In the end, driven by desire, she became more and more entangled with the family, and eventually fell into a bottomless abyss together. The root of all this, of course, comes from the desire for a better life, including the two female workers who show love, and every madness of several women at the bottom reveals the endless desire for the piano teacher and the high life behind him. Judging from the data, other than "The Girl", there is no other performance experience of Li Yinxin, or this woman is also a girl herself. The director took her fancy to this point and let her play the leading role. And she is also very good at showing that woman's insidious and pathetic.
This duality is also reflected in the pair of pianists. On the one hand, the male host is full of expectations for the young girl, but on the other hand, he does not dare to act in order to take into account his own reputation and status. And when he has a relationship with the next daughter, in order to maintain his stable life, he retreats step by step, which eventually leads to tragedy. What deserves more attention is the hostess. The hostess has always reflected the virtue and forbearance of traditional Korean women, including the traditional hanbok she has been wearing, which also contrasts with the fashionable skirts of the lower ladies. However, this woman is not as virtuous as she looks, but she is more scheming. When she learned that her husband had a relationship with the next daughter, the first thing she thought was that the two must not have children, because children will naturally lead to a lot of things such as Competing for family wealth. She immediately coerced and lured the woman to have an abortion. And under the threat of the next girl, the hostess began to compromise. On the one hand, she accepted many unreasonable demands of the next girl, and on the other hand, she started to work hard, hoping to use her own ability to bear the economic needs of the family, and finally get rid of the threat of the next girl. It's a pity that she has not achieved her goal, and the tragedy has happened.
The change in the relationship between men and women in the film is also one of the highlights. South Korea in the 1960s has always been regarded as an important transition period for South Korean society. The transition from traditional Confucian society to modern society, political and economic changes also made South Korea ideologically. A great change has taken place in the world. In the traditional Confucian society, men are in the dominant position, and integrity and honesty are their norms. At the same time, patriarchy is inviolable, and women are in a subordinate position. In the process of transition to modern society, the status of women has increased accordingly, while men have begun to fall into a period of loss and confusion. They are slowly losing their status, and naturally they can't find their way. For example, in this film, the male protagonist played by Jin Zhenkui has always been a passive role in the play. Almost none of his actions actively promote the development of the plot. It is all women who promote the plot, or women, or hostess, or The two female workers who showed love, and even the disabled daughter. In terms of character, the male protagonist is cowardly and hesitant. Although he is the backbone of the family's economy, he is definitely not the backbone of the family's spirit. After discovering that the next daughter is pregnant, he immediately chooses to turn to his wife for help. And then when the girl asked him to live with him, he could only obey his wife's suggestion. In addition, in terms of character settings, it is also obvious that women are strong and men are weak. Except for the male host and his son, you can't even find other female characters. All of the above settings are the director's suggestion to the Korean society at that time.
The director's genius lies in wrapping the story of family ethics in a horror coat. A large number of outdoor peeping shots, excellent sound effects and soundtracks all add to the film's strong horror atmosphere. Of course, more tension comes from the characters and their relationship changes. There is a very interesting prop in the film, that is the bottle of rat poison. This bottle of rat poison is placed in the kitchen like a time bomb, which always affects the nerves of the audience. In fact, the next girl is just like the bottle of rat poison. Since she came to this house, the audience has been nervous about her madness. Worried about when she will explode. I have to mention the stairs. The existence of the stairs divides the family into two spaces. Upstairs is the female and downstairs is the piano teacher's family. The stairs are both a barrier and a link, bringing the two classes together. . Apart from these hints, the stairs also play a very important role in enriching the language of the film. For the stairs, there have been many shots taken from above and from above. It also made this very small shooting space, resulting in more plot tension. At the end, the girl who fell on her back on the stairs was enough to shock every audience.
The final paragraph is most likely the director's accidental touch, and it also adds some surreal flavor to the film. The story goes back to the beginning, and the male protagonist talks to the camera about the filth of men. Sure enough, the rich middle-aged man can't resist the young girl. The use of distance also allows the film to ask each viewer directly. Undoubtedly, this work has added a huge spiritual power.
Later, Jin Qiyong also filmed "Fire Girl" and "Fire Girl 82" successively on this theme, with a bolder style, but unfortunately she has never been able to watch it.
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