Today on the KPBS Film Club of the Air Scott Marks and I talked about Park Chan Wook's South Korean vampire tale, "Thirst" (engagement ends August 27 at Landmark's Ken Cinema. NOTE: "Thirst" has been held over at the Ken!). Maybe our discussion will inspire you to catch this film before it leaves town.
Using the unlikely source material of Emile Zola's 19th century novel "Thérèse Raquin," Park spins an unconventional bloodsucking tale about a priest who becomes a vampire and then enters into an affair with an unhappily married young woman. As with his Revenge Trilogy ("Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," "Oldboy," "Lady Vengeance"), Park shakes genre conventions to deliver something that you simply can't pigeonhole. Evocatively shot, unexpectedly rich in themes and character development, "Thirst" is less a vampire story and more a tale of guilt, passion, redemption, and human frailty. I urge you to make an effort to see this film before it leaves.
