Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Anssi Vartiainen Samaritan Girl is one of the earlier film by South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, who's known for his sexual themes and minimalistic use of dialogue. And this movie showcases that rather well, while also showcasing the fine balance between art and artsy that many of his movie straddle.Yeo-jin (Kwak Ji-min) and Jae-yeong (Han Yeo-reum) are two teenage girls wishing to travel to Europe. But they lack money to do that so they've decided to pimp Jae-yeong out as a prostitute, with Yeo-jin acting as the money handler and lookout. But then everything goes horribly wrong when the police busts in, causing Jae-yeong to leap from a window to her death. The rest of the movie is Yeo-jin coming to terms with her friend's death by offering herself to men, and her father, a policeman, learning about this and coming to terms with it through sheer violence.It is a skilfully crafted film, with lots of layers and themes only hinted at through subtext. I especially love the final third with Yeo- jin and her father facing each other and slowly trying to reach each other over a gap neither of them expected to ever face. Unfortunately I also think that the first third of the film is pretty weak. I don't really buy the friendship between Yeo-jin and Jae-yeong. They have a few good moments, but overall the film overplays the hinting aspect and doesn't give us enough material to work with.Overall I think it's a film worth seeing. Compared to other Ki-duk films, it lacks that certain spark, but it's still full of his signature touches and is certainly a movie you won't see every day.

Juggertrout Sandwiched between his two, in my opinion, masterpieces, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring and 3-Iron, Samaria is an interesting pieces that provides a necessary link between them, sharing the themes of the former, and the style of the latter. The theme I'm talking about is the loss of innocence, something that is presented in the harshest possible manner in this film.Two girls want to travel to Europe, so one acts as a pimp and the other as a prostitute. This seems shocking, and it is to the 'pimp' who becomes increasingly disturbed by their activities. To the 'prostitute' however, it's all a bit of harmless fun that she gets paid for. Eventually something happens, in fact it's no spoiler to say that the 'prostitute' dies. The scene that precipitates this is one of the most harrowing in the film, and shows that Ki-duk can create some subtly played shocks when he needs to. After this, the 'pimp' essentially assumes the role of 'prostitute' for personal reasons, and this is where the film begins to follow the same style as 3-Iron, in the sense of 're- visiting' past experiences and places in a new form. This is augmented when the girl's father begins following the men she sleeps with, confronting them in increasingly violent ways. One reviewer already spoke of the so called 'dinner-table confrontation scene' - it is perhaps one of the best scenes in Ki-duk's extensive library, and leaves a lasting impression.I must applaud Lee Eol, who plays the father. His performance expresses emotions of confusion, anger and violence with remarkable subtlety and skill. As the film progresses into its final act, Ki-duk covers us with an increasingly dark pall of blue. He then, arguably, offers us two endings to choose from, although it is the latter that is the most affecting and so beautifully summarises the themes of the film. Most Ki- duk films leave me stunned with feelings of amazement. Samaria is no different. The ending is haunting, and true.Not as good as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring or 3-Iron, Samaria is still an excellent film that continues to prove why Kim Ki- duk is arguably Korea's greatest director.

fertilecelluloid Uneven, marginally interesting Kim ki-Duk film. Ultimately, it is about a father coming to terms with his daughter growing up. Her "growing up" is prostituting herself to her dead girlfriend's ex-clients as a way of dealing with the grief. The film is broken up into three distinct chapters and is as tonally different as each third. The center section is the most kinetic and bloody, while the concluding section is the most protracted. The opening section focuses on the friendship between the two girls and is the most cohesive of the three. Unfortunately, ki-Duk is in danger of becoming irrelevant because his films are becoming very conventional in one sense, but very inaccessible in another sense. For exploitation fans, there is some mild female nudity, a couple of very bloody beatings, and a terrific dinner table confrontation.

stensson For some reason Korean movies has a great "hip factor" nowadays and I have some difficulties seeing the point. Today you are not supposed to object to the violence, regardless of how brutal it is. Somebody has decided that this is nerdish and that "somebody" everyone has to obey.You've probably seen worse brutality than in "Samaria", but anyway it is the violence that makes the whole thing so difficult to understand. OK, a father is out on a vigilante tour after realizing his daughter is a prostitute, although she, for certain reasons, pay her customers and not the opposite. The father's feelings are anyway not understandable. You've got no keys to them. It's not enough showing him just sorry and humiliated.The reconciliation scene in the end is however beautiful and made in an uncommon way. But it doesn't make the film more understandable. This is done too hasty. Even Korean film might be just on an average level.