''A Tale of Two Sisters'' (; lit. "Rose Flower, Red Lotus") is a 2003 South Korean

psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequent ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by

Kim Jee-woon Kim Jee-woon (; born July 6, 1964) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Career Kim started out directing theater but has worked with increasing levels of success in cinema, showing accomplished acting and a detailed stylization in ...

. The film is inspired by a

Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

era

folktale A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally. Folktale may also refer to: Categories of stories * Folkloric tale from oral tradition * Fable (written form of the a ...

entitled

Janghwa Hongryeon jeon Janghwa Hongryeon jeon (literally ''The Story of Janghwa and Hongryeon'') is a Joseon-era Korean folktale. Story Introduction Once upon a time, there was a man named Muryong whose wife had a dream where an angel gave her a beautiful flowe ...

, which has been adapted to film several times. The plot focuses on a recently released patient from a

mental institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

who returns home with her sister, only to face disturbing events between her stepmother and the ghosts haunting their house—all of which are connected to a dark past in the family's history. The film opened to very strong commercial and critical reception and won Best Picture at the 2004

Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to Fantasy film, fantasy/Science fiction film, science fiction/Horror film, horror-oriented commercial fe ...

Film Festival. It is the highest-grossing South Korean horror film and the first South Korean picture to be screened in American theatres.http://media.www.kentnewsnet.com/media/storage/paper867/news/2009/02/03/News/the-Uninvited.Stays.True.To.Typical.Korean.Horror.Films-3610298.shtml An English-language

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

titled '' The Uninvited'' was released in 2009 to mixed reviews.

Plot

A teenage girl, Su-mi, is being treated for

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emerge ...

and

psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...

in a mental institution. She is released and returns home to her family's secluded estate in the countryside with her father and younger sister Su-yeon, whom she is protective of. The sisters have a cold reunion with their stepmother, Eun-joo, who constantly requires

medication A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

. Eun-joo also has a strained relationship with her husband, both of them enduring a

sexless marriage A sexless marriage is a marital union in which little or no sexual activity occurs between the two spouses. The US National Health and Social Life Survey in 1992 found that 2% of married respondents aged 18 to 59 reported no sexual intimacy in th ...

. Su-yeon has a nightmare of her late mother's

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

. The next day, Su-mi finds family photos which reveal that Eun-joo was formerly an in-home nurse for her then-

terminally ill Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced he ...

mother. She discovers bruises on her sister's arms and suspects Eun-joo is responsible. Su-mi confronts Eun-joo about the bruises but Eun-joo refuses to apologize for her actions. That night, their uncle and aunt arrive for dinner, and Eun-joo tells bizarre stories that bewilder them. The aunt suddenly suffers a violent seizure and suffocates. After recovering, she tells her husband that she saw the ghost of a dead girl beneath the kitchen sink during her seizure. Eun-joo tries to see what is beneath the sink, but the ghost girl violently grabs her arm. Eun-joo's relationship with her stepdaughters sours after she finds her pet bird mutilated and killed and her personal photographs defaced. She believes that these actions are somehow connected to the girls and locks Su-yeon in the closet. Su-mi releases her and tells her father about the abuse. Her father begs her to stop acting out and informs her that Su-yeon is dead. Su-mi refuses to believe it as she is sure her sister is right next to her sobbing uncontrollably. The next morning, Eun-joo drags a bloodied sack through the house, whipping it. Su-mi believes that Su-yeon is inside the sack. Eun-joo and Su-mi get into a violent physical altercation. Su-mi's father arrives to find an unconscious Su-mi. It is ultimately revealed that Su-mi and her father were alone in the house the entire time. Su-mi had suffered from

dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

, where she possessed two personalities: herself and a ruder, more distant variation of her stepmom Eun-joo. The "body" in the sack that Su-mi was whipping was actually a porcelain doll and she was also the one who killed the pet bird. Su-yeon was also revealed to be long dead; her presence was actually the result of Su-mi's hallucinations. The father and the real Eun-joo send Su-mi back to the mental institution. Eun-joo tries to reconcile with Su-mi, promising to visit her as often as she can, but Su-mi rebuffs her. That night, Eun-joo hears footsteps in Su-yeon's old bedroom, revealing that the ghost actually exists. Su-yeon's real ghost crawls out of the closet and kills Eun-joo. Meanwhile, Su-mi smiles, appearing to have finally found peace. Flashbacks reveal the day that led Su-mi to be institutionalized. While her terminally ill mother was still alive, her father engaged in an

adulterous Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

affair with Eun-joo, when she was still their in-home nurse. This upsets the sisters and drives their mother to hang herself in the closet of Su-yeon's bedroom. Su-yeon attempts to revive her but the closet collapses on top of her. Eun-joo sees Su-yeon thrashing and suffocating and at the last minute, decides to save Su-yeon. However, Su-mi arrives and criticises Eun-joo for interfering with her family. Angry at Su-mi's criticisms, Eun-joo leaves Su-yeon to die and tells Su-mi that she'll "regret this moment." Su-mi leaves the house, unaware of both her sister and her mother's fates.

Cast

Im Soo-jung Im Soo-jung (born July 11, 1979) is a South Korean actress. After modeling for teen magazines, Im made her acting breakthrough in Kim Jee-woon's horror film ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), followed by the popular television drama ''I'm Sorry, ...

as Bae Su-mi *

Moon Geun-young Moon Geun-young (; born May 6, 1987) is a South Korean actress. Affectionately called the "Nation's Little Sister," Moon began modeling at the age of 10, then made her acting debut in 1999 as a child actress. She first rose to stardom through he ...

as Bae Su-yeon *

Yum Jung-ah Yum Jung-ah (born July 28, 1972) is a South Korean actress. Her notable films include ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), '' The Big Swindle'' (2004), '' The Old Garden'' (2007), and ''Cart'' (2014), as well as the television series ''Royal Famil ...

as Heo Eun-joo *

Kim Kap-soo Kim Kap-soo (born April 7, 1957) is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 1977, Kim has had a long career on the stage, in television dramas and film. In addition to acting full-time, he also has his own master class acting studio. F ...

as Bae Moo-hyeon * Lee Seung-bi as Mi-hee (Eun-joo's sister in law) *

Lee Dae-yeon Lee Dae-yeon (born November 13, 1964) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Theater Awards and nominations References External links Lee Dae-yeonat JR Entertainment * * * 1964 births Living ...

as Su-mi's doctor * Park Mi-hyun as Mrs Bae (Moo-hyeon's first wife and Su-mi's and Su-yeon's mother) * Woo Ki-hong as Sun-kyu (Eun-joo's brother)

Production

The film is loosely based on a popular Korean fairy tale "

" which has been adapted into film versions in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. In the original Korean folktale, the sisters' names are Janghwa and Hongryeon (Rose Flower and Red Lotus). In the film, they are Su-mi and Su-yeon (though the names still hold the meaning, Rose and Lotus).

(Su-mi) originally auditioned for the role of Su-yeon (played by

). Kim Jee-woon originally wanted

Jun Ji-hyun Jun Ji-hyun (born Wang Ji-hyun on 30 October 1981), also known by her English name Gianna Jun, is a South Korean actress and model. She has received multiple awards, including two Grand Bell Awards for Best Actress and a Daesang (Grand Prize) f ...

to play Su-mi, but she refused the role because she thought the script was too scary. Her next film was an unrelated horror film, '' The Uninvited''.

Release

Home Media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on March 29, 2005 by

Palisades Tartan Palisades Tartan is a British/American film distribution company, founded by US-based Palisades Media Group to take over the film library of film distributor Tartan Films after it folded in the summer of 2008. History Tartan Films, established i ...

. The film was originally announced for a

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

release for October 22, 2013 by Tartan but the disc was never released as the company ceased operations. The DVD is now out of print. The film eventually received a region-free Blu-ray in Korea on October 14, 2013. Though the disc also offers English subtitles, the extras are all in Korean.

Reception

Box office

It is the highest-grossing Korean horror film and the first to be screened in American theaters upon release. With a limited American release starting 3 December 2004, it grossed $72,541.

Critical response

''A Tale of Two Sisters'' garnered very positive reviews.

Review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports an approval rating of 85% based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "Restrained but disturbing, ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' is a creepily effective, if at times confusing, horror movie." Meanwhile,

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

scored the film 65 out of 100, meaning "generally favorable reviews" from 19 critics. Kevin Thomas of ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' described ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' as "a triumph of stylish, darkly absurdist horror that even manages to strike a chord of

Shakespearean tragedy Shakespearean tragedy is the designation given to most tragedies written by playwright William Shakespeare. Many of his history plays share the qualifiers of a Shakespearean tragedy, but because they are based on real figures throughout the hist ...

– and evokes a sense of wonder anew at all the terrible things people do to themselves and each other."

Awards and nominations

2003

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

*Nomination - Best Film 2003

Screamfest Horror Film Festival Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a horror film festival founded by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin in August 2001. It runs over ten days during the month of October and is hosted at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles, Ca ...

*Best Picture *Best Actress -

2003

Busan Film Critics Awards Established in 2000, the Busan Film Critics Awards is run by the Busan Film Critics Association (BCFA), a small but independent-minded group of critics based in Busan, South Korea. Each year they announce their choices shortly before the opening o ...

*Best New Actress -

*Best Cinematography -

Lee Mo-gae Lee Mo-gae is a South Korean and an Asia Pacific Screen Award-winning cinematographer known for his work in ''A Tale of Two Sisters'', ''Traces of Love'', ''The Good, the Bad, the Weird'', and many other films. Filmography * '' Illang: The Wolf ...

*Special Jury Prize -

2003

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

*Best New Actress -

*Nomination - Best New Actress -

2003

Korean Film Awards The Korean Film Awards was a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the broadcasting network MBC from 2002 to 2010. History Originally named the MBC Film Awards, the ceremony was first established in 2002. It was renamed the Korean Film Aw ...

*Best New Actress -

*Best Art Direction - Park Hee-jeong *Best Sound - Choi Tae-young 2003

Director's Cut Awards The Director's Cut Awards () is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It is presented by the Korea Film Director's Network (KFDN), a group of approximately 300 Korean filmmakers. The KFDN selects winners in the Korean f ...

*Best Actress -

*Best New Actress -

2004

Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (french: Festival international du film fantastique de Bruxelles, nl, Internationaal Festival van de Fantastische Fil ...

*Silver Raven -

2004

Fantasia Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

*Most Popular Film 2004

Film Festival *International Fantasy Film Best Actress -

*International Fantasy Film Best Director -

*International Fantasy Film Best Film *Orient Express Section Special Jury Award 2004

Gérardmer Film Festival Gérardmer (; or archaic ''Geroldsee'', and ''Giraumoué'' in local Vosgian) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population Culture The Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer (literally ...

*Grand Prize *Prix 13ème Rue *Youth Jury Grand Prize

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

*Nomination - Best Actress -

*Nomination - Best New Actress -

*Nomination - Best Cinematography -

*Nomination - Best Art Direction -

Cho Geun-hyun Cho Geun-hyun is a South Korean art director and film director. His directorial debut, the hit drama thriller ''26 Years'' (2012) with over 2.9 million admissions, was voted Best Korean Film by Twitter users held by KOFIC in December 2012. He wa ...

*Nomination - Best Lighting - Oh Seung-chul *Nomination - Best Costume Design - Ok Su-gyeong *Nomination - Best Music -

Lee Byung-woo Lee Byung-woo (; born January 22, 1965) is a South Korean guitarist and composer of film scores. He has composed music for more than twenty films, including the segment "Memories" in ''Three'' (2002), ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), '' All for L ...

*Nomination - Best Sound - Kim Kyung-taek, Choi Tae-young

Remake

DreamWorks announced the two lead actresses on 28 June, with

Emily Browning Emily Jane Browning
. Celebritywonder, retrieved 30 June 2011 (born 7 December 1988

as Anna Ivers (Su-mi), and

Arielle Kebbel Arielle Caroline Kebbel (born February 19, 1985) is an American actress and model. She has appeared in various television series, including ''Gilmore Girls'' (2003–2004), ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017), ''Life Unexpected'' (2010), ''90 ...

as Alex Ivers (Su-yeon). Although originally titled ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' like the original film, it was later renamed as ''The Uninvited''.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tale Of Two Sisters, A 2003 films 2003 horror films 2003 psychological thriller films 2000s psychological drama films South Korean horror thriller films South Korean ghost films Fiction with unreliable narrators Films about altered memories Films about sisters Films set in psychiatric hospitals Films directed by Kim Jee-woon 2000s Korean-language films 2000s psychological horror films South Korean supernatural horror films Films about dysfunctional families South Korean films remade in other languages 2003 drama films Films about dissociative identity disorder Films based on fairy tales Adultery in films 2000s South Korean films

Plot

Cast

Production

Release

Home Media

Reception

Box office

Critical response

Awards and nominations

Remake

See also

References

External links