OWFilm World Cup: Sweden vs. South Korea

By Laurent Kelly / June 21, 2010

Voting has now ended on the France vs. South Africa game, and what an exciting contest it was. Amelie initially took an 8 vote to 0 lead, before out of nowhere District 9 pegged them back, took control and were never to go behind again. Still, France ran them close, and I have to say, my money was on Amelie but more fool me. The mighty French Cinema, one of the most highly prestigious in the world, has fallen. France (Amelie) 48% lost to South Africa (District 9) 52%.

First Round of OWFilm World Cup

If France vs. South Africa was our 'Clash of the Titans' match so far, then this surely is the War of the Gods. When the fixtures for the OWFilm World Cup were first announced, many believed that this could have been the final. Representing Sweden, the vampire horror film Let the Right One In takes on South Korea's 2003 revenge flick Oldboy. Two insanely popular World Cinema films. This is what the OWFilm World Cup is all about! Vote now for which film you want to see advance to the next round. Remember you are voting for YOUR OPINION on which film you prefer. Tale of the Reel is after the jump...

Let the Right One In (2008)

OSCAR COUNT (0) IMDB (8.1, #204) RT (97%) EMPIRE TOP 500 (not listed)

At a time when the adolescent and generally uncreative Twilight series is causing young girls up and down the country to scream with joy; at least serious filmgoers can take comfort in the fact that it is still possible for mature and artistic films to be made in regards to the vampire genre. Let the Right One In is a dark and deeply atmospheric horror drama which works primarily as a character study focusing on the impact that an eternal twelve year old female vampire has on a young and timid twelve year old boy. Their friendship is beautifully explored through a series of powerful, striking images and authentic, layered dialogue and you find yourself completely engrossed in their odd and disturbing journey. The moments of horror and violence are also expertly handled with pain that you can almost feel and blood that you can almost taste. There are moments such as a woman being attacked by a pack of crazed cats and a serial killer revealing his hideous self-inflicted facial wounds which are so strongly presented that they are unlikely to leave my mind for quite some time. This is a film which I can€™t wait to re-watch in order to unravel some of the more layered theme and nuances. INTERESTING FACT:Let the Right One In won the Empire Magazine Award for Film of the Year in 2009 which was the first time since City of God (also featured in this contest, representing Brazil) that a foreign language movie had taken home the top prize.

Oldboy (2003)

OSCAR COUNT (0) IMDB (8.3, #113) RT (82%, EMPIRE TOP 500 (#64)

Fantastic set-pieces aside, I found it hard to warm to Oldboy. Now I know what you€™re thinking, Oldboy isn€™t the type of film that you are supposed to find comforting but in a purely cinematic sense it just felt kind of empty. I found the lead character intensely unlikeable and struggled to summon up any type of empathy for him despite his extraordinary circumstances of being mysteriously kidnapped for fifteen years. His journey of revenge whilst visually intriguing never really interested me on an emotional level and as such I could only really appreciate the film€™s technical and artistic accomplishments. Those accomplishments however deserve very special praise because the violent, torturous sequences within this film are perhaps the best ever crafted. Whether shocking or sudden such as a man€™s teeth being yanked out or deliberately slow and agonising, the film knows exactly how to make the audience€™s heart rate in a variety of clever and intriguing ways. A film which I can respect but just didn€™t really fall for€. INTERESTING FACT: Actor Min-Sik Choi lost twenty pounds for his lead role and did most of his own stunt work whilst filming.WRITER€™S VERDICT: Both films have awesome scenes and set-pieces but Let the Right One in aroused far greater empathy and has left more of a lasting impression thus far.