I can't help wondering why the english translation has Kuchisake-onna saying "Aim for my neck" when she is clearly saying "Atashi kirei" (I'm pretty). This is particularly laughable in the final shot when Kyoko tells her unarmed daughter to aim for her neck. It makes me wonder how much more of the translation was changed.
shareThe changing of that key line ruined much of the connection to the original urban legend of the Split Mouthed Women.
shareKire and kirei are close...
shareThat's weird. For most of the movie the creepy voice of the woman was subtitled "Am I pretty?" but at the end her son says he's hearing "aim for my neck," according to the subtitles.
If she actually never said that, no wonder she didn't really die when he did in fact aim for her neck (and cut her head off).
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"Pretty" (kirei) sounds similar to "cut" (kire).
This is what it should be (I'm relying on my memory of the film. Some minor words may be left out or changed, but you can see how 'cut' becomes 'pretty'.)
SPOILERS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE ORIGINS OF THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN
(mother returns with a knife and gives it to the boy)
"Take my head off with this!"
"You must do it. When I have a dark fit next time, I know for sure I'll kill you."
"Take my head off now!"
"Quickly! Cut my throat. You have to! Do it! What I did... Your older brother... Your older sister..." (subtitles "Aim for my neck! Do it! If you don't... your brother. Your sister."
(the normal mother morphs into the evil mother)
"You will share their fate!" (I might be wrong as I can't remember this line) (subtitles: "You'll end up like them!")
(after stabbing the floor, she changes back to the normal mother)
"Why are you so hesitant? Do it! You must because it'll return and take you! Cut my throat!" (subtitles: "What are you waiting for? If you don't, it'll come back to life and kill you. Aim for my neck!"
(changes back to the evil mother)
(the boy slashes her face)
"Pre...? Pretty...? Am I pretty?" (I can't remember) (subtitles: "Aim... Aim... Aim for my neck")
"Am I... pretty?! (subtitles: "Aim for my... neck?!")
(back to present day, the boy now a man explains)
"'Am I pretty?' echoed continuously in my head." ("'Aim for my neck', that's the voice in my mind kept saying.")
I think I should watch the film again because I feel I forgot some lines.
She is saying 'aim for my neck'. But it sounds like 'Am I Pretty?' because her mouth has been sliced open.
shareThe male teacher at first did not remember the knife battle with his mother, so when he heard the ghost's "Atashi wo kire (Cut me)" he misinterpreted it as "Atashi kirei? (Am I pretty?)", probably due to the eerie, poor quality of the voice. When the teacher remembers and the scene with the knife is shown, the context becomes clear as she is asking him to cut her neck. This is why the translation switches to saying "Aim for my neck." I wish the translation had made it clearer, although I guess it would be hard to explain without a footnote or something....
shareThank you Siderealorchid. You have provided a very good and important explanation of the plot. It makes perfect sense.
From Taiwan, Ming Dynasty