MovieChat Forums > Madeo (2009) Discussion > The cinematographer deserves credit for ...

The cinematographer deserves credit for this work

posted 15 years ago by phiucyu
15 replies | jump to latest

I was blown away by the cinematography in this movie.

The movie was shot to convey the grittiness of the environment in which the characters live and yet it contains plenty of artistic beauty. It presents many shots where characters are shown behind a piece of glass and the scenes keep building suspense and desperateness.

The final scene is sheer brilliance. It shows the mother on a bus and the sun is shining directly into the camera through the glass behind her. I thought it was so gorgeous and packed so much emotional punch. After seeing this movie over 12 hours ago, I cannot stop thinking about how beautiful this scene was.

The cinematography Hong Kyeong-Pyo deserves a lot of credit for this work (And I just found out that he is the same guy who worked on Taegukgi).

[–] Guerilla-SK 15 years ago

Yeah, the final scene is amazing, I was in awe when I was watching that shot, a shot of middle-aged women dancing on narrow aisle of bus, gorgeous sunshine, so amazingly beautiful, and everything is in slow motion, awesome.

He's the one who did Taegukgi? I didn't know that, that movie's cinematography was awesome, too. Jang Dong Gun going crazy in the end, toting that machine gun and all.

[–] seanlovebjork 15 years ago

every film student should watch this film to study about the cinematography

[–] chilicheeze 15 years ago

agreed.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=42385905

[–] Tyler_Durden_pt 15 years ago

I haven't watched this film yet, but I'll take your word for it. Some of the best cinematography in Cinema today is coming from Korea. Not sure why, they must be doing something right in film schools over there. Park Chan-wook's, Kim Ki-Duk's and Kim Ji-Woon's films are great examples of this.

[–] Nekrophagia 15 years ago

The cinematography was excellent, EXCEPT for the inexplicable and inexcusable shakycam in the street scenes and especially at the end. How does 5 minutes of shakycam add anything to that conclusion. It doesn't. Great film. Why have shaky at all?

"I'm - I'm hurt real bad. I think I'm dying"

"Continue dying"

[–] the_architect_rwc 15 years ago

Shaky-cam added to the disorientation within the films meaning. Although somewhat symbolic, many important shots extend from the third person. Uncertain, hidden (behind walls, windows, glass, etc).

[–] Nekrophagia 15 years ago

Shakycam doesn't EVER add anything to a film. It only takes away. You can try and spin it in typical film student fashion, but you're wrong.

It's particularly annoying to see it used in an otherwise fine film. The 5 minutes of it at the end was very unprofessional, anticlimactic and inexcusable.

"I'm - I'm hurt real bad. I think I'm dying"

"Continue dying"

[–] the_architect_rwc 15 years ago

You can't say that it adds nothing, otherwise it would not be put at that last take. It is there for a reason, wheither or not you like its form or not, it does indeed have a function.

Additionally, the shaky-cam gives energy to the take. If there was no shaking, seeing them dancing would just look lame. Whereas when you add the shake into the take, it makes everything more kenetic and 'bouncy' or alive if you will.

Most people do not like this because:

1. It makes them physically sick (has something to do with the liquid in your ear; near the brain which balances your vision).

2. Are not use to the post 2000 trend of shaky-cam as the dominant consensus for aesthetic energy (among other uses).

[–] Nekrophagia 15 years ago

The director made a poor choice at the end. It still adds nothing. Please feel free to post ANY reason at all for the final 5 minutes.

Shakycam does not give energy to anything EVER! In this otherwise excellent film, it was just a mistake/poor choice. Most of the time, it's an extremely annoying amateur technique.

Seeing them dancing for 5 minutes was lame either way. The film should have ended with her standing and beginning to dance. We already got plenty of dancing in the beginning. It just pads an already overlong run time.

There are plenty of proper ways to add energy/urgency to a scene. Shakycam is not one of them. It doesn't ever do any of the things you say.

"Are not use to the post 2000 trend of shaky-cam as the dominant consensus for aesthetic energy (among other uses)"

What a sad state filmmaking is in when you see someone posting a statement like that. People who appreciate/demand professional cinematography will NEVER tolerate shakycam and will continue to walk out of all films that feature significant amounts, like I do. Garbage like 30 Days of Night and 28 Weeks Later.

We will also come to these boards and complain about it. Take a look around if you think I'm alone. There are thousands of posts condemning shakycam and it's become the number one question people ask when considering a new film.

It's a blight on the industry and the biggest current killer of films (along with "quick cut" and "swish/zoom").

"I'm - I'm hurt real bad. I think I'm dying"

"Continue dying"

[–] rnmackenzie 15 years ago

Nekrophagia--I think you're overstating the shaky cam thing, but in general I do agree with you. I think it's become a modern cliche to quickly telegraph tension. But we've seen it way too often now, and I'd like to see people give it a rest--especially Mr. Greengrass on those Bourne films, the last one of which I found literally unwatchable.

But I'd defend the last scene in this film. As an earlier poster said, there's a true beauty to that reflected sun and glass, and I really loved the way the mother literally blends into all the other mothers on the bus, the way we can't pick her out anymore after a few seconds--suggesting, as the film's title does, that this is not a movie about A mother, but about mother, period!

The cinematography overall was, I agree, terrific. But (picking a nit here), why do the colors have to be so muted? There was a preponderance of blues and grays here, which of course sets and reinforces a mood, but I felt it was too consistently done; a little variety would have helped. Hope this doesn't sound more critical than I mean it to: I loved this movie!

[–] the_architect_rwc 15 years ago

If it had a too varied colour pallet, then it would somewhat loose its stylistic tone.

[–] Nekrophagia 15 years ago

rnmackenzie:

I love it when people assemble well thought out responses to my posts. It gives me hope that there are still intelligent movie goers out there. Of course, more of them do gather on boards for quality films such as this one.

I don't mean to go overboard about shaky. I just hate to see a technique like that used in such a great film. As I've stated, I don't think there are any positive applications, so I would prefer it not be used at all.

Korean films are well known for their excellent and inventive cinematography. That's one of the reasons I started watching them in volume. Even if the story was so so, I knew I could count on steady, professional cinematography almost without fail. Acacia is a film with a story that requires a written explanation (!) and yet it's photographed with perfect clarity. ;)

Some of the films I like:

Flower Island (an under the radar classic)
The Garden of Heaven (just looked at the low rating / guess I'm alone)
A Tale of Two Sisters (I shudder at the thought of the remake)
Dead Friend (one of the last good horror titles before ideas dried up)
Old Boy (uneven and weird for the sake of weird, but ultimately good)
Uninvited (slow, but satisfying)

And of course there's Oasis, which I consider the greatest film ever made!

I see what you are saying about the final scene in Madeo, but couldn't they have found a different way to show her blending in? I could think of several ways to accomplish that same effect/feeling without shaky.

Love the film. The first one I've gone to see theatrically since UP.

"I'm - I'm hurt real bad. I think I'm dying"

"Continue dying"

[–] inincubus 15 years ago

The first and the last scene are truly amazing. It provides sort of artistic feel, that is hard to be found in Korean cinema, to this film.

But that's it. Not bad overall, however the rest of the film between the first and the last scene are not outstanding. Well, there's a couple other scenes that looked really superb. I think the director and the cinematographer tried to make this film look as artistic as possible but it's not in their bones. They had to keep reminding it to themselves.

I have my heart on Korean films and I have seen countless Korean films. But they've still got far more space to improve, especially in cinematography.

[–] spicynsilly 15 years ago

Agreed. It's actually very similar to the cinematography of "memories of murder" which is also "Bong Jun-ho"'s movie.

[–] chasingbrightness 15 years ago

I thought the scene on the golf course when Jin Tae & Do-joon are attacking the people was amazing, very "spielbergian", the way the camera moves. Bong Joon-ho's style reminds me very much of Spielberg.

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