- Pay attention to the flowers
- Because of different POV’s in part 1 & 2, the lines are worded and/or expressed differently, as well as the facial expressions, in the same scene that’s duplicated.
- When Sookhee sings, she changed the lyrics from the original song. When Hideko is sleeping on Sookhee’s bed, Sookhee inhales deeply and sings “what is this scent?”. During bathtub (tooth) scene in Part 1, Sookhee realizes “ah this was the scent”. During bathtub scene in Part 2, Hideko says something like “Do you like this scent?”
- As per director PCW, who’s opening the door for whom reflects the disappearance of class/rank.
In the beginning: Sookhee opens the door for Hideko.
Middle: Both open the door together
End: Hideko opens the door for Sookhee
- As per PCW, touching other’s elbows has a meaning of someone who lived a life lack of affection. You can see that Hideko keeps rubbing Sookhee’s elbows.
- A lot of Hideko’s lines are cited from what other characters say in the movie. As per PCW, this shows Hideko’s characteristic of being cynical/sarcastic and also being dependent like a baby.
- As per PCW, Hideko saying “I who has no one in this world” is a way of her expressing that she would like Sookhee to know that she is watching Sookhee. This was the same line that Sookhee used to describe Hideko when talking to the Count (Hideko was listening).
- Director wanted to depict Hideko and Sookhee’s relationship with the symmetry. These are shown during scissoring scene while holding hands and sex scene in the end.
- When Hideko recites a lesbian book in front of perverted uncle and guys, she is thought to be imagining Sookhee. This book includes the descriptions of the use of bells, scissoring, biting the shoulder while getting wet down there, etc, etc.. Hideko does what the book says. For example, you can see Hideko biting Sookhee’s shoulder during the sex scene that follows.
- When Hideko and Sookhee escape from the mansion, Hideko hesitates to climb over the wall. This shows how traumatized Hideko is by Uncle’s abuse because she is afraid of the very low wall. Sookhee understands these, runs over to the other side of the wall, creates a small step with the luggage and holds Hideko’s hands.
- Supposedly, the bell has a lot of meaning; once used to be a method of abuse, but in the end Hideko overcomes this. Bell turns out to be something that reflects her happiness and enjoyable play. It shows freedom from suppression and freedom from Kouzuki.
I’m sorry about my limited English. These are only few points.
There are pages and pages long hidden points and meanings behind for each part of the movie in Korean website.
Things will make much more sense after watching subbed version.
Personally, the scene where Sookhee destroys the library and the part where Hideko describes Sookhee as ‘my savior who came to ruin my life’ strikes hard
(more powerful in Korean language grammatically because the word ‘savior’ is placed in the last part of the sentence). It’s known to be heart-shattering quote for many.
Once subbed version shows up, I hope you guys will have fun finding out hidden points/meanings. Entire movie is full of them.
Korean anon once again. The director PCW (Park Chan-Wook) made official that he is going to make this movie in 2012 and started casting. I believe Taeri started preparing for this movie in 2014.
Minhee and Taeri frequently went out to eat, drink and watched movie together to promote friendship (at first, director PCW kept inviting the two together to dinner/drink for that purpose).
Casts listened to the orchestra because director designated an instrument for each one according to what each character needs to be depicted as, took Japanese language classes together, even took classes to learn how to nurture babies for small scenes, tried every bit to be physically fit for the character (Sookhee, Hideko, Count, Uncle all did according to the interviews), and there are the whole crew and staff behind the set who worked really hard for this movie.
— Side note: According to Taeri, she went to the ‘Ap-goo-jung CGV theater’ with Minhee to promote friendship. They watched the movie called ‘Moorwehan (The Shameless)’ together. There is a video Taeri mentioning this at the stage while promoting their movie at the same theater (Ap-goo-jung CGV theater) they went to.
— Another side note: Minhee Kim’s favorite actress is Do-Yeon Jeon, who is the main character in the above movie.
- Binyeo (Korean traditional ornamental hairpin): In the beginning of the movie, Sookhee is wearing Boksoon’s hairpin in a car ride to Hideko’s house and wraps it with the rice cake cover. Hairpin is utilized by the Count for the rise of his class/rank (used while opening the drawer at Boksoon’s). Sookhee uses the hairpin for regaining her freedom back during the escape scene from the mental hospital. They’re all the same Binyeo.
- The mug wort rice cake Sookhee ate in a car ride to Hideko’s mansion in the beginning of the movie – That rice cake is the one placed on a table when the Count visited Sookhee to explain his plan
- The portrait of young Hideko suddenly smiles from absence of expression when Sookhee arrives at Hideko’s mansion; implies what will happen
- On the night Hideko and Sookhee met for the first time, the bed Hideko sleeps on is Sookhee’s bed
- The first curse that Googuy stutters is finished by the Count, second curse he stutters is finished by Boksoon
- The lily flowers (different colors, shapes) keep showing up during the movie – it’s a symbolic representation of Hideko and Sookhee’s relationship. You can see them in multiple scenes; first meeting, bathtub, kiss scene, drawing, sex scene, foot massage, suicide attempt scene, etc.
- Hideko says something like “I’m not as good as my mom” to Sookhee in Part 1. This is cited from what her Aunt told Baby Hideko about Hideko’s mom in Part 2- something like “I’m not as good as my sister”.
- In Part 1, when Sookhee is looking through Hideko’s drawer, Sookhee drops the Kimono (clothes) with the beads. That’s the same clothes that baby Hideko is wearing when she is getting hit on her hands with those beads by her Uncle. Beads were later tied on the waist line of baby Hideko (in Part 2).
- When Sookhee is lying down on the bed in the Count’s room while talking to the Count, she is touching the thimble inside her pocket.
- Hideko was drunk with wine and all of sudden opened her eyes wide open when Sookhee starts unbuttoning from her back
- Hideko’s lines right after their first kiss in Part 1 are cited from what the Count says to Hideko during dinner scene in Part 2 and also from what the Count says to the Uncle in the library (Hideko overheard them) in Part 2.
- In the bathtub scene in part 2, when Hideko asks Sookhee if she wants to come in, she is washing her little doll with water
- During the sex scene in Part 1, when Hideko is taking Sookhee’s clothes off, Sookhee’s arm hits the little doll and it gets dropped on the floor. In part 2 however, you can only hear the sound of it getting dropped on the floor when Hideko is taking Sookhee’s clothes off. But later you can see the doll on the floor while they are in 69 position.
- When the Count tells Sookhee to get out and find other job, Sookhee refuses, comes back and returns the coin. At that moment, you can see Hideko smiling for 0.5 second.
- At the Ryokan, right after Hideko desperately kisses Sookhee between the doors, Sookhee says and urges Count to proceed with the mental hospital plan quickly. You can later find out that Sookhee already knew that she is the one going into the hospital, but pushed the Count to do it quickly because Sookhee knows how anxious and nervous Hideko was through that kiss and is worried. Sookhee’s line includes something like “how can you be so harsh? If you plucked out the flower, don’t you have to replant the flower on a new ground? Why aren’t you putting her at the mental hospital? What are you doing?”. Metaphor is used here; flower = Hideko as Sookhee wants to plant Hideko in a new ground. Sookhee’s narration at Ryokan in Part 1 also stated ‘The progress of the plan is too slow. I am worried that Hideko might really go crazy”. It really feels different during the whole Ryokan scene and Hideko & Sookhee’s kiss the 2nd time viewing because of these reasons. During the first view, it just looks like Sookhee wants to put Hideko at the mental hospital quickly because she is crazy.
- Side note about the flower: Hideko’s existence is like a flower stuffed or on display at the mansion or the library (as per Director PCW).
- In the end of Part 1, the Count escorts Sookhee when she gets out of car at the mental hospital, but doesn’t for Hideko so that the people at the hospital think Hideko is the servant
- In order to make people at the hospital believe that Sookhee is the Miss, Sookhee only uses Japanese once she gets out of the car even when she is cursing at the Count (“Gonoyaro!”)
- When Hideko is pretending to be a servant at the mental hospital, Hideko’s Japanese dialect are subbed with Korean Chungcheong Province dialect. This is because that’s where Sookhee is originally from. Audiences know this because in the beginning of the movie, the Count mentioned to Sookhee in his room “All they talk about is you at Eun-Po”, which is the town at Chungcheong Province.
- In Part 2, Count’s letter to Hideko says to show accessories and expansive things to Sookhee whenever she gets a chance because Sookhee inherited materialistic characteristic from her mom. This is why in Part 1, Hideko picks her gloves on the last drawer so that Sookhee gets to see all those while opening each drawer.
- When the Aunt is hanging on the tree, all the servants are looking at the Aunt. Kouzuki and Sasaki are the ones who only look at the baby Hideko. It’s thought that the Aunt was actually killed first and then hanged so they may have had no surprise. (There is a scene where Baby Hideko asks the Uncle, “In the book, it says that person who is hanged will have a long tongue sticking out and feces excreted. But why was my aunt had her mouth closed and had clean lower body that day?” then she is taken to the basement.)
- Hideko asking Sookhee “Wanna go somewhere nice?” is cited from Uncle saying the same thing to baby Hideko when she was taken to the basement.
- While Sookhee is tearing off the books in the library, the drawing that she drops on the floor (the one she did not rip apart) is the lesbian drawing that Hideko was imagining Sookhee while reciting
- In the library scene, Sookhee’s cape and shoes are all over the place, whereas Hideko’s cape is folded on the chair and her shoes are placed side by side under the chair
- When Sookhee stacks up the luggage for Hideko to cross over the wall, she places Hideko’s bag in between two bags. It’s thought to be Sookhee’s consideration that it doesn’t get dirty from neither soil on the ground nor the shoes.
- In Part 3, the Count’s line when telling the Uncle how he has become is the exact line the Uncle used to criticize Korea in Part 2. This also means Count is telling the Uncle that he is Korean no matter how much he wants to be Japanese.
- Right before the Count dies and indulge in reminiscence, he is remembering Hideko’s flushed/sweating face while reciting lesbian book and Hideko leaning on Sookhee’s shoulder while holding her hands. This is when the Count, right before he dies, stupidly assumes or realizes they may be in love. Also, the fact that Count is blurred and out focused from the camera angle represents that two ladies don’t even care or consider him in their sight. (Officially as per director)
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