[HanCinema's Film Review] "Woman of Fire 82" + Full Movie

Not many directors have managed to remake their own films, even more so twice, but that is just what Kim Ki-young did with "The Housemaid - 1960", which was remade as "Woman of Fire" in 1971 and "Woman of Fire 82" the titular year.

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This setting, once more, is a poultry farm on the outskirts of Seoul, where, as the movie begins, the police have found the bodies of Dong-sik and Myeong-ja with many stab wounds on their bodies, while taking in the former's wife, Jeong-soon as a witness. Her testimony brings us back some time ago, when she went to the village Myeong-ja was living in, essentially to buy her as a live-in maid. The girl, however, demands no pay, just lodging, and a promise that Jeong-soon will find her an adequate husband as soon as her tenure is done. Jeong-soon retains an unusual relationship with her husband, as she has focused on running the poultry farm becoming rather rich in the process, while he explores his musical aspirations, usually around beautiful young girls, with Hye-ok having the role in the beginning of the story. Myeong-ja is loyal to her landlady, helping her in the house and with her kids, but one fateful night, when Jeong-soon is missing, everything changes. Myeong-ja tries to prevent Hye-ok from seducing Dong-sik, but her drunk landlord forces himself on her, leaving her pregnant. In the meantime, Jeong-soon is also pregnant, and when she learns of what has happened, all hell breaks loose.

The film, more or less, follows the format of the previous two movies, with a maid coming into a rich house where the couple are experiencing marital issues, starts an affair with the husband, is mistreated and eventually exacts revenge, before she becomes a victim once again. The events here, however, are much more brutal than before, while the commentary is much more pointed. The focuses, though, remain the same. The place of women in society, where they found value either as 'birthing machines' or as sex objects is one that permeates the narrative, with its levels presented through the three women in the story.

Jung-soon, whose age has essentially forbidden her both capacities, in order to survive and keep her husband, has changed her role to that of the moneymaker, which is paractically the only way she can find to be useful to him. The fact that she keeps ignoring his extensive spending and the fact that he is always surrounded by young women adds even more to the fact, particularly since Hye-ok seems to act as something much more than a guest in the house.  The fact that young Hye-ok is practically a younger version of her, trying to woo a man in order to have a future herself also moves in the same direction. Lastly, Myeong-ja, who is willing to work for free just to get a good husband concludes this rather harsh critique of Confucianism regarding the place of women in society, while justifying how the three women end up being enemies.

The second comment, which also derives from the aforementioned, is how sex and desire are a second driving force for all the characters in the film, including, surprisingly, Jeong-soon. Even though alcohol and drugs are involved, the fact that all characters act like animals on occasion, with their actions deriving from these primal instincts, presents another harsh comment about human nature. For Kim Ki-young, revenge and subsequently violence, are derived from this type of behavior, but also from the clash between the classes, which is where the last central comment of the narrative lies. When Jeong-soon learns that her husband has had sex with the maid is enraged, not because of his unfaithfulness, which she actually seemed to expect with Hye-ok, but from the fact that Myeong-ja is a lowly country girl, a maid, and thus impure and even dirty. The way the couple treat her after that, as much as the man who was supposed to be betrothed to her, a worker in the farm, highlights their racism as eloquently as possible, while also presenting it as another source violence derives from.

At the same time, and as a result of all the aforementioned, what remains as a more general comment about the characters in the movie, is that none of them is actually good, with their jealousy, cruelty, weakness, brutality, animal instincts and overall demeanor resulting in another, more general and quite pessimistic comment about human behavior.

Lastly, special mention should be made to the various symbolisms and metaphors in the movie, from the eggs and the chickens, to the clocks and time, to the mice and their capture, which can be interpreted in a number of ways. These elements are also some of the main sources of the impression the production values leave. Jung Il-sung has captured all the above, and the claustrophobic, suffocating setting of the house with gusto and artfulness. The kaleidoscopic images, the voyeuristic frames, and the way the many erotics scenes are presented are all a testament to the prowess of the visuals, with the "silver" one definitely staying on mind. Hyeon Dong-chun editing results in a relatively slow pace, while his cuts are also part of a general disorientation that permeates large parts of the film, particularly regarding what is reality and what imagination.

The truth is, however, that Kim at some point lost his sense of measure, with the narrative moving into paths that are incoherent, and the cinematic values following behind. That the movie lasts, excessively, for almost two hours, highlights the fact in the most obvious fashion, essentially deeming the title on a level much lower than its two predecessors.

On the other hand, the performances are quite good. Kim Ji-mee is the definite protagonist of the story and gives an outstanding performance as a woman who tries her best to adapt to any situation but finds her actions having horrible consequences. Na Young-hee as Myeong-ja exhibits an impressive transformation from a country bumpkin to an angel of sex and revenge. Kim Hae-sook as the diva that eventually becomes desperate is also great, concluding the trio of great female performances in the movie.

Even though "Woman of Fire" is not a masterpiece, Kim Ki-young, as always, has included a number of elements that will stimulate the viewer, in another movie of his that manages to stray away from the norms of Korean cinema, at least for the most part.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"Woman of Fire 82" is directed by Kim Ki-young, and features Kim Ji-mee, Na Young-hee, Jeon Moo-song, Kim Hae-sook, Yeo Po, Kim Sung-kyum. Release date in Korea: 1982/06/26.