Let's just get it out of the way, I like the story. I really did. I didn't like how they pieced it all together.
It might have helped to have had a bit more separation between the flashbacks and the current events. At the beginning of the film it was so tightly intertwined that it was hard to get a grasp of what was taking place.
It is filmed great. There are some great moments of cinematography, in my opinion and while the actors seemed a bit cold and rigid, I think it worked well. Portraying them in such a manner really helped in driving home the desire to disassociate from what was happening in both their past and present events.
It seemed to be a bit long and it dragged in a few places. The climax was an initial let down but the more I thought about it the more it grew on me. However, I still would've appreciated seeing a more just end but c'est la vie, right?
Not a bad watch. Decent story. Could've been laid out better. Ending could've been better. A bit long and convoluted but I still liked it. It won't be for everyone though.
Plot summary
A pawnbroker is found murdered in a remote town. Police suspect that he was murdered by an acquaintance, as even the most experienced investigator on the case could identify no signs of resistance. Three people come under suspicion but all of them have perfect alibis and the investigation comes to a standstill. One year later, one of them is found dead and the original murder case becomes even more mysterious. Almost fifteen years pass and the lead inspector, now approaching retirement, reflects on the only case he could not solve in an otherwise successful career. Haunted by a sense of responsibility and guilt that he caused suffering by letting the murder case go unsolved, he decides to re-investigate. His persistent search brings attention to the long forgotten case and reveals a hidden relationship between the victim's son and the neighborhood woman's daughter. As their love grows, more crimes happen. As their sin grows, the inspector's chase comes closer to them.
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Decent Story With Some Issues
It could have been so good...
There are certain directors who can make a simple love story between a girl and a boy so fascinating, so romantic, so heart touching that you feel that this can not be just a film. Yet at the same time there are also directors who manage to screw up a script/story which is already so good and so exciting. The director of the film White Night is a mixture of those two personalities.
The great part of this film is the love story between the two main actor/actress. I was really sucked into their relationship and it was quite a few times which I was forced to remind myself that this is only a film, its not real. The relationship between them is very ordinary for a film, you can see many examples from other romantic films but this director really managed to make it very thrilling and moving.
However the same can not be said about the film in general. The writer of this film is a genius, I could see how great this story would have been had it been a stand alone book, Im sure it would have been a bestseller. For some odd reason the director of this film screwed it up. First is the pacing, at the beginning everything was going so fast. Random people turned up and disappeared, names got cast around and it was hard to hang on to to the plot and know who was who. I am not a native Korean so to remember the names of people have always proved a huge challenge in Korean films, however this one is even more difficult since for the first hour or so everything was so fast, and the many flashbacks made everything ... confusing. The last part of the film was very slow, nothing much happened and when I finally knew the names and the plot I really wanted action, something unexpected to happen but I never got any. The ending was very sad and boring. The woman who have been so warm for the whole movie suddenly turned cold, very cold, with no obvious reason.
I would advice the director of this film to make a pure romantic film next time, not some mystery thriller. Winter Night was a mediocre film which should be watched by people who seek a great love story and not a mystery/thriller film. The person who is the murder is obvious already in the first few minutes....
Unexpected plot twists make this extraordinary movie
This movie completely blew me of. It is almost close to '' the old boy''. The story is great at the same time very sad. The movie commence with a simple murder case, so I thought it is all about solving a murder case. But OH MY GOD! It was just a trailer, the whole movie was waiting ahead. Started unfolding mysteries about past. Though I loved this movie twists but I am bit disappointed for its ending.