Revenge. A lot of recent movies tend to be in favor of it, or at least a stylized version that looks really cool.  Sure, the likes of Death Sentence and The Brave One show the dark side of taking matters into your own hands. But at the end of the day, the bad guys have gotten their just desserts, and the good guys have been vindicated for taking out society's trash. Samaritan Girl, a film by South Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk, spins quite a different tale. The idea of an eye for an eye comes with nasty consequences in this tough but intriguingly-told story about how sacrificing one's own self can help heal wounds more effectively than sacrificing others.

High school students Jae-young (Min-jeong Seo) and Yeo-jin (Ji-min Kwak) are the best of friends, not to mention partners in a rather sordid business. In order to raise money for plane tickets to Europe, Jae-young has been selling her body to men, while Yeo-jin manages her affairs from the sidelines. It's an arrangement that's worked out so far, until Yeo-jin grows concerned (and perhaps a little jealous) about  how her friend's customers are starting to treat her. This partnership comes to a tragic end when Jae-young dies after the police burst in while she's "working." As a means of making reparations for what she made her friend go through, Yeo-jin sets about sleeping with Jae-young's clients and giving back their money, an approach that actually inspires the men to clean up their acts and lead better lives. But after Yeo-jin's policeman father (Eol Lee) finds out what she's been doing, he sets off on a path of wanton violence, one definitely at odds with his daughter's search for redemption.

Samaritan Girl continues Kim Ki-duk's tradition of emphasizing what's not said over what is said. The film actually contains quite a bit of dialogue, especially when compared to Kim's other films (particularly 3-Iron), but the crux of the story hinges on a lack of communication. When Yeo-jin's father sees her in bed with another man and begins to stalk other clients on their way to meet her, he assumes the worst right off the bat and trudges further down a violent road without ever talking to her about it. Although you might see this as being a little stubborn on Kim's part, sort of a cheap way of prolonging the story instead of having the characters just talk things out, but the way Kim conveys this decision seems perfectly logical and leads to the most suspenseful sequences of the film -- the highlight occuring when Yeo-jin's father confronts one of the clients in his own home.

In turn, one might think Yeo-jin's decision to sell herself is a drastic way of making it up to her deceased friend. However, such an act fits right along with Samaritan Girl's subtle commentary on faith and religion. On the one hand, you have the father, who supplies his child with religious facts on a daily basis and yet turns to violence to right what he believes has been wronged against his daughter. In contrast, there's Yeo-jin, who yawns her way through her dad's lectures, only to realize soon after Jae-young's death that she can't escape her sins and that something big must be done in order to repent. The paths of both characters are delicately interwoven with one another, each compelling to watch unfold, due in part to Kim's  storytelling. But credit also goes to the powerful yet  low-key performances of Ji-min Kwak and Eol Lee. 

Although a few moments of this movie appear to drag with a lack of purpose or symbolism, Kim is mostly right on target here as he slips under the radar with an odd but unassuming story. Samaritan Girl hits as close to the heart as a film can.

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by Tartan Video and "R" for violence.)

Review also posted at: www.passportcinema.com.