Bakjwi
| Thirst | |
|---|---|
Korean theatrical poster
|
|
| Hangul | |
| Revised Romanization | Bakjwi |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pakchwi |
| Directed by | Park Chan-wook |
| Produced by | Park Chan-wook Ahn Soo-hyun |
| Written by | Park Chan-wook Jeong Seo-Kyeong |
| Based on |
Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola |
| Starring |
Song Kang-ho Kim Ok-bin Shin Ha-kyun Kim Hae-sook |
| Music by | Jo Yeong-wook |
| Cinematography | Chung-hoon Chung |
| Edited by |
Kim Sang-bum Kim Jae-bum |
|
Production
company |
Moho Films
Focus Features Internationals |
| Distributed by |
Focus Features (US) CJ Entertainment (South Korea) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
134 minutes 145 minutes (Director's cut) |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean English French |
| Box office | US$13,008,937 |
Thirst (Korean: ; Bakjwi; literally: Bat) is a 2009 South Korean horror film written, produced and directed by Park Chan-wook. It is loosely based on the novel Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola. The film tells the story of a Catholic priest—who is in love with his friend’s wife—turning into a vampire through a failed medical experiment. Park has stated, "This film was originally called 'The Bat' to convey a sense of horror. After all, it is about vampires. But it is also more than that. It is about passion and a love triangle. I feel that it is unique because it is not just a thriller, and not merely a horror film, but an illicit love story as well." The film won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It is the first mainstream Korean film to feature full-frontal male nudity.
Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) is a Catholic priest who volunteers at the hospital, providing ministry to the patients. He is well respected for his unwavering faith and dedicated service, but he secretly suffers from feelings of doubt and sadness. Sang-hyun volunteers to participate in an experiment to find a vaccine for the deadly Emmanuel Virus (EV). Although the experiment fails, and Sang-hyun is infected with the seemingly fatal disease, he makes a complete and rapid recovery after receiving a blood transfusion.
News of his marvelous recovery quickly spreads among the devout parishioners of Sang-hyun’s congregation, and they begin to believe that he has a miraculous gift for healing. Soon, thousands more flock to Sang-Hyun’s services. Among the new churchgoers are Kang-woo (Shin Ha-kyun), Sang-hyun’s childhood friend, and his family. Kang-woo invites his old friend to join the weekly mahjong night at his house, and there, Sang-hyun finds himself attracted to Kang-woo’s wife, Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin). Sang-hyun later relapses into his illness and wakes in dire need of shelter from the sunlight, having become a vampire.
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