Samaritan Girl (South Korea, 2004)

As a white, northern-European female I am fascinated by the insight that film can give into other periods in history, and especially, other countries and cultures. It's sort of a vicarious way to travel. And Samaritan Girl, set in South Korea, shines a bright light into a country and culture I would probably never otherwise know.

Best friends, Jae-yeong and Yeo-jin are apparently, run-of-the-mill teenage schoolgirls. However, one thing sets them apart from their peers. They have set themselves up in the prostitution business. Devil-may-care Jae-yeong does the deed, while the more cautious Yeo-jin runs the business side of things.

How did they get into this terrible situation? Have they been horribly abused by their parents and it's the only life they know? No. Are they desperate for money to pay for an abortion for Yeo-jin who was raped by her brother? No. Do they need to pay for their drug habit? Not even that. They're doing it to raise money for a trip to Europe. What? Two normal, comfortable, well-brought up teenage girls turn to prostitution to go on holiday? What's that all about? Of course there wouldn't be a story if they were washing cars or doing a paper round. But try to make the same film in Europe. Working class German kid turns rent-boy to raise money to buy an i-Pod. Spanish farmer's daughter sells sex to go to a music festival? I'm not sure those would get made. But things are different in South Korea.

Anyway, that's just the beginning, and it's not really the point. As far as the plot goes, there are twists and turns along the way, and of course it all ends in tears. But along the way we are treated to a perceptive and compassionate story of people living in a culture I, at least, have no knowledge of. That is not at all to say it is worth seeing just to be educated in cultural diversity. On the contrary, it is a very human story, beautifully told.

This is the second film by director Kim Ki-Duk I've seen (the other being 'The Isle'), and equally impressive. I'm fast becoming a fan of South Korean cinema :0)