Barba Azul (2017)

An unabashed portrayal of man's descent into madness

Who defines madness and who are we to do so really? Till where does one establish a line and say that, this and onwards is deemed crazy? Aren't we all crazy then? This film is a clever depiction of such vague themes and raises questions that are usually avoided and left unanswered due to said or unsaid societal norms...The premise is dark and rather melancholic, with a doctor who moves to the countryside and works at a fairly small clinic, after a failed practice and marriage in Gangnam... He stays rather aloof and usually just keeps to the clinic and home, on doing a colonoscopy once he comes across his landlord's father speaking under the influence of anaesthesia, describing what sounds like a well planned murder coming from someone with experience. From then on there isn't any clear distinction between reality and imagination, and much of it is left to the audience's conscience to decide for what had actually happened...
The pace is slow allowing the tension to build steadily...the direction is clever and tries to impart meaning to a lot of its setting and the surroundings, it is a delight for a keen and intuitive audience...I would also like to give credit for the ingenious selection, the title of the film is...from what I understand, it is in reference to the French folklore Bluebeard wherein the antagonist would test his numerous wives on their obedience with the penalty being death...
Overall it was rather twisted and didn't show the best in humans but made me sympathize with the one who slowly lost his sanity in the company of all those around him...It is a subtle commentary on the dog eat dog world we live in where people go beyond limits to safeguard their own interests...

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As expected from the writer of "Stranger"! The story was a little slow for my taste but did not bore me, and the suspense was just right. It was quite disturbing. The story was slightly different from what I had in my head as I began watching but it definitely not a waste of time. It's not one of those dramas I would like to rewatch though. The plot was nicely packed into a 2-hour-long movie.

The music helped bring a certain mood to the scene and made it even more suspenseful, but the music itself was nothing memorable.

Also, Jo Jin Woong never fails to impress me with his acting! If it had not been because of him, I do not think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did.

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