Thirst (2009)
“Bakjwi”.
Drama, Fantasy, Horror |
Thirst is a South Korean horror film produced, written and directed by Park Chan-wook. It is loosely based on the 1867 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. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
Sang-hyun 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, 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. Sang-hyun later relapses into his illness and wakes in dire need of shelter from the sunlight, having become a vampire.
Director: Chan-wook Park
Writers: Émile Zola (inspired by “Thérèse Raquin”), Chan-wook Park (screenplay by), Seo-kyeong Jeong (screenplay by)
Stars: Kang-ho Song, Ok-bin Kim, Hee-jin Choi, Ha-kyun Shin, Woo-seul-hye Hwang, Hae-sook Kim, In-hwan Park
►Cast:
| Kang-ho Song | … | Sang-hyun (as Song Kang-ho) |
| Hee-jin Choi | … | Nurse Sa |
| Dong-soo Seo | … | Hyo-sung |
| Hwa-ryong Lee | … | Doctor Ku |
| Mi-ran Ra | … | Nurse Yu |
| In-hwan Park | … | Priest Roh (as Park In-hwan) |
| Eriq Ebouaney | … | Emmanuel Research Director |
| Thati Pele | … | Emmanuel Research Nun |
| Jong-ryol Choi | … | Grandfather |
| Yong-wan Goo | … | Devotee |
| Woo-seul-hye Hwang | … | Whistle Girl |
| Hae-sook Kim | … | Mrs. Ra (as Kim Hae-sook) |
| Ha-kyun Shin | … | Kang-woo (as Shin Ha-kyun) |
| Ok-bin Kim | … | Tae-ju (as Kim Ok-vin) |
| Dal-su Oh | … | Young-du (as Oh Dal-su) |
| Mercedes Cabral | … | Evelyn |
| Young-chang Song | … | Seung-dae (as Song Young-chang) |
| Cheol-woo Han | … | Investigator |
| Kim Hee-ok | … | Oh Veronica |
| Tae-hee Kim | … | Security Guard |
| Jong-hak Son | … | Detective |
| Deok-jae Jo | … | Inspector 1 |
| Moon-Eui Jo | … | Inspector 2 |
| Natallia Bulynia | … | Passenger |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia
