A Tale of Two Sisters: movie review
Mental health and grief
Non-Spoiler Synopsis: A sister is released from a mental institution and returns home to her father, sister, and stepmother. There is something off about the house and the stepmother.
Where to watch: AMC+
Trigger Warnings: animal death, trauma, abuse, mental health struggles
Ratings (out of 5): Overall😱😱😱 and a half
Worth the Watch? “A Tale of Two Sisters” is a Korean film written and directed by Kim Jee-woon and released in 2003. The movie was inspired by the Korean folktale, “Janghwa Hongryjeon Yeon.” This is a visually striking film to watch; the colors reflect what is happening with the characters.
The movie follows two sisters, Soo-mi and Soo-yuen. It is about Soo-mi returning home after being in a mental institution after her mother’s death. Soo-mi returns home to a stepmother who is not happy about her return. The movie explores themes of mental health and familial relationships.
**Spoilers ahead-read with caution**
Oh my! As a therapist and someone who has worked with disassociative identity disorder, how could I not discuss this movie? Reading the folktale adds much more depth to the movie.
Soo-mi is released from a mental institution. It is not until later in the film we learn that Soo-mi developed Disassociative Identity Disorder (DID) after the traumatic death of her mother, who was terminally ill and died by suicide and her sister’s traumatic death.
The changing the language to discuss suicide. Committed implies a crime or immoral act has been done. Completed implies a goal has been reached. Thus, when talking about suicide, we can say someone died or was unalived by suicide.
The traumatic death of her sister, who found their mother in a wardrobe, who died when she tried to get her mother out of the wardrobe pulled it on top of herself. To further complicate things, Soo-mi’s stepmother, who was having an affair with her father at the time, discovered Soo-yeun still alive and decided to let her die after an altercation with Soo-mi.
We see Soo-mi’s DID (Disassociative Identity Disorder) manifest with the alters, Soo-yeun, Eun-joo (the stepmother), the girl under the sink, and her dead mother. Alters is the most common term used for the various personalities residing within one body. If you know someone with DID, check with them for the term they are most comfortable with. Typically, with DID, alters take turns being in control of the body. Some alters know other alters, and some do not know any of the alters. In Soo-mi’s case, none of her alters know the others. DID can happen when someone experiences such profound trauma that they essentially split into other personalities to help cope with what has happened. DID systems (the personalities residing in the body) can be complex and have the alters can have many roles and responsibilities. Many only front (take over the body) when something has triggered or upset the core personality.
The grief for Soo-mi and her feelings of being separated from her father are unbearable. Her father still has her stepmother. Soo-mi has lost everyone. Soo-mi is unable to deal with her guilt over her sister's death and therefore forgets the death and creates an alter for her.
The Tale of Two Sisters is an eerie horror movie that delves into mental health and grief.
Want more?
DID Movies? Check out Split and Identity.
A great book about DID is Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi.
New movie review on Wednesdays
Coming soon:
Horror Movie Mental Health First Aid Kit
Man Vs. Bear
Is there a movie you’d love to discuss or want me to review, please comment.
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