The Quiet Family (Choyonghan kajok)

Critics Consensus

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Movie Info

Rejecting current trends in mainstream genres and the conventions of commercial cinema, Choyonnghan-Kajok, an experimental black comedy, follows an eccentric story line with some surprise attacks on the audience. Comedy and horror elements are used intermittently to create a thriller in a family setting. The events are seen through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Mi-na, daughter of the Kang family, who decide to run Mt. Lodge in the suburbs of Seoul after the father is dismissed from his company. Contrary to expectations, there are no guests lining up at the door, and the youngest daughter is upset by a strange noise she hears at night. After two weeks, the first guest appears, but he is found dead the next day. The family buries him in a hurry to avoid bad publicity. Then a couple arrives and commits double suicide and they have to bury them, too. By the time they get used to digging, it's announced a road construction will pass beside their property. The set of the film, Mt. Lodge, was created in real size by a set specialist and architect large enough for camera equipment to move around. Although the subtexts are not labored, the sanctity of family solidarity and the capacity for sudden violence in the very conservative Korean society are some of the themes the audience is left to reflect. Choyonnghan-Kajok was screened as part of the International Forum of Young Cinema at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Art House & International, Comedy, Drama, Horror
Directed By:

Kim Jee-woon
In Theaters:

Jan 1, 1998 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jul 30, 2002
Runtime:

99 minutes

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Cast

Mun-Hee Na

Park In-hwan

Song Kang Ho

Na Moon-heui

Choi Min-sik

Lee Yeon-sung

Ho-kyung Go

Su-Won Ji

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Critic Reviews for The Quiet Family (Choyonghan kajok)

All Critics (5) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (1)

Α film almost nonsensical as it unfolds like a collage of episodes rather than a solid story. However, these episodes are quite entertaining as they combine minor violence with black humor, based on the family's mischievous but naive characters

Jan 6, 2019 | Full Review…

Panos Kotzathanasis
HanCinema
This Hitchcockean farce puts the dead in deadpan.

Jul 22, 2005 | Full Review…

Anton Bitel
Movie Gazette

View All Critic Reviews (5)

Audience Reviews for The Quiet Family (Choyonghan kajok)

Oct 31, 2016

Charming little black comedy from Korea

Marcus W Super Reviewer
Dec 28, 2009

bizarre tim-burton-esque south korean black comedy. it's totally ridiculous but works. good to see kang-ho song from the host and min-sik choi from oldboy acting together

Sanity Assassin ! Super Reviewer
May 05, 2008

The Quiet Family, of which many may know Miike's musical remake Happiness Of The Katakuris, focuses on the Kang family and their attempts to run a successful mountain lodge. Individually the family is a strange bunch, but together they are just that...family, bonding when it comes to covering up the untimely deaths of their residents, each family member excelling in their own disposal method. An understatement, in every sense of the word, that makes light of a family's attempts to keep everything together when everything in life seems to be falling apart. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=quiet_family.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/quiet_family.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

El Hombre I Super Reviewer
Dec 12, 2007

Different from the crazy musical Happiness of the Katakuris remake, this one is actually funny. At first it makes you think it's a scary, bizzare movie until to the piont where it just becomes sick repetitive burying work. Dark comedy to the max. ^0^

Jojo S Super Reviewer