I'd seen Yim's most recent film, Hansel and Gretel, and was completely blown away by it. Antarctic Journal is the polar opposite of that film in many respects. Hansel and Gretel filled every shot with a vast palette of colors and fantastic detail. Antarctic Journal, though… More
I'd seen Yim's most recent film, Hansel and Gretel, and was completely blown away by it. Antarctic Journal is the polar opposite of that film in many respects. Hansel and Gretel filled every shot with a vast palette of colors and fantastic detail. Antarctic Journal, though beautiful looking, is pretty much empty and just white. Hansel and Gretel played on the warm cozy setting and here the film uses the open and ferocious landscape to do the same kind of work. It's a creepy well-acted chiller that never quite terrifies. The psychology of the characters is well developed but due to the slow nature of the film, it never grabs the attention. The film feels mostly like constant build up. The few final scenes are very haunting, especially the cold and bleak final shot of Song walking into the distance.