"When you cannot see, the truth becomes ever clearer."
The film "Eye Pupil" is a mystery thriller in which Seo-jin (Shin Min-a), a photographer losing her sight to a hereditary disease, tracks the suspicious death of her twin sister alongside detective Do-hyeok (Kim Nam-hee). Based on the Spanish film "Julia's Eyes," it reworks the story with a Korean sensibility.
The work's greatest virtue is its choice of classical suspense. It calmly builds up what is seen and unseen, and how the fear of the invisible erodes a person. The protagonist's anxiety as she loses her sight transfers directly to the audience. Director Yeom Ji-ho in particular is credited with completing a classic suspense piece, rarely seen these days, by placing homages to Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick throughout. Added to this, the elaborate mise-en-scène—the contrast of darkness and light, frames that restrict the field of vision, and the pressure created by empty spaces—draws out breathtaking tension without flashy action, reviving the dignity of the classic thriller.
Shin Min-a steadily handles a dual role, anchoring the center of the drama. She delicately portrays the setup that allows viewers to naturally distinguish the twin sisters, as well as the anxiety and tenacity of a character who presses toward the truth even as she loses her sight. A mystery-novel enthusiast, she said, "The plot is well-woven, so viewers will be able to feel the charm of an authentic thriller," and explained, "I focused on expressing the extreme tension of being continuously pursued."
Kim Nam-hee's presence is also intense. He heightens the film's tension with three-dimensional acting that moves between anxiety and madness, compassion and obsession. In particular, the grotesque visuals in the latter half leave a powerful impression that crosses the boundary between reality and nightmare. In the end, "Eye Pupil" is a work that gazes at the boundary between love and obsession, beyond a mystery of finding the culprit. The elaborate mise-en-scène, classic suspense, and the presence of the actors come together to offer the charm of an authentic thriller, rarely seen in some time. It opens on the 24th.
