Diary of June (2005)
Two teenagers joining the same class in a high school die on the same day. The one to be top of the class is killed by a big knife on the street, the other - the second best of the class indeed - seems to be jumped from the top of the school building. Everybody believes that he first killed his classmate and than himself. But when the police finds small pill boxes into the stomachs of both kids confessing their murder two South Korean cops are torn into a new case of murder series. While they try to hunt down the serial killer, more pupils are getting killed...
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The Worst Film Ever
It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Diary Of June tells the story of Detectives Chu Ja Young and Kim Dong Wook, who must solve a puzzling murder case involving a string of deaths at a local high school. Their investigation eventually leads them directly to a middle school student who has long suffered abuse at the hands of school bullies. In fact, each murder occurs just as it is described in the student's diary. On that evidence alone, one might think the detectives have an open and shut case. However, there's one problem. The student is already dead!The movie was above average. Not great but no ordinary as well. Typical Korean psychological thriller.
If you are not that familiar with Korean movies/cinema, you might be in for quite a surprise. But for me, it didn't really work. The English title does play a role in the movie, which is apparent almost from the get-go. But of course, that's not all there is to this movie and quite a few things happen.A pretty decent movie, that I can only recommend, if you have an affection for that sort of movies. Still there are better (Korean) movies out there to watch. So it's up to you, if you want to take the time and watch this over other movies. Just read another comment on here and then decide, before you waste your time.
This movie is being advertised as a mystery or thriller! That is not entirely true! While there is a mystery that has to be solved it is more a drama dealing with social issues! I will not tell what the topic is because that will spoil the plot quite a bit! I can tell however that the topic is a problem that every country on the world has to deal with! The cast is great! Yunjin Kim from "Lost" again was able to touch me! I actually could feel her emotions! "Diary of June" ("Bystanders) can be boring at times because of the slow pace! The first 75 minutes there is almost no tension! It even got to a point that I thought that this movie was going nowhere and that I could predict the outcome! But then the twist comes and shows what the whole movie actually was about! And I have to admit it really is a powerful message! A movie that has to be seen only if it was to make people aware of the problem discussed in the movie!
I really didn't expect a lot, watching this on the Fantasy Filmfest between two movies that interested me more than a "Korean detective story". But "Bystanders" is so much more than that.I will not give anyway anything about the story, because it's such a great experience, watching this and getting more and more details about the background of. I'm not saying there are really exciting and surprising twists and turns, it's not that kind of movie, but you certainly are stunned when another part of the story is revealed. There may be "too many endings" as another user pointed out in a comment, but it still worked for me. None of the final scenes is unsatisfying, even if you maybe get the feeling that it's just "too much".What makes this movie so special is the topic it is dealing with. It is not just a police-murderer-story, it reveals a shocking look at the Asian education system with all the pressure students have to deal with - teachers, parents and fellow students - and the brutal consequences. It works as a political/social movie, it works as a police thriller and it even works as a comedy, because the two cops that are supposed to solve the case are just funny as hell. It is sometimes strange to experience the fast change between really funny scenes and sad, dramatic moments, but then you realize that this is not that different from the real life.I was really impressed by this movie, by its humor, its deeply touching scenes, the brilliant actors and the beautiful cinematography. It deserves a larger audience than minor festivals.