The Tiger (2015)

For me, it's important to understand going in to this movie that what you are watching is a fairy tale. Not a fairy tale like today's, where they all end up with "And They Lived Happily Ever After", but like the fairy tales of my youth which were, in actuality, quite violent and bloody and full of allegory and mysticism. So you need to suspend reality going into this movie. You might parallel it with movies like Crouching Tiger, etc since the atmosphere, the cinematography, the actions scenes are all combined to transport us into a world that is more mystical than realistic...though the actions scenes are quite realistic and far too intense for a younger audience.

It's a beautiful movie to look at. Not just the cinematography (the camera work is stunningly beautiful), but the period setting, the costumes, the characters, and, most of all, the locations (particularly Mt Jirisan) are just breathtakingly beautiful. The film truly transports you to another time and another place.

The story is allegorical in more than just a man against beast, beast against man way. The time period of the film is set during the Japanese occupation and during this time period the Japanese army was charged with searching out and destroying pockets of resistance groups hiding out on Mt. Jirisan. Also, the tiger is a symbolic animal for the Korean people reflecting their courage and resilience against their many years of adversity. A tiger that has overcome trials and tribulations and understands the world is known to turn white, becoming a white tiger. A symbol that becomes apparent at the end of the movie. So the Japanese soldiers who are hunting the tiger in this movie and the tiger's fight against them have this underlying symbolism to them.

I've read several reviews and commentaries on this movie. A lot of people felt like it was too long or got boring. I totally do not relate to that. But, I am a huge fan of these types of movies and love the mystical quality of them. The movie flew by for me. It may not be so for you. But I hope it will be!

Small SPOILER: The subs on Netflix are good, but not perfect. I don't know Korean, but I can tell if sentences are left out or when some phrases are changed or not translated. Of particular note, what Man Deok says has he leaves his burning house ca ji ca jah (spelling???) which is "Let's go together", I believe, not I'm going.

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Sadly ending of a majectic tiger and the extinction of tigers in Korea

"The Tiger" is a beautiful movie with amazing cinematography with Mt. Jirisan as its "spine" of movie theme. The character Cheon Man Deok (portrayed by actor Choi Min Shik) is a tiger hunter that killed a tigress, however, he saved the tigress' two cubs and let the forest take care of its cubs. One cub died and the one eye cub lived and grew up to be the majestic tiger that roams Mt. Jirisan. I do not want to tell this sad story about the extinction of tigers due to over hunting. I would recommend to watch the movie to be mindful and to educate us to stop hunting that include their preys to preserve tigers, a key role in the conservation strategies of tigers.

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