Cast is superb, but characters and plot development leave much to be desired

Kang Dong-won (left) and Kim Yun-seok in “The Priests” (CJ Entertainment)

“The Priests,” from award-winning short film director Jang Jae-hyun, is undoubtedly the most experimental commercial movie of the year, taking on the occult -- a genre that is still largely unfamiliar to Korean audiences.

The film follows a priest surnamed Kim (Kim Yun-seok), a thorn in the side of the Korean Catholic community who scoffs at the church’s efforts to become a universally respected and beloved institution. When a young girl named Yeong-shin (Park So-dam) begins to exhibit signs of possession after a mysterious car accident, he asks the church to allow him to conduct an exorcism, but is shouted down out of fears of public perception. The church eventually caves, and assigns a troublemaking priest-in-training surnamed Choi (Gang Dong-won) to help him in an unofficial exorcism.

The casting in the movie is excellent; Kim Yun-seok carries on the rebellious, tough-talking veteran image he fostered earlier this year in “The Classified File,” while Gang Dong-won adds a dash of youth and mischief with expressions of wide-eyed wonder in his exorcism training. Park So-dam, easily one of the year’s top new actresses, having appeared in “The Silenced” alongside Park Bo-young and in “The Throne” and crowd-pleasing “Veteran,” gives a truly impressive performance as a girl tortured by a demon.

Kang Dong-won in “The Priests” (CJ Entertainment)

However, the actors were not given much background or insights into the characters to work with. The audience is given little explanation of why Kim is so determined to go his own way, opposing the institution that had given him his calling, or the effect of Choi’s past traumatic experience on his approach to his vocation. While there are fleeting scenes that imply a friendly relationship between Kim and the possessed Yeong-shin, their history never pans out.

This lack of character development may be why “character” was not mentioned by either of the two lead actors when asked why they chose the film in a press conference ahead of the film’s release. Instead, Kim spoke about the potential for expanding the genre spectrum of Korean cinema through a well-made mystery, while Gang said “the character wasn’t particularly special, but the film felt special.”

Kim Yun-seok in “The Priests” (CJ Entertainment)

Of course, there are notable aspects of the film that merit praise. Director Jang’s experience with short films comes through in his effective use of light and dark, and in particular the choice of a dark and shoddy apartment in the alleys of bustling Myeong-dong as the setting for the highlight exorcism. There is also a scene showing Yeong-shin’s condition being treated by a traditional Korean shamanistic ritual, an apt representation of the coexistence of indigenous and Western religious influences in Korean society today.

In the end, “The Priests” falls into an awkward position -- strong in its visuals and acting performances, but leaving a trail of unanswered questions as the film progresses. Still, since its release, it has been rewarded for its experimental spirit. As of Wednesday, the movie had sold nearly 2 million tickets.

“The Priests” opened in local theaters on Nov. 5.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)