Can you ever really know someone?
In this new thriller stemming from South Korea, audiences are left trying to figure out the truth behind the death.
Written by Hailey Passmore
It is not very often that a film leaves you with an ambiguous ending. Yet with Hwang Wook’s The Woman, it works because the audience is shown signs that this may happen throughout the entire story. In a surreal way, The Woman constantly leaves you questioning what is going on, what will happen next, and who could have done it. A psychological mind trick, and your brain will definitely hurt by the time it’s over.
One day, a young woman, Sun-kyung (Han Hye-ji), uses an online sharing page to get a free vacuum cleaner from a stranger. But when she meets the owner, Young-hwan (Kim He-sang), to get the vacuum, she begins to realize something is not quite right with him. When she gives him strawberries as a thank-you gift, he claims he does not accept gifts from strangers anymore – not after what happened to his mother. All of a sudden, he changes his mind and aggressively grabs the strawberries from her. Luckily, a man steps in to break it up, a man who ends up being her old college classmate, Ui-jin (Nam Yeon-woo). As Sun-kyung and Ui-jin exchange looks over Young-hwan’s strange nature, he leaves. The next day, the town’s homicide detective calls her in for questioning after discovering that Ui-jin committed suicide that night. Sun-kyung jumps to conclusions and suspects Young-hwan of being involved with his death, becoming all too eager to prove that he is guilty.
"Our brains are instinctively wired to always search for evidence that confirms what I know is right."
This idea that what one individual knows in their hearts is the only answer is an idea that flows through The Woman. Yet Hwang Wook does not allow the audience to know what the truth is. A complete psychological kidnapping, Wook keeps the audience wanting to know more. We are made to continue searching for evidence throughout the film to confirm who did it. However, as the viewer, we aren’t even sure what we want to prove is right. Wook’s creative choices keep it so that the audience must continuously change what they believe to be the correct answer. By splitting the film into two parts – ‘the man’ and ‘the woman’ – we are given two perspectives of what might have happened. There is a subtle genius in the way Wook creates a trail of breadcrumbs for the audience to follow.
As the scandal begins, a suspenseful and alluring score plays with notes in the right places that allow for tensions to rise before any death occurs. The sounds and music notes feel specifically chosen at times in the film and create a depth to both the plot and the characters as well. Combine the eerie score with the point-of-view shots and the camera following Sun-kyung, and as a viewer, you’re left in fear and wonder. Ominous long stares into each character keep the suspense and tension building. As a viewer, you’re left wondering what could possibly compel a creative to develop a story such as this. Shots through the peephole in Sun-kyung’s door as Young-hwan lurks outside, making it appear that she knows more than the police know, and dark hints being dropped, showcase the creativity and mystery Wook can develop.
The Woman is a dark psychological thriller that keeps audiences on the edge of their seat and working their brains throughout its entirety. Though clues are constantly hinted at, we as the audience are ultimately left in the dark and are unable to figure out what the truth of the matter is. With his fourth feature-length film, he’s created something completely different than his last.
Hwang Wook’s The Woman premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival on Saturday, July 26, 2025. With another mark made for independent Korean filmmaking, hopefully the film with reach wider audiences in the near future.
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