Synopsis and Review
"A Tale of Two Sisters" tells the story of sisters Su-mi and Su-yeon.
The film begins with a conversation between a doctor and his patient at a mental hospital. The doctor asks her to talk about a specific day.
The film then flashes back to Su-mi and her younger sister, Su-yeon. They are seen arriving home and are greeted by their stepmother, Eun-joo. Their mother had just died, and it is apparent that the girls do not get along with Eun-joo.
Throughout the movie, Su-yeon keeps fleeing into Su-mi's room claiming that Eun-joo is mistreating her or that someone is entering her room. This, of course, further strains the relationship between the girls and their stepmother.
One afternoon, Su-mi discovers family photographs. She notices that Eun-joo is in all of them--even in the ones taken while the girls' mother was alive. Su-mi realizes that Eun-joo has been a part of her life all along. Su-yeon, then, walks in with bruises on her arm. Realizing that Eun-joo was responsible for the marks, Su-mi confronts her stepmother who admits to hurting Su-yeaon.
That night, Eun-joo's brother and his wife come to visit the family. During dinner, Eun-joo keeps telling stories about her childhood--stories her brother denies ever happened.
The brother's wife suddenly falls onto the floor and begins shaking. The camera focuses on her trembling hand, and she sees the ghost of a girl under the kitchen sink.
Spoilers
Following the event, Eun-joo begins locking Su-yeon in a wardrobe she is afraid of. The girl is scared of the wardrobe because her mother had committed suicide in it. After becoming fed up with her stepmother, Su-mi confronts her father and asks him why he acts oblivious to how Eun-joo is treating her sister.
Her father responds by telling Su-mi that her sister is dead. Su-mi denies this, and begins looking for her sister. She finds a bloody bag that has been dragged around. Su-mi believes that Su-yeon is in it.
Su-mi tries to rescue her sister when Eun-joo tries to kill her. It is then that the film reveals that Su-mi has been imagining herself to be Eun-joo and that she has also been imagining the presence of her sister.
A flashback scene reveals how Su-yeon died: She discovered her mother's body in the wardrobe. Frightened, Su-yeon tried to help her mother. The wardrobe falls on the girl and smooshes her. The camera focuses on her trembling hand.
Eun-joo, who had been nursing the mother, hears the wardrobe fall and investigates the room. She realizes what happens, and it is assumed that she leaves to get help. However, she passes Su-mi in the hallway who makes a snide comment at her.
Eun-joo tells Su-mi that she would live to regret that day, and she decides to keep the accident to herself. Su-mi then leaves the house, unaware that her sister was dying at that very moment.
Review
This is my all-time favorite Asian horror film. Although other movies have tried (and failed) to pull off the same type of plot, I feel that "A Tale of Two Sisters" was successful in creating a psychological mystery filled with scares. The ending caught me entirely by surprise, and I highly recommend that movie lovers watch this film.
I rate this film 5/5.