Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

BA_Harrison After unsuccessfully trying for a baby, Dr. Kim Do-il (Jin-geun Kim) convinces his reluctant wife Choi Mi-sook (Hye-jin Shim) to visit the local orphanage, where they decide to adopt Jin-seong (Oh-bin Mun), a creepy young lad who draws disturbing Edvard Munch-style pictures (which wouldn't make him my first choice, but then perhaps I've seen way too many horror films). Once at his new home, their new son forms a strange attachment to the sickly acacia tree in the garden, and befriends the equally frail girl next door, Min-ji (Na-yoon Jeong).Mi-sook struggles to make Jin-seong feel wanted—a task made harder by her unsupportive mother, who openly voices her opinion that adoption was a mistake—but things go from bad to worse after Mi-sook discovers that she is pregnant. When the baby is born, Jin-seong feels rejected and starts to pose a threat to the new arrival, and, as family life becomes more strained, the boy's strange attachment to the acacia grows stronger. After an argument with his adoptive mother, Jin-Seong declares that the tree is his dead mother, and mysteriously disappears.With their adopted son missing, Kim Do-il and Choi Mi-sook's relationship rapidly breaks down. Meanwhile, Mi-sook's mother coughs up blood after an acacia bloom falls on her face and Kim Do-il's father is attacked and killed by the ants that guard the tree. Is the acacia really the reincarnation of Jin-seong's real mother, taking revenge on those who have wronged her son? And what is the sinister secret that eventually drives Mi-sook to homicidal madness?Trees can be pretty scary: the ominous tree outside the young boy's bedroom window in Poltergeist, the terrifying trees of The Evil Dead, the baby-eating tree in The Guardian, and even the grouchy apple trees in The Wizard of Oz—all of them decidedly unsettling. The acacia tree in this lacklustre K-horror is rather weak by comparison, striking out with flowers and insects… hardly the stuff of nightmares.The real horror of this film is not its titular tree, which actually looks rather tranquil and nonthreatening throughout, but rather the twist of fate and chain of events that ultimately results in tragedy and suffering—but it is all told at such a dull pace that it proves totally unengrossing. Director Ki-hyeong Park has clearly spent a lot of effort on making his film look as stylish as possible, delivering some admittedly striking imagery, but with such dreary storytelling, very little in the way of tension, and a muddled ending that required way more concentration and patience than I cared to give, Acacia leaves a lot to be desired.

cadillac20 While Acacia won't really wow anyone, it is a nice little film that is a bit surprising. Almost immediately there is a good establishment of creepiness, most of which comes from the excellent camera work and music. Then there is the little boy who was an excellent pick for the movie. The story is different from typical horror, but conforms to the typical Asian horror style of taking something average and making it into a nightmarish object of hell, in this case an Acacia tree in the backyard of a family.The story tells about a young couple who wish to have a child. Since they have been unsuccessful in making one, they decide to adopt. They take into their home a 10 year old boy with an obsession for trees. Once home, he immediately comes to love their dying Acacia tree in the backyard. However, almost immediately after he is brought home, strange things start to happen. And when the family does have a child of their own, it only gets worse.Yes, the movie is a bit slow, but there are enough familiar elements, and the story is interesting enough to warrant a complete viewing. Both the camera-work and the acting is excellent, as well as the direction. Some of the shots are noteworthy and the sense of horror here is both subdued and in the cheese arena. You might find yourself giggling at some of the scenes, but the by the end, you should find yourself with something that you have enjoyed. One other positive note is that this film isn't complicated. There may be a bit of confusion throughout, but by the end, it is a pretty clear story, something that seems to be a bit rare in Asian cinema. So, if you don't mind your Asian horror straight up, then you might wanna give this a try.

ddevil2347 ...with one big problem: To fully appreciate it, you have to watch it twice. Yet you probably don't want to, since it is terribly slow and you're frustrated by the confusing editing. The turning point is the first blood which the audience can't know of until the end. And without knowing it, the character development only seems odd and inexplicable. Not to mention the rage of our angry tree or the red wool... But If you know what happened, things are quite different. Especially between husband and wife. The boy's mother, in denial, passes the guilt to her husband. He, on the other other hand, can't deal with that pressure. Alone, without the attention or love of his wife and also loosing the counsel of the grandfather, he builds up enormous rage. They're both caught in a vicious cycle of guilt, anger and violence finally resulting in them killing each other (more or less).Another interesting aspect of the movie is the demise of the patriarch of the house. His pain lies in loosing control. First he struggles with the somewhat strange kid, then his son and daughter-in-law kill his grandchild and finally the girl next door robs the secret grave (the wooden necklace). Without the supernatural ant-part, this could have been very good. I would have killed him off with a stroke or something like that.Fortunally, supernatural scenes are quite rare in this movie. Most of the time they appear in dreams anyway. What's left are the angry ants and a moving branch.The movie's end somehow caught me. The last scene with its disturbing beauty and tranquility and the absolutely awesome credits. So I gave it a second chance before completely dismissing it as a waste of money. You should too. Its the age of DVD - jump to some scenes and re-watch them, you might come to like them too.

BennyM This movie has an original premise, but ultimately winds up a little too confused about where it wanted to go. The storytelling, which starts off with fine, mood-filled, dwelling shots, veers off into a style more reminiscent of standard psycho-thrillers as the conclusion draws near. One scene in particular (*SPOILER*: the death of the father-in-law) jars with the visual style right up to this point and seems to mark a clear break in the narrative. The first hour is absolutely riveting, though, and I'll certainly want to see other films by Ki-Hyung Park.