A Tale of Two Sisters
2003 1h 55m movie Film South Korea

A Tale of Two Sisters

장화, 홍련

“Our sorrow was conceived long before our birth.”

Synopsis

장화, 홍련

“Our sorrow was conceived long before our birth.”

A recently released patient from a mental institution returns home with her sister, only to face disturbing events between her stepmother and the ghosts haunting their house- all of which are connected to a dark past in the family's history.

The 2002–2004 South Korea Window

91 South Korea films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. A Tale of Two Sisters sits at position #19.

  1. Jewel in the Palace
    #1

    Jewel in the Palace

    ★ 8.6 · 2003

  2. Stairway to Heaven
    #2

    Stairway to Heaven

    ★ 8.1 · 2003

  3. Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
    #3

    Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War

    ★ 8.0 · 2004

  4. I'm Sorry, I Love You
    #4

    I'm Sorry, I Love You

    ★ 8.0 · 2004

  5. 3-Iron
    #5

    3-Iron

    ★ 7.8 · 2004

  6. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
    #6

    Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring

    ★ 7.8 · 2003

  7. Oasis
    #7

    Oasis

    ★ 7.8 · 2002

  8. The Way Home
    #8

    The Way Home

    ★ 7.7 · 2002

Titles With Overlapping Themes

Films and series that share thematic tags with A Tale of Two Sisters. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.

Other Titles From Bom Film Productions

The 2000s South Korea Landscape

Catalog density by release year in the 2000s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when A Tale of Two Sisters premiered. 321 total titles in this decade from South Korea.

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Budget & Box Office Efficiency

$15.1M
Budget
$1.1M
Revenue
Net Profit
0.1×
Return Ratio

At a 1h 55m runtime, production spent $131K per minute on screen and earned $9K per minute back.

Reception Benchmarks

7.1
TMDB Rating
1,036
Audience Reviews
Highly Rated
Critical Tier

Ranked #567 of 1,397 South Korea films indexed here (59th percentile by TMDB audience score).

Rating is +0.2 points above the South Korea average of 6.9/10.

Among South Korea Drama productions specifically: #394 of 868 (top 45%).

Production Details

Primary Country South Korea
Original Language Korean
Production Companies Bom Film Productions, Masulpiri Films, Chungeorahm Film, Barunson E&A
Runtime 1h 55m
Release Date June 13, 2003
IMDb tt0365376

Themes & Motifs

  • amnesia
  • drug abuse
  • loss of loved one
  • homicide
  • drug addiction
  • stepmother
  • menstruation
  • sister
  • tragedy
  • psychological thriller
  • vengeful ghost
  • unreliable narrator
  • existentialism
  • cremation
  • narcolepsy
  • ambiguity

External Catalogs