NOTE: Please be aware that this DVD is a Korean import and is coded for Region 3 DVD players. In order to view this DVD, you'll have to have either a Region 3 coded or Region Free DVD player. [Recommended Region Free Players] It will not play in standard Region 1 North American DVD players.

In Princess Aurora the pretty and 'gentle' looking Eom Jeong-Hwa plays Jung Soon-Jung, a woman who makes quite a first impression on the audience. When she walks into the bathroom and sees a woman abusing her step-daughter, she scurries the girl away and then does the woman in with an fork to the head in a bloody and brutal murder that effectively sets the tone for the revenge drama to come.

The cops are called in to investigate and they seem a little stumped, at least, all of them do save for one man, Pastor (Oh Jung-Kwan), who has earned his nickname thanks to his strong devotion to Christianity and his aspirations of joining the priesthood and leaving detective work long behind him. As the movie goes on, more murders occur and while at first they don't seem to be at all connected, soon the cops realize that the killer has left a strange calling card at each crime scene – a sticker featuring the image of a cartoon character called Princess Aurora.

Without heading into spoiler territory, let it suffice to say that (and this is obvious from the beginning) Jung Soon-Jung is on a mission of vengeance, her daughter was the victim of a horrible crime and she wants to make those responsible for it, no matter how indirectly that responsibility might seem, pay in the harshest way that she can. There's a connection between her and Pastor, they once had a life together, and, well, I've said enough. Let's leave it at that as telling you anymore would be a grave disservice to the excellent film that South Korean actress turned director Bang Eun-Jin has crafted with Princess Aurora.

This film has been getting a lot of comparisons to Chan Wook-Park's excellent Sympathy For Lady Vengeance and while both movies definitely play around with some of the same themes and ideas (and in that regard, the comparisons are definitely warranted), the execution of both films is quite different. Sympathy For Lady Vengeance is highly stylized and at times borders on surrealist and it also keeps you guessing as to who was responsible for the crimes whereas Princess Aurora isn't nearly as flashy and it lays out its story in a much more matter-of-fact manner. As such, it's easier to follow and while it is more simplistic it is still very much a unique movie that stands on its own very well.

Although the movie is more straight forward visually than other films of its ilk, it still looks very good. The cold cinematography used in a few key scenes makes the effect quite chilling and there are some very clever camera angles used to accentuate a few of the kill scenes, the first one in particular. The framing and compositions are carefully thought out and the fit the narrative very well – everything works, it feels like it belongs and the tone of the story really does match the look of the film. While the narrative isn't hard to follow at all and it does lay its cards on the table pretty early on, there are still a few interesting twists in the last third of the film. While attentive viewers will catch on to where it's all heading, the story really couldn't have ended any other way and again, in terms of tone and atmosphere, once again it all works.

The best part of the film, however, is the lead performance from Eom Jeong-Hwa. At one point in the film, Pastor describes her as gentle looking and that's pretty much a dead on description. She's sexy enough that you can understand how she'd be able to use her looks to lure one of her victims in a later murder scene. She's pretty and smart looking but soft and motherly in others scenes. She was definitely the right choice for the part and her performance here is excellent as she shows formidable range, handling all the anger and sadness required from the story very, very well.

Video:

The anamorphic 2.35.1 transfer looks very, very nice on this DVD release. Blacks are solid, colors are very well defined and flesh tones look lifelike and natural. Compression artifacts and edge enhancement are almost non-existent and there isn't a whole lot to complain about. There's plenty of both foreground and background detail present in the image from start to finish and color reproduction is drop dead gorgeous. There's a tiny hint of aliasing present in a few scenes and look for some mild shimmering on car grills, but other than that there aren't really any digital transfer issues worth noting aside from some very slight edge enhancement here and there. Print damage is pretty much non-existent and while there is some fine film grain in one or two spots, that's okay as it isn't ever once overpowering or distracting in the least. Princess Aurora looks excellent on this DVD.