Films that make you feel understood are doing something very specific and very hard.
Jin-seok, 21-year-old, moves into a new house with his family. He suffers from a slight schizophrenia but he carries an ordinary life under the warm care of the family. His older brother Yu-seok is a decent college student, a mentor, and role model for Jin-seok. One night, his beloved brother is kidnapped by unidentified assailants before Jin-seok's eye. Jin-seok can't recognize their faces, but can remember only the VIN that matches with no car. After long silence of 19 days, suddenly Yu-seok returns home, but remembers nothing which had happened in the meantime. And soon Jin-seok feels Yu-seok is a total stranger.
There's something in here that will feel very specifically aimed at you. That's not an accident.
Hutch Mansell, a suburban dad, overlooked husband, nothing neighbor - a "nobody." When two thieves break into his home one night, Hutch's unknown long-simmering rage is ignited and propels him on a brutal path that will uncover dark secrets he fought to leave behind.
There's something in here that will feel very specifically aimed at you. That's not an accident.
The Bride unwaveringly continues on her roaring rampage of revenge against the band of assassins who had tried to kill her and her unborn child. She visits each of her former associates one-by-one, checking off the victims on her Death List Five until there's nothing left to do ... but kill Bill.
It articulates something you've felt but never quite had words for. That's the whole effect.
Injustice and the demands of the world can cause stress for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This includes a waitress serving a grouchy loan shark, an altercation between two motorists, an ill-fated wedding reception, and a wealthy businessman who tries to buy his family out of trouble.
There's something in here that will feel very specifically aimed at you. That's not an accident.
Lynn, a brilliant student, after helping her friends to get the grades they need, develops the idea of starting a much bigger exam-cheating business.
It articulates something you've felt but never quite had words for. That's the whole effect.
Being understood is a complicated feeling. These films produce it reliably.
Paranoia and hypervigilance. Recognisable to more people than they'd admit.
The mixed-room test. These pass it.
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.
There's something in here that will feel very specifically aimed at you. That's not an accident.
Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!
There's something in here that will feel very specifically aimed at you. That's not an accident.
Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny's motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.
It articulates something you've felt but never quite had words for. That's the whole effect.
Based on the true nail-biting mission that captivated the world. Twelve boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team explore the Tham Luang cave when an unexpected rainstorm traps them in a chamber inside the mountain. Entombed behind a maze of flooded cave tunnels, they face impossible odds. A team of world-class divers navigate through miles of dangerous cave networks to discover that finding the boys is only the beginning.
It articulates something you've felt but never quite had words for. That's the whole effect.
After barely surviving a brutal attack by a sadistic serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su is left humiliated. Determined to catch the killer known as K, he forms an uneasy alliance with Jung Tae-seok, a relentless and incorruptible detective who often disrupts his illegal business. However, while Jang Dong-su wants K dead, Jung Tae-suk is determined to bring him to justice. With a deal in place - whoever finds K first will decide his fate - the hunt begins, blurring the lines between crime and law.
It articulates something you've felt but never quite had words for. That's the whole effect.
Some films earn their effect. These do.