Exhausted (2008) Gogal | Region-Free (DVD) | Uncut Edition

Cinema Dream Network Custom Release

Rare, experimental 8mm Korean gore film presented uncut with English subtitles.

Title: Exhausted (2008)

Alternate Title: Gogal

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Plot Synopsis:
A mute woman living near factories in a drab seaside town is discovered by a man who takes her in, only to exploit her as a prostitute. They navigate a bleak, almost post-apocalyptic landscape, engaging in psychological power games and consuming cheap food and pornography. Despite her emotional numbness, the woman attempts to escape and befriends another woman, but ultimately returns to her exploiter. The return of the other woman leads to a shocking finale. The film is shot on grungy Super-8, enhancing its raw and uncompromising portrayal of their lives.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Kim Gok
• Writer: Kim Gok
• Cast:
  • Liu Jang
  • Park Ji-hwan
  • Keun-young Oh

YouTube Trailer:
Exhausted | Trailer

IMDb Link:
Exhausted (2008)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. street13 – ★★★☆☆
   “No other reviews for this here, and I’m not too surprised. It’s not an easy film, nor is it one to be easily dismissed. It’s got that scuzzy Super 8 look that I adore, but the (deliberate) repetition of the first half of the film literally put me to sleep. I awoke to a scene of such whacked out lunacy that I’m tempted to say it deserves a revisit with my full attention but honestly I don’t know when I’m gonna be in the mood for more nipple mutilation and miscarriages. Perhaps I’ll store this one away as a half-remembered dream.”
2. Downsided7 – ★★★★☆
   “Call of the void. Two people circling around each other and down the drain in a landscape which seems post-apocalyptic with its smoke blowing factories, but it’s not. It takes place in an industrial city with markets, pedestrians and suitors. It’s hard to say if the man and the woman ever had something to begin with and if their actions are an expression of mourning of loss or of frustration that nothing good comes from life. Because that’s really the bottomline here. The light can only be seen when you look up one of chimneys that surrounds and poisons you and the forced and violent sex will show you its brutal consequences in forms of inter-human relationships and reproduction.”
3. TerribleMiasma – ★★★★★
   “This one didn’t do anything for me when I first saw it, but made total sense on rewatch. Two people meander through some industrial wasteland, making each other’s lives a living hell, but still stick together because there’s no one else around. A few times, actual affection shimmers through, which makes the whole thing all the more bitter. Grey, frustration fueled and mostly droning on the edge of absolute standstill before successfully heading towards complete escalation on the final stretch. The poster may give the impression of one of those ‘transgressive’ flicks, that in actuality look like shit and are riddled with bad rhetorical choices, but on the contrary, this is very well done with great grainy super-8 cinematography and on-point minimalist sound design.”

Meta Description:
“Exhausted” (2008), also known as “Gogal,” is a South Korean drama directed by Kim Gok. The film portrays the life of a mute woman exploited as a prostitute by a man in a bleak, industrial landscape, delving into themes of exploitation, psychological manipulation, and the human condition.