Video:
The 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen picture could be better. While there's a pretty decent level of detail present in the image, and color reproduction looks pretty solid, for a film so recent there is an inordinate amount of print damage present on the source material used for this transfer, and Panorama hasn't made any effort to clean it up at all. Most of the damage comes in the form of specks here and there, but at one point in time you can see a hair on the bottom of the image, and there are a couple of vertical scratches in a few scenes. None of it is overly severe, but it is there and you will likely notice it.

Print damage aside, the picture quality isn't too bad. There is some edge enhancement smattered about the film, and the odd instance of mild compression artifacts in a couple of the darker scenes, but these are few and far between and don't prove to be too much of a distraction.

Sound:
You have your choice of watching the film in its original Korean language in either Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound or Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. There is also a Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound option, and there are removable subtitles available in English and Chinese. The Chinese dub looks pretty forced, as the lips don't match up with the words very well, so unless you're fluent in Chinese you'll be wanting to watch this one in its original Korean language anyway (obviously). The English subtitles are clean and easy to read and I only noticed one minor typographical error while watching the film. The Korean 5.1 track is the best one on the disc – dialogue comes through nice and clear and the soundtrack and background music are mixed in properly and balanced quite nicely. There are no problems with hiss or distortion. While there could have been a little bit more use made of the rear surround channels in a few spots, overall this is a nice mix that suits the movie just fine.

Extras:
Aside from chapter selection and an outer slipcase for the packaging, there are no extra features at all on this release. None of the extra features from the Korean DVD have been ported over to this Hong Kong release.

Final Thoughts:
Samaritan Girl is a pretty bleak film that isn't likely to appeal to a mass audience, but for those with the patience for a slow and deliberately paced art house/drama, it comes recommended. The cinematography is gorgeous and the performances from the three leads are very good. Highly Recommended (on the strength of the film more so than the presentation on the DVD).