A Bittersweet Life
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[edit] Profile
- Movie: A Bittersweet Life
- Hangul: 달콤한 인생
- Revised romanization: Minyeo-neun goerowo
- Director: Ji-woon Kim
- Writer: Ji-woon Kim
- Producer:
- Cinemotagraphy:
- Release Date: 120 min.
- Runtime: April 1, 2005
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
[edit] Plot
Gangland boss Kang suspects his girlfriend of being unfaithful and sends Sunwoo, his right hand man, to sort out the problem. But when he finds the girl with another man Sunwoo does not kill them. This infuriates Kang and Sunwoo finds that he now has to fight against the gang and finally face Kang alone.
[edit] Notes
Director Kim Jee-Woon (TALE OF TWO SISTERS, SDAFF 2004, "The Foul King"), one of the top filmmakers in Korean cinema, brilliantly combines martial arts action, gunplay, human drama, and even humor in this ultra-stylish neo-noir thriller.
Top Korean film star Lee Byung-Heon (JOINT SECURITY AREA, SDAFF 2001) plays Seon-Woo, an upwardly mobile gangster of ruthless efficiency. Seon-Woo is so cool that he can calmly savor every bite of a gourmet desert before single-handedly dispatching a group of rival thugs. Before leaving on a business trip, mob boss Kang (Kim Yeong-Cheol) trusts Seon-Woo completely and tasks him with the job of looking after Kang's mistress, Huei-Su, while he is away and commands him to kill her if she cheats on him. However, in an uncharacteristic moment of weakness, Seon-Woo falls for Huei-Su, taken in by her grace and humanity. When Seon-Woo finally catches Huei-Su with her lover, he finds himself unable to kill her and allows her to flee. Needless to say, when Kang discovers what has happened, Seon-Woo's life is turned upside down, as Kang order his thugs to savagely beat him and leave him for dead. However, they do not finish the job and when Seon-Woo eventually revives himself, he has nothing but vengeance on his mind.
Lee Byung-Heon is masterful in the lead role, as he confirms his status as one of the biggest stars in Asia with a performance that immediately draws comparisons to Alain Delon’s work in “Le Samourai” or Chow Yun-Fat in “The Killer." Lee is especially remarkable in the climactic showdown, a spectacular fight scene at the restaurant La Dolce Vita that will not soon fade from memory. Throughout the film, the cinematography, set design and costumes remain top-notch, and Kim Jee-Woon keeps the pacing pitch perfect.
Overall, Kim Jee-Woon’s film, which premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, is a visual tour de force that should not be missed by any fan of Asian cinema.
[edit] Cast
Starring
- Byung-hun Lee - Sun-woo
- Min-a Shin - Hee-soo
Supporting Cast
- Jeong-min Hwang - President Baek
- Yu-mi Jeong
- Ku Jin - Min-gi
- Hae-gon Kim - Weapon smuggler
- Roe-ha Kim - Mun-suk
- Yeong-cheol Kim - Mr. Kang (as Kim Young-Chul)
- Gi-yeong Lee - Mu-sung
- Mu-yeong Lee
- Jeong-Hyeok Mun - Gun Dealer's Brother
- Dal-su Oh - Myung-gu
- Kwang-rok Oh
- Kook-huan Chun
[edit] Trailer
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[edit] Subtext
There are two prominent themes in A Bittersweet Life. The most apparent is vengeance. Most of the characters in the film hold grudges.
- Sun-woo beats up Hee-soo’s lover on behalf of his boss.
- Baek Jr. and Mun-suk capture and torment Sun-woo as payback for his disrespect towards them.
- Kang orders more torment inflicted: he regards this as reprisal for Sun-woo’s disobedience.
- Sun-woo humiliates Mu-sung by reenacting exactly what Mu-sung did to him. He kills Baek Jr., Mun-suk and Kang as revenge.
- Mu-sung wants get even with Sun-woo for humiliating him and killing his boss.
- Finally, Eric Mun’s character has a vendetta against Sun-woo for murdering his brother and sees it through.
The film also discusses how unpredictable life can be. At one point, Sun-woo is still wondering how everything that had happened to him came about. As Mun-suk says, “No one can ever see what’s coming next.”
[edit] Trivia
- Earlier film posters and the dvd label had Lee Byung-hun smoking. Sun-woo never touches a cigarette in the film. In fact, he chews gum in one scene.
- Though a poster features Eric Mun (a member of the boy band Shinhwa), he is onscreen for barely fifteen minutes.
- There are two different versions of the scene where Sun-woo exits the elevator and makes his way through the hallway to La Dolce Vita up until he confronts Kang. The music differs, while the scene itself is unchanged.
[edit] External links
- Official site (in Korean)
