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Directed by: Kim Jee-woon Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Kim Young-chul I'd never heard of Kim Jee-Woon before let alone seen any of his films but after seeing A Bittersweet Life i'm really looking forward to his next release. A BitterSweet Life is the story of Sunwoo (Lee Byung-hun) who is an enforcer and hotel manager for crime boss Kang (Kim Young-chul). Everything seem's to be going well for Sunwoo until Kang reveals to him that he has fallen in love with a young girl and, ask's him to find out whether she is cheating on him and if so to take care of the problem. It quickly becomes obvious to Sunwoo that the girl is cheating on Kang but when he discovers her with another man he finds himself unable to follow Kang's orders. When Kang realises whats happened he is furious and orders his gang to find and kill Sunwoo. Now alone Sunwoo must battle his way through the gang to setup his desired confrontation with his former boss and mentor Kang. As you can see A Bittersweet life's story is fairly simple but the emotional depth given to Sunwoo by Lee Byung-hun and director Kim Jee-Woon is what really makes this film something special. Sunwoo is an emotionally vulnerable character who is obviously lonely and looking for companionship, but still looks the part when he's ruthlessly putting down someone thats annoyed him or taking on six other guys on his own. This isn't any easy thing to convey but Lee Byung-hun does it expertly. The film has it's fair share of action and violence but not the slick, overly choreographed type of action you get in Hollywood blockbusters. While it isn't wholey realistic it does feel natural and for the most part unglamourous. Comedy is also used effectively and sparingly to lighten the mood and stop the film from becoming overly dramatic. The art direction was very sleek and stylish with the hotel Sunwoo works in and the shots of him driving through the city been the highpoints. I watched A Bittersweet Life expecting to see something along the lines of Oldboy as far as violence and revenge went but I saw a film that is every bit as subtle as Oldboy was over the top. Don't get me wrong I love Oldboy to bits but A Bittersweet Life shows you can make a big impact on the audience without being too extreme. My only gripe with this film is that towards the end it becomes difficult to distinguish who certain characters are. Even though most of the film has a fairly dark tone it really made me smile, especially the last ten or fifteen seconds before the credits cut in. I highly recommend this film as it has so much to offer. WATCH IT NOW!  RATING: 4.5 PROS: Great mix of romance, emotion, humor and drama. Wonderful performance from Lee Byung-hun. Exciting action scenes. CONS: The identity of some characters gets abit confusing towards the end of the film. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456912/ Patient_Toffee fucked around with this message at 13:05 on May 10, 2006 |
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May 10, 2006 12:09
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 07:15 |
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