www.d-o-e-s.com/collection/bittersweetDir: Kim Ji-woon
Cast: Lee Byeong-heon, Kim Yeong-cheol, Kim Min-ah, Ku Jin
Asked to spy on girl
one mistake will change his life
gets a bit violent
I had high expectations for this film, coming on a wave of critical acclaim comparing it favourably to Oldboy (probably my favourite movie of last year), and having found the director's previous film, A Tale Of Two Sisters, to be one of the most original and unsettling Korean horror films of recent years. It focuses on Seon-woo (Lee), a young man who works for an influential gang leader, Kang (Kim Yeong-cheol). Kang suspects that his girlfriend (Kim Min-ah) may be cheating on him, so assigns Seon-woo the job of keeping an eye on her. The story is surprisingly linear, and once boss Kang has emphasised that it only takes one mistake to cause your own downfall, it soon becomes clear that Seon-woo’s moment of compassion towards Kang’s girlfriend is going to be the one moment that changes his life. His downward spiral into rage and revenge is inevitable, peppered by sudden encounters of ferocity and brutality that will make you wince. The scene in which Seon-woo escapes his attackers (armed with flaming sticks) by crashing through them in a stolen car is one that will stay with you long after the film has ended. Yet for all of its violence, A Bittersweet Life has little soul. It’s largely emotionless, and without any twists to keep the viewer engaged it’s ultimately an over-long and depressing experience. A few trims here and there would help the pacing, especially in the latter stages of the film which are especially drawn out, but as it stands now this is a bold picture but not quite the masterpiece I’d anticipated.
soulmining rating: ***
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