Running time: 119 minutes
Starring: Lee Byung Hun, Shin Mina
Rating 8 out of 10
If South Korea has emerged as a leading cinematic light over the last few years, then films such as A Bittersweet Life show why. This is extremely stylish and confident stuff, with an absurdly high violence level - in fact there are probably more violent deaths in A Bittersweet Life than in the whole of Tarantino's output. Even his own homage to Oriental cinema, successfully realised at least in the first part of Kill Bill, seems pale in comparison to the real deal. A Bittersweet Life is an adrenaline rush of a film and deserves as wide an audience as possible.
Sunwoo is a hotel manager in a sleek establishment, who plays by the rules and whose staff fear him. He in turn fears Mr Kang, one of the hotel's owners and a notorious gangland boss, whom Sunwoo has worked for for seven years. When Kang sends Sunwoo on a new errand - to look after his young girlfriend during his absence, it seems straightforward enough.
The object of Kang's affection is Heesoo, a beautiful young musician who has a striking effect on Sunwoo. So much so that when he discovers she may be having an affair behind her lover's back, he can't bring himself to honour his boss and kill her. When Kang returns to the city and finds out what has happened, his gangster morality allows only one option: Sunwoo must be killed for failing to follow orders.
What follows can only be described as one of the great cat and mouse chases of recent times, as Kang sends henchman after henchman to deal with Sunwoo, but he evades them all (even making a miraculous escape when he is buried alive). It's all extremely violent, certainly worthy of its 18 certificate, but thanks to director Kim Jee Woon, it all looks beautiful.
He's also not afraid to inject a welcome note of humour from time to time, and has three leading actors who fully commit to their roles. Urban Korea looks sleek, modern and mysterious, and fans of the latest Asian invasion should be delighted with this latest offering.
Sunwoo is a hotel manager in a sleek establishment, who plays by the rules and whose staff fear him. He in turn fears Mr Kang, one of the hotel's owners and a notorious gangland boss, whom Sunwoo has worked for for seven years. When Kang sends Sunwoo on a new errand - to look after his young girlfriend during his absence, it seems straightforward enough.
The object of Kang's affection is Heesoo, a beautiful young musician who has a striking effect on Sunwoo. So much so that when he discovers she may be having an affair behind her lover's back, he can't bring himself to honour his boss and kill her. When Kang returns to the city and finds out what has happened, his gangster morality allows only one option: Sunwoo must be killed for failing to follow orders.
What follows can only be described as one of the great cat and mouse chases of recent times, as Kang sends henchman after henchman to deal with Sunwoo, but he evades them all (even making a miraculous escape when he is buried alive). It's all extremely violent, certainly worthy of its 18 certificate, but thanks to director Kim Jee Woon, it all looks beautiful.
He's also not afraid to inject a welcome note of humour from time to time, and has three leading actors who fully commit to their roles. Urban Korea looks sleek, modern and mysterious, and fans of the latest Asian invasion should be delighted with this latest offering.
