A Bittersweet Life
2005
Sunwoo is no ordinary hotel manager. He is also the ruthlessly efficient right hand man of underworld boss, Kang. But tough guy Kang has a weakness; his young girlfriend. Suspecting she's unfaithful, Kang orders Sunwoo to take care of the problem... Read more
| Starring | Lee Byung Hun, Kim Young Chul, Shin Mina, Kim Roi Ha |
|---|---|
| Director | Kim Jee Woon |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller, World Cinema |
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A Bittersweet Life
Sunwoo is no ordinary hotel manager. He is also the ruthlessly efficient right hand man of underworld boss, Kang. But tough guy Kang has a weakness; his young girlfriend. Suspecting she's unfaithful, Kang orders Sunwoo to take care of the problem...
| Starring | Lee Byung Hun, Kim Young Chul, Shin Mina, Kim Roi Ha, Hwang Jung Min, Moon Jung Hyuk |
|---|---|
| Director | Kim Jee Woon |
| Studio | PALISADES TARTAN |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller, World Cinema |
| Language | Korean |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 24 Apr 2006 Production year: 2005 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (4)
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Having shown technical sophistication and superb tonal control in his last movie, the psychological horror A Tale of... read more on Time Out
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Makes Quentin Tarantino seem like a rank amateur.
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Most helpful member's review
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49 out of 51 people found this review helpful
Bittersweet masterpiece
Korean Cinema for the past few years have produced some of my favourite ever films and this is a prime example of why.
Ji-woon Kim, director of the great horror mystery 'A Tale of Two Sisters', takes a story that has been told a dozen times before - an anti-hero criminal wronged by his associates and out for revenge, and yet it feels completely new and fresh.
Without giving too much away Byung hun lee plays a henchman for a local crime boss who is given orders to watch over the much younger girlfriend of his boss, who is suspected of having an affair.
Finding himself liking the girl Sun woo keeps his discoveries to himself - which lands him in trouble with the boss who leaves Sun woo for dead.
While the plot is as simple as that, its also so much more.
With all the drive for revenge of Mel Gibson in Payback or Marvin in Point Blank, Sun Woo goes all out for retribution against the entire crime syndicate that wronged him.
It's not the story here that makes it seem so fresh its the way its executed. Dark humour that breaks up the bleak tone nicely, wonderful music and fantastic camera work and use of colour really set the mood.. it's a great looking film, the slow pace of the first act builds the character well, the 'Snatch'-like plot threads and great action of the final 2/3rds. The ending is absolutley magnificent.
Sun Woo is also effortless in being one of the coolest characters on film. Kicking obscene amounts of butt while still looking sharp in his business suits, unflappable and completley focused. He is completely believable as an every day business man with a talent for violence. In fact it reminded me of the Tom Cruise character in Collateral, in the nightclub hit, in terms of how he gets down to business with ruthless efficiency and calm. The difference between these characters being it's hard not to like Sun woo as he goes about his work with the motto that actions speak louder than words. The mini car chase scene is a great example of how badass this guy is.
If you like revenge movies, if you like a little action with your drama, or drama with your action or your a fan of noir or gangster flicks or even Korean cinema then this is a must see. -
Most recent members' review
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6 out of 7 people found this review helpful
A Study in Style
This was one of the most sumptuously filmed movies I’ve seen for a long while. Asia cinema excels in juxtaposing style and restraint against violence and desire and this film exemplifies how to balance those apposing factions without detracting from the substance of the film. The acting is restrained to point of making the characters one dimensional, but the narrative ensures that when emotion is required it is expressed with vehemence.
Western Cinema could and should learn from films such as this that manage so well to balance violent imagery with thought provoking stories, instead of pointless blood letting and over-sentimental narratives. -
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