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“Even by Korean standards of movie brutality, A Bittersweet Life raises the bar to a new level… will have genre fans nailed to their seats” - Variety
A tour de force of noir-ish style, A Bittersweet Life sees MIFF stalwart Kim Jee-woon hitting the screen with guns blazing. Essentially a story of revenge, this film shines through its spectacular action sequences and pushes into the nether regions of reality. Comparisons have been drawn to Park Chan-wook's Old Boy (MIFF 2004) and Lee Myung-se's Nowhere to Hide (MIFF 2000).
Seon-woo is a hotel manager. Or so he seems. In actual fact, he's a cold-blooded enforcer whose undying commitment is to his boss, Kang. Relying on his personal judgement and contradicting Kang, Seon-woo makes an error that leads to his downfall. With this latest offering dominated by chiaroscuro lighting and a Lynchian palette of gangreney greens and stygian blacks, Kim has certainly cemented his reputation as one of South Korea's least predictable filmmakers.
Kim Jee-woon is a guest of the festival and will introduce the screening on Wednesday 2 August, 9.10pm at Forum Theatre and on Friday 4 August, 9pm at RMIT Capitol Theatre.
Contains scenes that may offend.
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D/S Kim Jee-woon P Oh Jeong-wan, Eugene Lee Dist Madman L Korean w/English subtitles TD 35mm/2005/120mins
Kim Jee-woon was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1964. His films include The Quiet Family (1998), The Foul King (MIFF 2001) and A Tale of Two Sisters (MIFF 2004).