Dalkomhan insaeng (2005)

Director:

Ji-woon Kim

Writer:

Ji-woon Kim (writer)

Release Date:

1 April 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Music

Tagline:

When doing right goes very, very wrong.

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Hitman | Death Of Hero | Poignant | Ambiguity | Stabbed Multiple Times

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jeong-min Hwang	...	President Baek
Yu-mi Jeong
Ku Jin	...	Min-gi
Hae-gon Kim	...	Weapon smuggler
Roe-ha Kim	...	Mun-suk
Yeong-cheol Kim	...	Mr. Kang (as Kim Young-Chul)
Byung-hun Lee	...	Sun-woo
Gi-yeong Lee	...	Mu-sung
Mu-yeong Lee
Eric Moon	...	Gun Dealer's Brother (as Eric)
Dal-su Oh	...	Myung-gu
Kwang-rok Oh
Min-a Shin	...	Hee-soo
Sang-Jeon Woo

Also Known As:

A Bittersweet Life (International: English title)
A Bittersweet Life (Denmark) [da]
A Bittersweet Life (France) [fr]
Aci tatli hayat (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Glykopikri zoi (Greece) [el]
Keserédes élet (Hungary) [hu]
O Gosto da Vingança (Brazil) (DVD title) [pt]

Runtime:

120 min | Argentina:120 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Taiwan:R-18 | UK:18 | Ireland:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:18 | Germany:18 | Australia:MA | France:-12 (with warning) | New Zealand:R18 | Finland:K-18 | Brazil:14 | South Korea:18 | Japan:R-15

Filming Locations:

South Korea

Company:

B.O.M. Film Productions Co.

Trivia:

The narration that opens and closes the film are Buddhist parables.

Quotes:

Sun-woo: One late autumn night, the disciple awoke crying. So the master asked the disciple, "Did you have a nightmare?" "No." "Did you have a sad dream?" "No," said the disciple. "I had a sweet dream." "Then why are you crying so sadly?" The disciple wiped his tears away and quietly answered, "Because the dream I had can't come true."

Movie Connections:

References Taxi Driver (1976)

Life is bittersweet...

When you sit back to watch this film, be prepared for a film that will open your mind,a film that will make you question humanity, and be prepared to be floored by a visual masterpiece which is rare by gangster movie standards.

From the first few shots we are feasted with beautiful shots, angles and little references that are simply delightful. The story unfolds showing the brighter side of life, the sweet side if you like. This is portrayed by Sunwoo eating a desert in the opening scene and then more food as the first half continues. The film then plays out to its darker half and we are shown the bitter side of life, which i wont go into and destroy for you.

Everything about this film just...Works, even the martial arts scenes are well edited and seem clever, rather than tricking us with quick camera cuts, we get a raw and violent slice of brutal gangster revenge, which again simply delights in a strange bitter way.

Simply put, A bittersweet life is simple plot, filmed and played exactly how it is meant to be, exactly how you want it to be. Every scene is fresh with humour or suspense which is so rare by todays standards.

This films plays out exactly how you want it to, with the exact camera angles it should, with the perfect music to back it all up. This film is a dark and visual spectacle that must be seen to be believed.

9/10