October 13th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)
Director Kim Ki-Duk has a kind of monstrous power. His films disturb the viewer on both a level of primordial emotion, and on an intellectual plain. The subject is almost always a study of emotional isolation and uncontrollable human impulse that would guide and pervert even the best intentions. Somehow he has found a way into the viewer’s mind in a very rare and profound way. You rarely see a Kim Ki-Duk film without feeling dirty, depressed and in awe. If I am particularly concentrating on emotional experiences, then it is because that is what his films are.
In Bad Guy a young woman happens to encounter a gang member one day. Just a random encounter, but for the offhand tone of a single moment. Now the film asks the question, what would happen if one human being decided to systematically destroy and pervert the existence of another without the second party every being aware of it?
Kim has become something of a pariah in South Korean cinema. Endlessly railing at what he sees as popcorn films with no real weight. But despite this stance, he continues to be one of the most internationally popular film makers in the region. Probably best known in the United States for his uncharacteristically upbeat Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003.)
South Korea, Director Kim Ki-Duk, Cast Cho Jae-hyun, Kim Yun-Tae and Seo Won, 100 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles.
1 comment:
I've been missing for a couple weeks, mainly because of baseball, but I should be in tomorrow. I'm not sure I would have come for this one anyway, it's definitely worth seeing but of his films that I've seen this is the one I'd least want to rewatch. His film are often cruel to his characters but this one had that extra bit that makes it even worse... I love the gangster's reason for never talking though.
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