Bad Guy (2001)

With the work of South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-Duk, the viewer has to accept some very fundamental "flaws" that inherently seem to be a part of his work in a practical sense. The production values are always cheap, the soundtrack music is always tacky, the acting is never more than at the most basic level, there are continuity errors... in a word, his films always seem low budget and as if everything were shot in one take. Also he has almost an insistence on breaching realism and lapsing into his own vague allegory. His characters never follow any kind of real internal logic, but rather act according to the scenario he conceives. All of these factors amount to the reason I don't think I will ever be able to consider any of his films true masterpieces.

That said, in return for accepting these inherent flaws, the viewer is rewarded with a candid, unadulterated look into the creative mind of a very interesting person. Kim Ki-Duk's vision is relentlessly idiosyncratic, but very consistent and pure. Watching his films, you gain direct access into his thoughts. This is not film-making by committee, this is "auteurism" in the truest sense. That in and of itself is such a rarity that his films are worth seeing for this reason alone. And this film, "Bad Guy", is probably the purest, most definitive example of Kim Ki-Duk's vision. All the preoccupations that manifest in his other work are here: The mute, inexpressive protagonist, the seeming obsession with prostitution and the degradation of women in general, and also the director's tendency to eventually lead his characters into an incomprehensible fantasy world. Whether or not the viewer is willing to accept these illogical flights of fancy is purely a matter of taste, but personally i find his work fascinating solely because it is so stubbornly idiosyncratic and fueled by a remarkably pure sense of creative expression.

Fmovies: This is not the best of movies, but I rank it high because it did it for me. Though the characters are not really presented to the viewer, they are developed through the movie by showing their actions. The plot is not really important here, and people that cling to whatever feminist or political agendas when discussing a movie are wasting everybody's time. It reminds me of an old Italian movie, I can't remember the name or actors because I've seen it when I was a kid, with a mafia boss that falls in love with a woman, kidnaps her but wants to charms her, rather that rape her. This is also about a generally violent man who's attention is captured by a beautiful girl and he also wants access to her soul, rather than her body.

The movie is full of contrasts and paradoxes, but what sets it apart is the atmosphere (I had my heart pumping a good part of the movie, without it being an action movie or anything) and the subtle way it reveals the deep needs of every character.

Its bad part, though, is that close to the end you keep expecting the movie to end and it doesn't. The slow pace of the movie doesn't help either, so a feeling of "is it over yet?" can easily set in.

I liked it, I recommend it to people who have the mood to see a psychological Asian movie about gangsters, prostitutes and the power of love.

This is a very entertaining film. It contains sex and violence.(Yes that's what I said).The themes are very dark and at the same time this is a very loving film.It is certainly a challenging film and strangely being set in South Korea has many European sensibilities.If you think the world can be explained in terms of black and white then this is not an easy film. However if you understand that the world you live in has shades of grey then here is a multi coloured chunk to digest.I liked the central characters and found them very believable.This film shows particular skill in having very rounded supporting roles. The lives of these people even when violent or mundane and self destructive are very easy to comprehend.It is the first film I have seen by this director and it will definitely not be the last.

Bad Guy fmovies. Another gem from Kim-Ki-Duk, very complex movie in terms of concept and screenplay. Even hard to digest, what is right, what is wrong...lines are blurred.

You'd like to hate the character of Han-Ki very much but you'll be forced to like him. Evoked a mixture of emotions in me...its brutal in its sense, sensual in its sense...a totally different grammar for emotions...

Once again, Kim-Ki-Duk beautifully used silence in the movie and the main character (as usual??) is silent for major part of the movie. This is not everyone's cup-of-tea, so beware if you are thinking of watching it...you may find it bad

This is one of my top 10 favorite films. The film has a fair amount of violence and some "uncomfortable" scenes, but you never feel that any scene is gratuitous. Each moment is part of the evolution of what it truly means to submit - to love - unconditionally. There is that moment in the film when the main actress finally allows herself to be led -- astray. A moment that may be hard for some to accept. Some have called Bad Guy misogynistic. But I think Bad Guy is quite the opposite. You might as well call the film "Breaking the waves" misogynistic. Kim Ki-Duk understands that to show a female character realistically you must be prepared to show her in all her forms, even the ones that we as women may be ashamed to admit to. What woman hasn't done something stupid and regretful for some man? How far are you willing to bend before you break to another's will for .... Love or just the possibility of love. The film Bad Guy is only a matter of degrees. You may think that as a woman you would never make the choices Sun-hwa makes in the film. But I say "Don't ever say never... because the first rule you will break will be your own"... But their is a certain amount of culpability that is shared between Han-ki and Sun-hwa in the film. A demand to lead and a willingness to be led are all that are required.

In the end this film is a love story. An unconditional love that requires you to love not in spite of your faults and weakness but because of them. Jae-hyeon Jo's performance is one of the most mesmerizing every captured on celluloid. And almost done completely without dialog. Which I didn't notice until the 3rd time in a row when I had first watched the film. It doesn't hurt that he is super sexy and easy on the eyes too. ;) The film is further enhanced by an exquisite soundtrack. Etta Scollo's "i tuoi fiori" may have been selected by chance but you would never have noticed. The film's climax is like watching a hot pan of oil just before it falls off the edge of the stove. That timeless moment of indecision - when the move to rescue becomes more dangerous than doing nothing at all.

Beauty and the Beast was an original tale written by a French author in 1756 and is considered the gold standard for "unusual" love stories.

(The best movie version of the original story was also done by a French film-maker and reviewed here by this writer -- La Belle et La Bete) I am guessing that if you go back far enough you will find many versions of equally twisted love stories through history, because love at its core is not always the stuff of Valentine cards.

This extraordinary film is about love, it is also about justice, it is also about impulse control.

It also gives a whole meaning to the term "unrequited love." I recommend it but suggest you leave your expectations at the door. Even the publicists for the film seem to have got it wrong -- the artwork for the DVD suggest a seamy sex movie and in fact that approach is completely wrong.

Amazing.