Customer Reviews

Bad Guy

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ki-duk Kim delivers an inquisitive blow to the audience with his film titled Bad Guy. Here he intends to make the audience question whether humans can get along despite differences in class, education, appearance, and other social standards that the society creates. On the surface these differences might not be what the viewer discovers, but in retrospect, or maybe even during the film, the notion of harmony among human differences might emerge in consciousness. Nonetheless, Ki-duk Kim paints a cinematic tapestry of brutality and hatred that strikes deep into the soul and core of humanity.

Bad Guy is not unlike Ki-duk Kim's other films in regards to the symbolism and the artistic expression that this South Korean director strives to visualize on the silver screen. Yet, the situation is new and the story is unique even though he returned to teenage prostitution in Samaria (2004), the English title Samaria Girl. The depicted cruelty often finds its place in Ki-duk Kim's films, may be even a reason for his popularity. However, it is in the moment of viciousness where he generates the artistic moment that crosses between what is acceptable and unacceptable. These are moments where opposite sides cross into each other's sphere like a bridge built for a moment that is destroyed in the next instant. The violence can be seen in films such as the Isle (2000) where a woman pulls up a man by a fish hook and the dog killings in Address Unknown (2001). It is in these violent moments where Ki-duk Kim reaches the furthest while trying to communicate his message to the audience.

Cleverly, Ki-duk Kim opens Bad Guy with a scene of a city street where hundreds of of people are wandering during business hour. People are shown from all walks of life, ugly and pretty, rich and poor, and among them emerges the silent anti-hero of the story Han-gi (Jae-hyeon Jo) who discovers Sun-hwa (Won Seo). They are from opposite social classes. Han-gi comes from the lower class while Sun-hwa is a member of the upper class. Han-gi is a quiet, perhaps of his servitude class, pimp from the part of the town nobody admits they are from, or want to visit unless it is for carnal pleasure. Sun-hwa is the pretty college girl most men would turn their head to look at twice who is both refined and educated.

When Han-gi's eyes lands on Sun-hwa for the first time he cannot take them of her, as she sits on a park bench. He stands there dumbfounded almost drooling all over himself while observing her from a distance. Awkwardly, he approaches her and is unable to speak he sits down next to her. Sun-hwa steps away seemingly threatened by his stare and presence, and possibly his looks. After all he has a thick and long scar running horizontally over his throat. When her boyfriend arrives Han-gi continues to stare at her. All of a sudden Han-gi walks up and kisses her right in front of the boyfriend who helplessly tries to remove him. Consequently, the situation escalates when Sun-hwa demands an apology for Han-gi's transgression, which ends with him getting a severe beating from a large number of bystanders.

Like a ghost Han-gi returns to his home in the poor community where girls sell themselves for a few meager bucks while bribing off nosy police officers with their only assets. Angry and vindictive Han-gi intends to repay the mistreatment in a Machiavellian style where he concocts a trap where Sun-hwa gets into big debt. Unable to pay off the debt she ends up becoming a slave-like prostitute where she must pay with her body and face. Silently, Han-gi continues to watch her through a one-way mirror while she begins and continues her new life as a prostitute. This of course has strong symbolic value in regards to the transparency of the lower class's view of the upper class while the narcissism of the rich blinds them from seeing the poor.

Ki-duk Kim's presentation of the theme is a very uncomfortable cinematic experience, yet he succeeds through this tragedy to make people think about the differences between Han-gi and Sun-hwa. In addition, to strengthen his message he experiments with distance between the characters through both tangible and intangible symbols throughout the whole film. In essence, the story turns into a macabre education of class struggle and differences between people where Ki-duk Kim does not hold back in his social criticism. The film is both bizarre and surreal while also humane underneath all the ugliness, as Ki-duk Kim displays his brilliant ability to create visual fabrications from his personal artistic vision that will continue to mesmerize many for a long time.

Having just seen the Korean film "Bad Guy," I am extremely impressed with its brutality. While that may seem like an odd comment, it has been quite a while since I've come across a film that really connected with its character's psychological dark sides. "Bad Guy" doesn't apologize or compromise in the choices (good, bad, violent, surprising) of its two leads, and in that--stands as a very honest, if unpleasant character study. I know many people will dismiss the film out of hand based on subject matter--that's fine, it's not for everyone. Other will question character motivations, which I think are brilliantly conceived. They are not, however, what we might expect or want. And I think detractors from the film are disturbed by the lead character's ultimate acceptance of her position (and make no mistake, it is disturbing), but from a psychological standpoint--it makes perfect sense, to me.

"Bad Guy" starts out with a powerful and violent street encounter. Han-ki, a street hardened pimp, becomes infatuated with an attractive young girl he spies on a park bench. Sitting next to her, he continues to watch her as her boyfriend arrives. Before leaving, as they have noticed and commented on his presence, he grabs her and gives her an extended (and rough) kiss--which leads to a confrontation with several passersby. But Han-ki can't get Sun-hwa, the college girl, out of his mind and starts to follow her. He eventually sets her up in a sting where she steals some money--and uses the leverage to force her into a world of prostitution to pay off the debt. As she learns the ways of her new world, many of these scenes are harrowing and graphic.

There is a lot that transpires as the film progresses--but the crux of the story continues to be this primary relationship. Han-ki, who is wordless and brooding, uses violence to speak for him. He is obsessed with Sun-hwa and secretly watches her debasement (sometimes protecting her, but ultimately letting her sink fully into this new life). Sun-hwa, whose attempts to escape have been unsuccessful, starts to accept her position--she has no alternatives. The Han-ki/Sun-hwa relationship is the film's strongest component--it is morally ambiguous, challenging, and hard to understand. But the man who has enslaved her is also the one that shows her kindness, protects her, never makes advances on her. In a bravura bit of acting, these two leads plumb psychological depths that few films would dare to embrace.

The film is not a perfect one, there is some added drama when an old boss is released from prison--and this adds some more conventionally violent showdowns. And the conclusion is very ambiguous, it is open to various interpretations. I've discussed this film with numerous friends and we have about 4 different views on the film's end--two of which are quite legitimate. I only warn you of the ambiguous ending because if that's going to deter you from seeing the film, you should know up front. But ultimately, "Bad Guy" has lingered in my mind. It's a powerful psychological study of an unpleasant topic and an unconventional relationship. Not for everyone, by any stretch, but if you like to be challenged--this might be up your alley. KGHarris, 01/07.

This movie blew me away. It stripped away the sexual hysteria of our times, and went straight to the essence of human life. The bad guy of the movie arranges for a pretty college girl to be coerced into working in Seoul's red light district as a prostitute. At first it horrifies her, but over time and through a series of dramatic incidents, the college girl grows accustomed to her sex work, and also finds herself being drawn to the bad guy who put her there. The college girl's initial resistance to sex-for-pay eventually fades altogether, and becomes the catalyst for the relationship that she and the bad guy eventually share with each other by the end of the movie.

This summary horribly simplifies a terrific movie that has lots of twists and turns and dramatic psychological insights to it. I heartily recommend it to one and all.

It is a tragedy that we will never see movies like that made in this country.

It has been said Kim has betrayed Koreans by making BAD GUY that showcases the Korean society in a dark and crimson light of seedy underworld of gangs, violence and prostitution. Their outrage, however, is misdirected. Kim has made a film that addresses a problem that goes beyond the simple reality of Korea, and into the heart of human nature and humanity.

If anyone is looking for something romantic here, it is Kim's notion that class distinction is an artificial construct, which shields us from seeing our true selves that would buy and sell one another's services to anyone interested--disgustedly at first, but then professionally.

Bad Guy (Ki-duk Kim, 2001)

Kim followed up the critical and commercial success that was The Isle with Bad Guy, a decidedly darker, murkier flick it's impossible to classify in any easy box; it's got elements of the Yakuza flick, the disease-of-the-week movie, the Hollywood weepie, Dogme, and a host of other movements wrapped up into one very messy little package. It's not for the faint of heart, that's for sure.

Sun-hwa (The Isle's Won Seo) is a college student. Han-ki (Interview's Jae-hyeon Jo) is the bad guy of the title, a small-time thug. There's a chance meeting at a bus stop which culminates in Han-ki forcing Sun-hwa to kiss him. This leads to Han-ki getting himself beaten not only by Sun-hwa's boyfriend, but some passing soldiers. As revenge, Han-ki and his small band of thugs ruin Sun-hwa, pushing her into a life of prostitution; Han-ki monitors her progress through a two-way mirror installed in her room. Slowly, as time goes on, an odd bond is formed between the two of them.

WARNING: here be spoilers. If you don't want the emotional overtones of the movie spoiled for you, stop reading here. It's a three-star movie, that's all you need to know. Capische?

It should be obvious from that synopsis that this is a movie that is bound to make some folks uncomfortable. That said, if all you're getting out of the movie is that this is a movie roughly akin to genre novels where the antihero rapes the damsel in distress, after which they fall in love, you may not be looking closely enough at what happens between these two characters. To say that Sun-hwa falls in love with Han-ki is vastly oversimplifying the case, I think; I'm not sure that love ever enters into the picture. Sun-hwa feels dependent on Han-ki, to be sure, and he feels protective of her, but at no time does she ever stop hating him, nor does he ever stop feeling some form of contempt for her (probably based on the difference in their class). This is a love story in the same way Se7en is a buddy-cop movie; the main relationship in the film is so highly dysfunctional, and yet so complex, that any facile analysis of the relationship between the two main characters is bound to be oversimplified. And, from what I've read over the past few days, there's a lot of that goin' round. That's depressing, because the relationship between Han-ki and Sun-hwa is the movie; if you don't grasp the complexity of what's going on between them, you're bound to hate this. But if you don't immediately tune out the relationship factor, you'll find there's a lot going on underneath the hood here. Yeah, some of it's contrived, and some goes way beyond the bounds of realism (but then that's a Ki-duk Kim specialty; reality is only a springboard for a journey into a very weird place. Cf. The Isle, naturally). But that doesn't make it any less fun to watch. ***

One of those Korean director Kim Ki-duk's mannerist-minimalist films in which his raw brutality outweighs his workmanship. Basically, the plot has the title's Bad Guy (a brutal street pimp, actually), that is attracted to a pretty college girl sitting on a bench in a park. But college girl is not attracted to Bad Guy, who, by the way, never talks in the whole movie. And college girl already has a boyfriend. So, through a complicated scheme, Bad Guy is able to have her work in his brothel. Poor college girl is now a prostitute. But Bad Guy continues to be infatuated with her, and sees her work through a one way mirror. And this infatuation will let college girl eventually get the upper hand and (sort of) get even. Not exactly bad, but neither one of Kim's better films, who has done better than this (see instead Spring, Summer, Autumn... or 3-Iron).

I became curious for more films by Ki-duk-Kim, who has a reputation for delivering movies that are pretty edgy about relations between men and women. And this one is pretty edgy. Viewers are lured by a speech-impaired, low-class pimp Han-gi (Cho Je-Hyun) who after being attracted to middle-class college coed Sun-hwa (Seo Won) sitting on a park bench, violently kisses her in front of her boyfriend and then is beaten in public by a few soldiers and forced to apologize. After being spit on by Sun-hwa, the humiliated thug follows her and sets her up in a bookstore pickpocket scheme, where she's coerced into becoming a prostitute in a notorious Seoul red light district.

This movie basically has two parts, the breakdown of Sun-Hwa and the reconstruction of Sun-Hwa. The first half of the movie moves along at a fairly good pace. The characters are interesting and the story unfolds nicely and is punctuated by sporadic moments of violence and unpleasant bouts of non-consensual sex. The second half of the movie is decidedly slower and a little less believable. It's hard to believe that Sun-Hwa would fall for Han-Ki even after he turns her into a prostitute and watches her from behind a two-way mirror. The film quality of this movie is your Asian fare. It's not as crisp as a Hollywood movie does it does have a little more grime to it.

The acting in this film is fair. Je-Hyun Cho gives a quality performance as Han-Ki. Han-Ki is basically a mute throughout the movie, but Cho provides the character with dialogue through his physical performance and the intense looks that he provides. Half the fun of the movie for me was trying to figure out what Han-Ki is thinking from the behavior and looks that he gives. It's fun for some people, but annoying for others. Seo Won hands in a truly mind-boggling and emotional performance. Won does a talented job of showing the range of emotions that an ex-college student would go through when reduced to the level of prostitution. The scenes with her first cleint are truly disturbing and will have you squirming in your seat, unless you like that sort of thing. I was amazed at the ability of the filmmakers and actors to actually create a sense of sympathy and even a feeling of warmness for the prostitutes and the pimps, especially for Han-Ki. Despite the fact that Han-Ki basically enslaved Sun-Hwa, I still found myself kind of liking the guy. He is more than a pimp; he is a hard but loving father figure for his dysfunctional family of whores and pimps.

Overall, the viewer is asked to be a voyeur and is then told he must be as sick as the sexual predator to view this. Well you be the judge. Kim Ki-Duk's usual mix of violent and lyrical images fails to generate the proper energy he desired to show how relationships work out of biting tensions.

As the other reviewers make clear, this is a disturbing film in that the college girl forced into prostitution ends up by developing feelings for the man who "ruined" her. So you may immediately assume that the director has a deeper comment to make beyond this trite observation.

Problem is, having just watched the movie, I am not convinced there is anything below the surface. Prostitution is a fact of life in Asian cities, the theme of women overcome by their desires and in thrall to strong men a common one, and I searched in vain for any subversion of or challenge to that fantasy (as fantasy it is).

Is this any more than a homage to the inutility of futility? Not that I can see.

This is one twisted, broken, and uncomfortable love story. A voyeuristic excursion into the darkest unconscionable pit of jagged human emotion. It's quite a difficult film to consider, I'm still trying to get a grasp on the scope of this dark vision. Unsettling.

It is so hard to watch innocence get stripped in this fashion. A beautiful college girl gets manipulated into a life of prostituion. The sex scenes are just horribly painful, you are forced to witness this ultimately disturbing experience. I couldn't help but feel violated as well.

Her pimp watches her from behind the two-way mirror. His obsession becomes more and more intense. Man, I hated this guy. The worst part was his silence. He had long, penetrating stares that really just get under your skin.

This is not a fun movie. Effective in puncturing your mind and affecting you in a perverse, relentless fashion. Redefining love in a way many will not enjoy. Watch with caution.

The call to one's self draws a two sided conclusion: I am who I am or I am not who I am. The choice to self discover leads to the truth. The illusion of the life already lived drives us when available to see what we are not, but should be. The film's main female character has just this journey. Through disturbing choice and captivity, she becomes something different. Is she changed by the environment or is this who she really is? Is the main male character seeing the truth or does he make her who she is? In the end, we all have choices. And she chooses. The choice dark and manipulated with a total destruction of any normal pyschological view on life. Very good filmography. A balance of slow and fast shots, close and far. The movie will make you question yourself. The movie will make you question humanity.