Bbeu-a-jong

So this is an early Korean New Wave film starring a few actors who went on to make it big, but this one has somehow gotten lost in the shuffle. Much like the early films of its time like Crocodile or No. 3 or Green Room, this one is pretty rough around the edges and doesn't have the slick production values that Korean New Wave quickly developed. Unlike those other films, however, the storytelling is the thing that is lacking here and doesn't pack the punch of those other movies. It definitely has New Wave sensibilities and has many of the elements that were emerging as cutting edge at the time--gritty realism, violence, sex, a bleak worldview, etc. but can't quite put them together in a compelling way. The story follows a shy cabdriver who encounters a precocious prostitute and the two fall in love. Unfortunately, she has an obsessive suitor who also happens to be a cop and he isn't willing to let her go without a fight. The plot is simple but compelling and the actors do a fine job (especially Kyeong-yeong Lee as the brutal cop) but, in the end, this movie doesn't break enough with standard genre norms to make it stand out and shine. It's like all of the New Wave elements were present but the pieces weren't put together in such a way as to make a new puzzle. Instead, it comes off as an offbeat but standard movie. Still worth checking out for fans of New Wave or any of the actors but, as the low ratings suggest, this is not so much a diamond in the rough as just plain rough.