O Gosto da Vingança

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

I can see how this movie is well liked by many people. It's definitely different from a Hollywood movie, and a breath of fresh air from "the formula". At the same time, it's not so different as to cause discomfort or incomprehension. Violence is violence everywhere.

If you compare this movie against other great Asian action movie directors, than I think it's not that special. It's well done, but it's ultimately a light movie. A bit like an Asian version of an Hollywood action movie. There are some moments though (the end comes to mind), where the movie does show some signs of self awareness. But overall, it's a fairly straightforward, over the top gangster movie. If that's what you're looking for, you'll be pleased, but don't expect to be blown away by a masterpiece of cinema.

I had the luck to watch this gem at the Fantasy-Film-Festival in Frankfurt yesterday. It was shown in a theater with about 600 seats and against my expectations the room was packed with people.

In comparison with Oldboy or Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance the story is not as deep and goes more straightforward to the pure revenge theme. But this does not make the movie less enjoyable. The cinematography is brilliant and the main-character delivers a great performance. It contains beautifully choreographed martial-arts and gunfight scenes with references to masterpieces like Taxi Driver and Kill Bill.

Despite the fact it is very harsh in some scenes the humor does not come to short. The scene with a discussion of Korean-Russian wannabe-gangsters made me nearly wet my pants.

I had the opportunity to watch this brilliant movie at home, while translating it from English to Greek for the viewers of the Thessaloniki Film Festival in November, 2005.

I was impressed by the stunning performance of the leading actor, as well as of the other actors. The music of the film was also wisely selected.

Some -few- funny moments in the film help the viewer lighten up and get ready for what I saw as brilliantly directed fighting scenes, that neither bored me nor made me look away.

At the end of the film, when the desciple was crying for "a dream that can never come true" I was absolutely sure that what I saw was nothing less than a true work of art.

This masterpiece comes from the director of Tales of Two Sisters and he delivers an epic tale of revenge.

I can't urge you enough to see this movie. The gun battles are reminiscent of Scarface, the martial arts are gritty and realistic, the poignancy of unrequited love is painful, there is a deep philosophical current that underlies this film, and the camera work is superb-but that's not what carries the movie. The actor who plays the main character is what sets this magnificent movie apart from the trash put out by Hollywood. He's a man's man-sharply dressed in well tailored suits driving in a BMW sedan (like the transporter)through beautiful Seoul (showing what a beautiful, spotless, and vibrant city it is). He reaches the point of no return and his vengeance and determination are a tour de force.

Magnificent. Bravo. South Korean films reign supreme.