Biteu

Min and his friends are 'lost youths' living in an increasingly Westernized country which has many conflicts with its more rigid, traditional social structures and values brought about by relentless modernization. Min, (who looks somewhat like Yuen Biao) is also a natural kung fu expert and gets mixed up in street gang action much to the dismay of his dysfunctional girl friend and equally dysfunctional best friend and business partner. Technically the film is quite well done, a sort of mix of Japanimation (the motorcycle shots were right out of Akira), Hong Kong crime films, and music video/tv commercial: neon, garish lighting, sudden cuts, extreme camera angles and positions, and lots of little shot pieces edited togehter to give it a jumpy, visually nervous feel. But it is all surface and no substance. The film is a good 20 or more likely 30 minutes too long, and cutting out the kung fu/street gang plot would have been the perfect solution. Working with just the romantic and best friend relationships would have made this a much more interesting film.

Sung-su Kim did an awesome job directing one of Young-man Huh's comic books. Wu-sung Jung did a great job as a disadvantaged rebel. the photography was really similar to Kar-wai Wong's 1995 DUOLUO TIANSHI. if you're a fan of Young-man Huh's comic books, you'll really enjoy this movie. I wish more directors would adapt screenplay from Young-man Huh.

Constant/excessive physical violence mars this well-done/plausible story about three street-wise buddies who take different paths after deciding not to take college-entrance exams. In his bittersweet romance with Romi, Min with his beguiling smile reminded me of Tom Cruise. Indeed, I later found out from a young girl from Korea that Woo-sung Jung is known as the Tom Cruise of Korea.

"Beat" is one of the most entertaining and enjoyable films to come out of Korea. It's not as deep as it advertises itself to be, but has great humor and action. The overwhelming pressure of education and family of Korean culture produces the "BEAT" generation, which this movie makes an effort to represent. Although there is no martial arts or big gangster images for international audiences to enjoy, the realism and acting generates enough interest. This movie is famous for making the biggest star in Korean cinema, Jung Woo-Sung. As the lonely and brave fighter, his charisma is worth the price of renting the film alone.

I enjoyed this movie. Everything in this movie was good. The cinematography, which seems influenced by Wong Kar Wai, was beautiful and action scenes were very cool. Woo-Sung Jung performs a charismatic but naive loner very well. I'm sure girls went crazy while seeing this movie. Chang-Jung Lim's funny and realistic performance makes this film less dark and more delightful. This film is based on a famous comic book in Korea with a different ending. To me, the film seems more cartoonish, doesn't mean the film is bad.