If you like your movies hard hitting look no further.
Actor/director Yang Ik Joon has turned in one of the most brutal and
uncompromising Korean dramas of the year. Korean cinema is an exciting place to
be right now, but nothing will prepare you for the raw power of Breathless, an
unstoppable juggernaut of pain and torment that refuses to let up until the
final credits roll. If it’s fluffy bunnies and pink balloons you’re after then
turn away now, Yang Ik Joon’s debut feature isn’t afraid to kick you when
you’re down. Repeatedly. Without hesitation.
In fact, it spends most of its ample running time doing just
that. Breathless might just be the most appropriate film title of the year.
Yang Ik Joon stars as debt collector Sang Hoon, a hostile man that grew up in a
household destroyed by domestic violence. He witnessed his mother and sister's
deaths as a child, and continues to punish his father for the past. Raging
through a life of violence and bitterness, Sang Hoon begins to change after he
encounters Yeon Hee (Kim Kkot Bi), a foul-mouthed high school girl who's going
through some equally hard times.
This is a tough movie to review in truth. It’s a hard sell
from start to finish and I doubt that I’ll be returning to it in the near
future. That’s not to say it isn’t worth your time, but the unrelenting
violence and perpetual profanity will likely test your patience. It’s a deeply
personal film from director Yang Ik Joon and he delivers a standout performance
as a result, so it’s not particularly surprising to learn that he bagged a Best
New Actor Award at the Blue Dragon Awards for his troubles.
Kim Kkot Bi went one better, her appearance as feisty school
girl Yeon Hee secured her two Best Actress Awards, one at the Blue Dragon
ceremony and the other came courtesy of the Dae Jong Award Festival 2009. These
lead turns are the driving force behind this picture, and even though much of
the movie will be hard for viewers to stomach, the same can’t be said for the
striking performances of it’s rising stars.
The opening scene is deeply disturbing and events are no
more bouncy as the film progresses. Sang Hoon shows no compassion to his fellow
man (or woman), wilfully beating on anyone who gets in his way. His only
weakness is a surviving sister and her son, but even his nephew gets the rough
end of the stick from time to time. The uncontrollable rage that surfaces at
every opportunity won't evoke sympathy but he does become a little more bearable
as the film progresses, even though any attempts at redemption seem fruitless.
The other characters don’t fare much better, especially the
supporting players. Yeon Hee is the most likeable character in the movie,
largely down to the fact that her family are assholes. Her crippled father
takes out his frustration on her, as does her cowardly brother, he himself an
unpleasant character that bathes in the same muddy waters as our wayward
protagonist. All in all, Yang Ik Joon has painted a dank and dirty portrait of
the kind of life you won’t want to be a part of.
At two hours long Breathless will certainly test your
patience. The second act does have a habit of hitting the repeat button on
familiar scenes and themes, and a little more time spent in the editing suite
would have made for a more satisfying whole. The gritty direction adds welcome
weight but many viewers will find the lack of warmth hard going. The relentless
violence and profanity becomes a little tiresome after a while, leaving you – the
viewer – numb to its touch. That said, the relationship between Sang Hoon and
Yeon Hee is handled really well, as is the slow reveal of their tragic
upbringings. The ending is perhaps predictable, but the fine performances
provide a welcome sense of worth and dare I say it, reluctant sympathy.
Breathless is clearly going to prove a hard sell but I hope
it finds an audience on our shores. What it lacks in happy-ending-Hollywood it
makes up for in passion and grit. Yang Ik Joon could be worth keeping an eye on
then, but only if he learns how to turn his frown upside down. AW
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