by Won Kim

Crime films seem to dominate my viewing list these days. Some reviews follow...

Center: Lee Marvin in “Point Blank”. Clockwise from top left: Lee Byung Hun as Sun Woo, Alain Delon in “Le Samourai”, another shot of Lee Byun Hun, Jeon Du-Hung (right) faces off against Yakuza in “Fighter in the Wind”, Philip Kwok in “Hard-Boiled”, and Michael Caine and friend in “Get Carter”.

Kim Jae-Woon’s, “Tale of Two Sisters” (2003) is a stylish slow-burn horror-mystery based on an old Korean fairy tale (of surprising psychological depth) that featured memorable production design (think Laura Ashley from Hell), clever use of a classical score, and great performances by Im Su-Jeong and Mun Keun-Young as the sisters, and Yeom Jeong-Ah, who is unforgettable as the evil stepmother. Impressed put in a standing order for Kim’s next film, A Bittersweet Life (2005) which turned out to be equally stylish as “Sisters”, but otherwise a bit frustrating. The story is simple. A trusted mob enforcer, Sun-Woo (played by Lee Byung-Hun) finds that he cannot fulfill his boss’ latest order. He takes a big chance, and as a result, suffers terribly, then, having been a loyal mobster decides to retaliate. Hardly original as crime stories go. However, what matters in genre films like this, is not what happens, but how the story is told, and the film is certainly stylish. The world Sun-Woo operates in is filled with dramatic locales as shiny and reflective, as the settings in Michael Mann’s urban crime stories “Thief” and “Heat”, and fans of those films will no doubt like “Bittersweet”. The fight scenes are brutal and well choreographed by Jeon Du-Hong (“Fighter in the Wind”, “No Blood No Tears”) particularly the extended finale. There’s one sequence involving low-rent illegal gun dealers that stands out for its’ grim humor.

Whether one considers the film a success or not depends on how one reacts to the casting of Lee Byung-Hun in the lead role. Michael Hodges’ memorable “Get Carter” (1971) and John Boorman’s “Point Blank”, work so well in part because Michael Caine and Lee Marvin look like people who intimidate, and otherwise brutalize, others for a living. Caine and Marvin make it believable when they endured beating after beating and dish out death and destruction in return. I felt Lee’s youthful good looks worked against him in “Bittersweet”. He stands out a bit too much among his fellow mobsters, who are a generally dangerous looking, bunch indeed. found myself wishing the producers and filmmakers had cast Jeon Du-Hung (the black-clad enforcer in “No Blood No Tears”, a demonic martial arts master/sorcerer in “Arahan”, and the noble martial arts teacher in “Fighter in the Wind”) in the lead. He has craggy looks for the role. As with Jeon’s fellow actor and fight choreographer, Phillip Kwok (“Five Deadly Venoms”, “Hard Boiled”) I hope Jeon gets a few starring roles in some well-directed action films before either of them gets much older. Both men look great on film, have the requisite acting ability, and are “hell on wheels” in motion. Compounding matters, Lee’s character, Sun-Woo, is a cold-blooded perfectionist (well illustrated by his first scene in the movie, involving an interrupted meal) and a relatively repressed man, a key plot element in the story. Though Lee Byung-Hun has turned in an engrossing and sympathetic performances “JSA: Joint Security Area”, in “Bittersweet” I suspect he was asked to underplay his character’s reactions. (This is reinforced by the late revelation of his reasons for making a critical choice early in the film.) This was a mistake. Lee doesn’t get to externalize Sun-Woo’s emotions until his enemies put him ‘through the wringer’. Cold blooded killer that he is, we need to sympathize with him earlier on in the story, as we did with Jean Reno’s Leon, in “The Professional”. The rest of the cast is fine. Shin Min-Ah (“Volcano High”) stands out as a young cellist Sun-Woo is assigned to watch, as does Min Hwang-Jeon as a nasty piece of work named Baek, the leader of a rival gang.

Given the high quality of the production, and action scenes, I expect “A Bittersweet Life” to get released in a Region One DVD edition. With the above reservations in mind, I think many people will still enjoy it. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you like Michael Mann’s work, and if Alain Delon’s stoic good looks didn’t get in the way of accepting him in films like “Le Samourai” and “The Sicilian Clan”. If it the answer to both questions is yes, give “A Bittersweet Life” a try, you’ll like it better than I did.

Top to bottom: David Belle, Bibi Naceri & Dany Verrissimo as Leito, Taha, and Lola in “Banlieue 13”. Belle begins a descent, film poster illustration.

The title of Luc Besson’s Banlieue 13 (2004) stands for a district in a near future Paris, a multi-racial ghetto, abandoned by the municipal government (which walls the entire neighborhood off from the rest of Paris) as an ungovernable underclass enclave. In lieu of a central authority, what passes for order in the district is maintained by a crime boss, Taha, and his lieutenant, K2. Leito, a low-rent Robin Hood, played by David Belle, the chief exponent of an form of acrobatic fighting that utilizes the handholds and abutments found in any urban setting, and fantastic leaps from building to building. (For more information on Parkour, see: http://www.urbanfreeflow.com/FRPK_parkour_...r_beginners.htm ) Leito’s personal crusade against Taha takes a bad turn and he lands in prison. Taha gets his hands on a nuclear weapon, a neutron bomb mounted on a small missle, and the government teams Leito up with Damien (Cyril Raffaelli), a member of an elite police unit trained for high-risk situations, to enter the district, locate and disarm the bomb. Jackie-Chan/Tony Jaa-like mayhem ensues, with dialogue that reminds me of an updated version of Denny O’Neil’s dialogue in “Green Lantern-Green Arrow”, with the predictable twist that the cop is more idealistic in his straight razor way, than the much more cynical vigilante. Other than a gritty showcase for Leito and Raffaelli’s enviable physical skills, there isn’t else to recommend “Banlieue 13”, except to say the settings have the look of the decaying urban settings of European science fiction comics, particularly Tanino Liberatore’s “Ranxerox” ( http://www.valdisangro.it/arte/liberatoreg...primapagina.htm ). I wish the filmmakers had gone further in this regard. Some creative costuming, as seen in the Chinese ghettos depicted in Jeong Yun-Su’s unfairly maligned, Yesterday”, would have helped a lot. Still for the undemanding fans of films like Tony Jaa’s “Ong Bak”, or Besson, Louis Letterier and Cory Yuen’s “Transporter” films, “Banlieue 13” for a decent evenings diversion.

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