A Bittersweet Life (2005) & The Chaser (2008) Two Korean New Wave Classics (Review)

Two South Korean films that straddle one of the most important events in Korean cinema in the 21st century. One by an established director of TV and Film whose name would be placed next to the modern greats like Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-Ho, the other by a new up and coming voice, who, some 8 years after this debut feature, would release a film that would place him firmly on the world map.

A Bittersweet Life (2005) came at the height of the South Korean New Wave of the late 1990s to mid 2000s. The world had already bared witness to such colossal masterpieces as Memories of Murder (2003) and Oldboy (also 2003), in fact director Kim Jee-woon had also made his own calling card in the eerily poignant A Tale of Two Sisters (2003 again… what a year for South Korean Cinema), but even a gem such as that would pale in comparison to what would become Director Kim’s magnum opus. With influences ranging from Jean-Pierre Melville to the Heroic Bloodshed films of John Woo (in particular The Killer), A Bittersweet Life weaves a bloody melancholic tale of a man just trying to do the right thing as he sees it but ultimately incurring the wrath of powerful men with damaged egos.

Lee Byung-hun (I Saw The Devil & Squid Game) oozes a cool vulnerability, a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders but a man that now finds himself the target of those he once served. His face often fills the screen, relaying a menace or an unexpected reaction with such subtlety that it is hard not to be drawn in, and whilst Lee Byung-hun’s performance is the one on which the film hangs, everyone leaves a memorable memory of their character. Two dimensional people are nowhere to be found within the frames of this masterpiece.

With violence interwoven with the darkest of humour, A Bittersweet Life is a classic from a time that produced so many. It was also one of the last films to benefit from the South Korean Cinema Quota. A government mandate that secured 146 days a year that South Korean theatres had to dedicate to films made in the homeland. This led to a wealth of funding and growth in the Korean film industry to have guaranteed production to fill those 146 days. This created a hotbed of talent unlike anywhere else in the world at the time. Films with such fearlessness and imagination stretched across the globe, and influence of which can still be felt today.

In 2006, in an agreement that was part of a free trade agreement with the United States of America, this guaranteed time was halved from 146 days to just 73. The immediate effect was felt almost immediately, with many stars going into self exile in protest (most notably actor Choi Min-sik) and the focus of South Korean film being moved away from creativity to a more economic one . This saw a slew of popcorn friendly movies like The Thieves (2012) and My Girlfriend is an Agent (2009), but one thing that South Korean audiences never gave up on was the action thriller, and few would hit that tone as perfectly as Na Hong-jin’s debut feature The Chaser (2008).

Loosely based on the novel infamous serial killer Yoo Young-chul (aka The Raincoat Killer), The Chaser sets out its stall very early on, not afraid to show a seedy underbelly filled with sleaze, corruption and incompetence. Ex-Cop turned pimp Joong-ho (played wonderfully by the always brilliant Kim Yeon-seok), a man who always wants to make a buck and isn’t afraid of who he hurts to get it, but old habits die hard when one of his employees disappears. 

The Chaser is so unlike many other crime action thrillers that comparisons to western films are near impossible. For starters it reveals the killer in the opening 10 minutes and has him arrested within the first thirty, but this is where The Chaser really gathers momentum and delivers a bloody thrill ride for the ages. Murderous Young-min (played with captivating menace by the now legendary Ha Jung-woo, know for such films as Assassination from 2015 and the world renowned The Handmaiden from a year later) is one of the great screen villains of modern cinema, projecting a very real threat to all that share a room with him, and delivering moments of genuine shock and horror.

Both A Bittersweet Life and The Chaser are wonderful examples of the greatness of South Korean cinema and are perfect instances of quality for those looking to dig a little deeper into this wonderful world. EDITOR – And as luck would have it, both (along with (the yet to be released in the UK) the Foul King, have recieved a VOD release via the always excellent Blue Finch Films. Here’s hoping they get some nice Blu-Rays soon, to go with this re-issue too.

Ben’s Archive – The Chaser & A Bittersweet Life