Breathless (2009)
August 6th, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Yang Ik Joon
Actors: Yang Ik Joon,Kot Bi-Kim,Man-Shik Jeong
Genre: korean crime drama with hints of dark comedy
This film was recommended to me by a fellow mondo cinematic crime lord from the boogie down who is more astute to korean crime dramas than I am and marked that this might be up my trashy five and dime chinatown alley! I didn’t realize that BREATHLESS was going to lead me on a roller coaster ride of emotions from a complete low to hovering on a high flame of anger then back down to a brief simmer of hope to finally getting suplexed, and while in the process of getting up, to get kicked in the nuts with the prospects of almost wailing like a child for the finale! Despite these tears for fears with being more than just a bruiser & basher film which I am usually well accustomed to, I raised my paws up with a fuzzy fistful of approval for Breathless!
At first glance, I thought the movie was going to be about hired goons and their hard knock efforts to smash up the democratic hopes of protesting students but no, that would be too one dimensional, not to mention boring! These hired guns of sorts would not discriminate, y’all! Superficially, this movie was about a day in the life of a local gang led by a calm & somewhat compassionate ring leader being strung along by the moving parts of his loanshark operation led by his right hand henchman played by actor, Yang Ik Joon who also happens to be the director of the film! We would follow this all star debt collector for his brutal daily beatdowns, smackdowns, shakedowns, & verbal knockout punches of unfortunate & unsuspecting gambling degenerates. Along with the ferocious punches, bruising heel stomps, & blinding blunt objects to the head, a barrage of dirty mouth, verbal abuse f-bombs, & curse words that the devil would say RIGHT ON to, would be a valuable weapon of choice for this troubled man. A meeting by chance with a high school student would add another dimension of self discoveries that would give him another dice roll in life.
However, underneath the surface of this day to day operation would dig up deep scar tissues of this henchman’s past that would reveal the reasoning behind his foul mouthed self, his anger, constant loathing, & his solace in violence. One relationship would lead to another mutually inclusive one as stories will intertwine with each other which will lead to a whole host of revelations & similiarities between the two families. A stunning finale would reveal a full circle of events leading on to another generation of rock & rage.
Say your graces, give high praises, & don’t forget to kiss/hug/hi five your parents the next time you see them because BREATHLESS will truly take your breath away when you see what it’s like along with the aftermath on the other side of the parenting train tracks. A refresher course on dysfunctional families, filial piety, a domino effect of verbal & physical abuse , and a cold hard stare in the mirror of reality will be in-store for this screening!
Tags: breathless, crime drama, dark comedy, korean, kot bi kim, man shik jeong, yang ik joon
Posted in movies, mr. c | Comments (1)
August 9th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
I’m mixed on this film. I do like and I do recommend it but at the same time I find it so jagged that watching the film, which I’ve done a half dozen times in the last two years, will annoy me at times during the course of it’s running time. On the other hand the film packs a massive punch in the gut at the end.