This may well be one of the most perverted love stories ever. Han-ki is the local tough guy in a red light district and as he one day sees Son-hwa, a collage student, look at him and smile, he has to have her. Kissing her, she returns his kiss with slapping him. To make her pay, he lures her into a situation where she has to sign a letter of debt, by which she then is forced into prostitution.

The character of Han-ki is a simple as they come. He does two things, he either sits and watches or he hits someone. He never speaks. At the end, Kim reveals to us why Han-ki never speaks. Having a high pitch (almost mouse like) squeaking voice would doubtless make him the target for ridicule and that is the one thing you cannot afford in this part of town. So in order to survive, Han-ki never speaks and just hits anyone in sight. The repression of shame is one of the many aspects of Kim’s auteurism, all noting towards guilt.

While the story raised some logical questions, for instance has the parents contacted the police about the disappearance of their daughter?, the sheer force of the story makes us ignore such lapses. The story is so perverted and so strong, that we have to keep looking. Equally critical is the notion, that Son-hwa becomes accustomed to being a prostitute, which made feminists attack the film as misogynistic. And one has to acknowledge these critics, as they have become part of Kim’s auteurism. When you openly create political incorrect images, when you openly seek to provoke and attack conventions, the critic against you becomes part of the oeuvre.

Compared to the rest of Kim’s films, “Bad Guy” stands out as one of his best, and approaching him by auteurism by the motif of guilt and shame, it may well be the key work, as the characters emotions are so singular and the setting almost is mythical. By normal approach, “Bad Guy” is a perverted uncompromising love story, with an inner of intense beauty and love. Films like this are rare and must be treasured.

Henrik Sylow

Recommended Books on Korean Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

NO COVER AVAILABLE		NO COVER AVAILABLE		NO COVER AVAILABLE			NO COVER AVAILABLE	NO COVER AVAILABLE
The Cinema Of Japan And Korea (24 Frames) by Justin Bowyer, Jinhee Choi	Contemporary Korean Cinema : Culture, Identity and Politics by Hyangjin Lee	The History of Korean Cinema by Young-il Lee, Young-chol Choe	Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong by Anthony Leong	Korean Film : History, Resistance, and Democratic Imagination by Eungjun Min, Jinsook Joo, Han Ju Kwak	The Remasculinization of Korean Cinema (Asia-Pacific) by Kyung Hyun Kim	Essential Cinema by Jonathan Rosenbaum	Im Kwon-Taek: The Making of a Korean National Cinema by David E. James, Kyung Hyun Kim, Myong-Hwa Chung	Korean Cinema (Images of Asia) by Frances K. Gateward

 

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(Tartan Asia Extreme - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. Criterion Film - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. CJ Entertainment - Region 3 - NTSC - BOTTOM)