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Bad Guy (2001)

Plot (Tartan): A tough gangland leader (Jo Jae-Hyeon) experiences love at first sight when he encounters a young college student (Won Seo) in a crowd. With no concern for public conduct, or the desires of the girl, he forces himself upon her and kisses her in front of her boyfriend. Totally unapologetic, the man is beaten by police and left disgraced.

Desperate to see her again, the man decides to return to the same place. Soon, the student re-appears and she and her boyfriend go on a window shopping trip. However, her desperate lack of money leads her to commit an unfortunate crime, for which her victim demands an uncompromising, pre-planned punishment: She must work as a prostitute to pay the money back. And it is the man who fell in love with her in the crowd that day that will be responsible for taking care of her.

Review: Kim Ki-Duk 2001 Dark art-house drama is defiantly a original and thought provoking story. It just shows you with enough hate someone could easily ruin your life, going from a beautiful young college student to a back alley prostitute servicing the scum of the night.

When first glancing eyes on this movie, it didn’t give me any interest in it. That was until I was told that this movie was directed by Kim Ki-Duk, KKD impressed me immensely with 2004’s “3 Iron”, I couldn’t resists from renting this.

After watching the movie I had some really mixed thoughts, It wasn’t really the film I expected it to be. I obviously preferred 3 Iron, but I remember watching KKD’s “The Isle” and I ended up with mix thoughts on that too. I wasn’t ‘Hooked’, so to say. Bad Guy’s style is similar to The Isle rather than 3 Iron.

KKD still does a tremendous job with this though, the film is flawless, the soundtrack to this movie is heartbreaking I loved it, It really sets the tone of the movie.

The cast this movie are also brilliant, leading lady Won Seo is perfect she pulls off the performance of a young innocent woman and of course Jo Jae-Hyeon’s performance of a life-wrecker is spot on, if it wasn’t so much momentum from the film would be lost. Jae-Hyeon’s performance does have you by the heart, at first your wanting the scum dead and by the end you have this hope that he would actually get the girl in the end.

Final thoughts, dark, provoking and 100% Kim Ki-Duk!

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