A Bittersweet Life
Encyclopedia
A Bittersweet Life (Hangul
: 달콤한 인생) is a 2005 South Korean film directed and written by Kim Ji-woon
and starring Lee Byung-hun
. Ruthlessly violent, it illustrates the ethical codes in the Korean mob and how they clash with personal morality
.
The film premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival
.
) is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by Kang (Kim Yeong-cheol
), a cold and calculating crime boss to whom he is unquestionably loyal. The two share concerns over business tensions with Baek Jr. (Hwang Jung-min), a son from a rival family, which is when Kang assigns Sun-Woo what is perceived to be a simple errand while he is away on a business trip — to shadow his young mistress, Heesoo (Shin Min-ah), whom he fears is having an "affair" with another man, giving Sun-Woo the mandate to kill her (and her paramour) if he manages to discover it. As he performs his duty — following Heesoo, and escorting her to a music recital one day — he becomes quietly enthralled by the girl's beauty and innocence as glimpses into his lonely, empty personal life become more prevalent. When he does come to discover Heesoo's lover directly in her home, he fiercely beats him and prepares to inform Kang, but his attraction for her causes him to hesitate. He thus spares the two on the condition that they no longer see each other again, earning him Heesoo's enmity.
Meanwhile, Sun-woo continues to be embroiled in personal business with Baek Jr. over having beaten up several of his henchmen earlier for overstaying their welcome at the hotel. He is then threatened by one of his enforcers to apologize, but he adamantly refuses, fueled by his frustrations over Heesoo. As he relaxes in his apartment later one night, he is suddenly kidnapped by Baek's men to be tortured, but before they can do so they receive new orders via phone call and he is abruptly carried off to Kang, who has returned from overseas and has found out about his attempted cover-up of Heesoo's affair. Kang's men torture him into confessing why he lied until he is left alone to think about his answer. A daring but messy escape follows, after which Sun-woo plans his revenge.
Help from one of Sun-woo's loyal co-workers provides him with money and new clothes to go about his plan: he secretly delivers Heesoo a gift to make amends and sets up a meeting with some local arms dealers, but as they are affiliated with Kang's organization he ends up killing them over a deal to buy a handgun — this incurs a vendetta with the brother of one of the dealers, who promptly sets out to find Sun-woo. He then goes on to set up a veiled rendezvous with Baek Jr. and kills him after a brief conversation, but he is viciously stabbed in the process. Bleeding, his violent shooting spree leads directly to Kang amidst one of his business meetings, where he vents bitterly over how badly he has been treated despite his seven years of service. Kang does not answer, and instead tries to subtly empathize. Sun-woo then shoots him, prompting a shootout with Baek Jr.'s henchmen, who had quickly picked up his trail.
Sun-Woo emerges as the only survivor of the battle with the arms dealer's brother finally catching up to him in the same room. Now dying from multiple gunshot wounds,he calls Heesoo and pauses to reminisce on his only day with Heesoo, when he had escorted her to her music recital; in his memory, as he watches her play her cello he finds himself overwhelmed with emotion and, in a rare moment of contentment, he smiles. As he sheds a tear over this memory, the brother of the arms dealer executes him.
The film ends with a continuation of an earlier scene of Sun-Woo looking out of a window at the city below him. After making sure he's alone, he begins to shadowbox
his reflection in the glass, looking very happy.
.
Critical reception was highly positive, with critics describing it as "organic, essential, beautifully staged and refreshingly realistic." Derek Elley from Variety magazine
described the film as "a tour de force of noirish style and Korean ultra-violence that will have genre fans nailed to their seats."
Sam Toy from Empire magazine stated Lee "puts in a star-making performance as the brutal chief whip-turned-fugitive, never overplaying what could easily become hammy and clichéd, and easily holds this Korean noir together." He added "this is hugely enjoyable, and beautifully brutal."
Lee Byung-hun
was praised for his acting ability with a critic from Cinema Eye saying that he "brings sheer excitement in his performance" and is "an angel dressed in vengeance". The critic also noted that A Bittersweet Life is "the best film of 2005." On Rotten Tomatoes
, it currently holds a 100%, with an average score of 8.1 out of 10 based on eight reviews. A critic from BeyondHollywood.com gave the film 4/5 stars.
In 2009, Empire Magazine named it third in a poll of the "20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen* (*Probably)".
Though the box office is unknown, when the film finally ended its theatrical run, it had 1,291,621 admissions.
2006 Fant-Asia Film Festival
2005 Sitges Film Festival
2006 42nd Paeksang Arts Awards
2005 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards
2005 25th Korean Critics' Choice Awards
2005 13th Chunsa Film Art Awards
2005 42nd Grand Bell Awards
2005 4th Korean Film Awards
was released on April 7, 2005.
(2007), starring Emraan Hashmi.
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 달콤한 인생) is a 2005 South Korean film directed and written by Kim Ji-woon
Kim Ji-Woon
Kim Ji-woon is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Kim Ji-woon has a history of successfully tackling a wide range of film genres, garnering a cult following among Asian films fans all over the world.-Career:...
and starring Lee Byung-hun
Lee Byung-Hun
Lee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...
. Ruthlessly violent, it illustrates the ethical codes in the Korean mob and how they clash with personal morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
.
The film premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival
2005 Cannes Film Festival
The 2005 Cannes Film Festival started on May 11 and ran until May 22. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on May 21...
.
Plot
Kim Sun-woo (Lee Byung-hunLee Byung-Hun
Lee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...
) is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by Kang (Kim Yeong-cheol
Kim Yeong-cheol
Kim Yeong-cheol is a South Korean actor. One of his earliest appearances was in White Smile . Other notable film roles include playing an underworld boss in A Bittersweet Life .-Television:-Film:...
), a cold and calculating crime boss to whom he is unquestionably loyal. The two share concerns over business tensions with Baek Jr. (Hwang Jung-min), a son from a rival family, which is when Kang assigns Sun-Woo what is perceived to be a simple errand while he is away on a business trip — to shadow his young mistress, Heesoo (Shin Min-ah), whom he fears is having an "affair" with another man, giving Sun-Woo the mandate to kill her (and her paramour) if he manages to discover it. As he performs his duty — following Heesoo, and escorting her to a music recital one day — he becomes quietly enthralled by the girl's beauty and innocence as glimpses into his lonely, empty personal life become more prevalent. When he does come to discover Heesoo's lover directly in her home, he fiercely beats him and prepares to inform Kang, but his attraction for her causes him to hesitate. He thus spares the two on the condition that they no longer see each other again, earning him Heesoo's enmity.
Meanwhile, Sun-woo continues to be embroiled in personal business with Baek Jr. over having beaten up several of his henchmen earlier for overstaying their welcome at the hotel. He is then threatened by one of his enforcers to apologize, but he adamantly refuses, fueled by his frustrations over Heesoo. As he relaxes in his apartment later one night, he is suddenly kidnapped by Baek's men to be tortured, but before they can do so they receive new orders via phone call and he is abruptly carried off to Kang, who has returned from overseas and has found out about his attempted cover-up of Heesoo's affair. Kang's men torture him into confessing why he lied until he is left alone to think about his answer. A daring but messy escape follows, after which Sun-woo plans his revenge.
Help from one of Sun-woo's loyal co-workers provides him with money and new clothes to go about his plan: he secretly delivers Heesoo a gift to make amends and sets up a meeting with some local arms dealers, but as they are affiliated with Kang's organization he ends up killing them over a deal to buy a handgun — this incurs a vendetta with the brother of one of the dealers, who promptly sets out to find Sun-woo. He then goes on to set up a veiled rendezvous with Baek Jr. and kills him after a brief conversation, but he is viciously stabbed in the process. Bleeding, his violent shooting spree leads directly to Kang amidst one of his business meetings, where he vents bitterly over how badly he has been treated despite his seven years of service. Kang does not answer, and instead tries to subtly empathize. Sun-woo then shoots him, prompting a shootout with Baek Jr.'s henchmen, who had quickly picked up his trail.
Sun-Woo emerges as the only survivor of the battle with the arms dealer's brother finally catching up to him in the same room. Now dying from multiple gunshot wounds,he calls Heesoo and pauses to reminisce on his only day with Heesoo, when he had escorted her to her music recital; in his memory, as he watches her play her cello he finds himself overwhelmed with emotion and, in a rare moment of contentment, he smiles. As he sheds a tear over this memory, the brother of the arms dealer executes him.
The film ends with a continuation of an earlier scene of Sun-Woo looking out of a window at the city below him. After making sure he's alone, he begins to shadowbox
Shadowboxing
Shadowboxing is an exercise used in the training for combat sports, especially, as its name implies, in boxing. It is used mainly to prepare the muscles before the person training engages in stronger physical activity. In shadowboxing, only one person is required to participate; the participant...
his reflection in the glass, looking very happy.
Cast
- Lee Byung-hunLee Byung-HunLee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...
as Kim Sun-woo - Kim Young-cheol as Mr. Kang
- Shin Min-aShin Min-aShin Min-a may refer to:* Shin Min-a , South Korean actress* Shim Mina, South Korean singer...
as Hee-soo - Hwang Jung-min as President Baek
- Jin GooJin GooJin Goo is a South Korean actor. He does not study performing arts professionally. When he was student, he majored in advertisements...
as Min-gi - Kim Hae-gon as Gun dealer
- Kim Roi-ha as Mun-suk
- Oh Dal-suOh Dal-suOh Dal-su is a South Korean actor. He has played many crime-related roles, such as Mr.Park the owner of the organized crime funded private jail in Oldboy and a former gang boss in Mapado . He plays a semi-comic part as a weapons smuggler in A Bittersweet Life...
as Myung-gu - Lee Gi-yeongLee Gi-yeongLee Ki-young is a South Korean actor. Notable roles include Love Me Not , Marathon and A Bittersweet Life , in which he plays a gangster.- External links :* at film2.co.kr...
as Mu-sung - Eric MunEric MunEric Mun Jung Hyuk, , mononymously credited as Eric, was born on 16 February 1979. He is a South Korean entertainer, known as the leader and rapper of six-member boy band Shinhwa and his lead roles in Korean dramas The Phoenix and Super Rookie.-Career:Eric attended John Burroughs Middle School...
, aka Mun Jung-hyk as Gun dealer's brother
Box office and critical reception
The film was screened out of competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival2005 Cannes Film Festival
The 2005 Cannes Film Festival started on May 11 and ran until May 22. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on May 21...
.
Critical reception was highly positive, with critics describing it as "organic, essential, beautifully staged and refreshingly realistic." Derek Elley from Variety magazine
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
described the film as "a tour de force of noirish style and Korean ultra-violence that will have genre fans nailed to their seats."
Sam Toy from Empire magazine stated Lee "puts in a star-making performance as the brutal chief whip-turned-fugitive, never overplaying what could easily become hammy and clichéd, and easily holds this Korean noir together." He added "this is hugely enjoyable, and beautifully brutal."
Lee Byung-hun
Lee Byung-Hun
Lee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...
was praised for his acting ability with a critic from Cinema Eye saying that he "brings sheer excitement in his performance" and is "an angel dressed in vengeance". The critic also noted that A Bittersweet Life is "the best film of 2005." On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, it currently holds a 100%, with an average score of 8.1 out of 10 based on eight reviews. A critic from BeyondHollywood.com gave the film 4/5 stars.
In 2009, Empire Magazine named it third in a poll of the "20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen* (*Probably)".
Though the box office is unknown, when the film finally ended its theatrical run, it had 1,291,621 admissions.
Awards and nominations
2006 8th Deauville Asian Film FestivalDeauville Asian Film Festival
The Deauville Asian Film Festival takes place annually in Deauville, France since 1999 and focuses on Asian cinema...
- LOTUS ACTION ASIA – Grand Prix Action Asia, Action Asia Prize
2006 Fant-Asia Film Festival
- Silver Prize Best Asian Film
- Best photography – Ji-yong Kim
2005 Sitges Film Festival
- Best Original Soundtrack – Dalparan and Jang Young-Gyu
- Nomination – Best Film
2006 42nd Paeksang Arts Awards
PaekSang Arts Awards
PaekSang Arts Awards, also known as BaekSang Arts Awards, is an awards ceremony held annually by IS PLUS Corp, since 1965. It is to honour outstanding achievements in the South Korean entertainment industry and to garner public attention upon the best in Korean films and dramas...
- Best Actor – Lee Byung-hunLee Byung-HunLee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...
2005 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards
Blue Dragon Film Awards
The Blue Dragon Film Awards is an annual awards ceremony that is presented annually by Sports Chosun for excellence in film in South Korea....
- Best Cinematography – Kim Ji-yong
- Nomination – Best Director – Kim Ji-woonKim Ji-WoonKim Ji-woon is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Kim Ji-woon has a history of successfully tackling a wide range of film genres, garnering a cult following among Asian films fans all over the world.-Career:...
- Nomination – Best Leading Actor – Lee Byung-hunLee Byung-HunLee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...
- Nomination – Best Supporting Actor – Hwang Jung-min
- Nomination – Best Music – Dalparan and Jang Young-gyu
- Nomination – Best Art Direction – Ryu Sung-Hee
- Nomination – Best Lighting – Shin Sang-Ryeol
2005 25th Korean Critics' Choice Awards
- Top 10 Films
- Best Actor – Lee Byung-hunLee Byung-HunLee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...
- Best Music – Dalparan, Jang Young-gyu
2005 13th Chunsa Film Art Awards
Chunsa Film Art Awards
The Chunsa Film Art Awards have been presented in South Korea since the founding of the prize by the Korea Film Directors' Society. The awards take their name from pen-name of the early Korean actor and filmmaker, Na Woon-gyu. Prizes are given for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress and Best...
- Best Actor – Lee Byung-hunLee Byung-HunLee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...
2005 42nd Grand Bell Awards
Grand Bell Awards
The Grand Bell Awards is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea....
- Best Supporting Actor – Hwang Jung-min
- Nomination – Best Actor – Lee Byung-hunLee Byung-HunLee Byung-hun is a South Korean actor, singer and model. He has starred in popular television dramas such as Iris , All In and Beautiful Days...
- Nomination – Best Film
- Nomination – Best Director – Kim Ji-woonKim Ji-WoonKim Ji-woon is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Kim Ji-woon has a history of successfully tackling a wide range of film genres, garnering a cult following among Asian films fans all over the world.-Career:...
- Nomination – Best Cinematography – Kim Ji-yong
- Nomination – Best Art Direction – Ryu Sung-Hee
- Nomination – Best Editing – Choi Jae-geun
- Nomination – Best Music – Jang Young-gyu
- Nomination – Best Sound
2005 4th Korean Film Awards
Korean Film Awards
The Korean Film Award is a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the MBC.-Awards:The categories are*Best Film*Best Director*Best New Director*Best Leading Actor*Best Leading Actress*Best Supporting Actor*Best Supporting Actress...
- Best Supporting Actor – Hwang Jung-min
Soundtrack
The A Bittersweet Life original soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
was released on April 7, 2005.
Other adaptations
There is a Bollywood-remake of the movie called AwarapanAwarapan
Awarapan is a 2007 Bollywood film from the makers of one of the biggest musical hits, Woh Lamhe. It is the first Indian and Pakistani joint production film. It stars Emraan Hashmi, Shriya Saran and Mrinalini Sharma. Awarapan released in India on June 29, 2007 under the banner of Vishesh Films...
(2007), starring Emraan Hashmi.