[Movie 2005] A Bittersweet Life 달콤한 인생

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Photo: themoviebeat

 

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Photo: themoviebeat

 

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October 7, 2016

Actor Lee Byung-hun: 'Bittersweet Life' is best work of life

BUSAN, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun said on Friday his 2005 film "A Bittersweet Life" was the best work of his acting career spanning 25 years.

"Every work is equally important, each for a different reason," he said when asked to single out his best work during an open interview program at the Busan International Film Festival.

"But if I have to pick just one, it might be 'A Bittersweet Life' because this movie guided me to a chance to experience the Hollywood system. It provided me an opportunity to let many overseas film industries know of me."

After starring in the crime saga by South Korean auteur Kim Jee-woon, the actor appeared in Kim's Korean-style Western "The Good, The Bad And the Weird" in 2008 and most recently in his espionage thriller "The Age of Shadows."

   

Actor Lee Byung-hun smiles during the "Open Talk" outdoor interview program hosted by the Korean film reporters' association at the 21st Busan International Film Festival on Oct. 7, 2016. (Yonhap) Actor Lee Byung-hun smiles during the "Open Talk" outdoor interview program hosted by the Korean film reporters' association at the 21st Busan International Film Festival on Oct. 7, 2016. (Yonhap)

He advanced to the American film industry with the Bittersweet Life screened during the Cannes Film Festival. He has since appeared in many Hollywood action films such as "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," "G.I. Joe: The Retaliation," "Red 2" and "Terminator Genisys," and director Antoine Fuqua's new remake of "The Magnificent Seven" that opened last month in South Korea.

This year, he will co-star with hallyu actors Gang Dong-won and Kim Woo-bin in the South Korean film "Master," and also with Gong Hyo-jin in "Single Rider."

Questioned about his most thrilling moments in life, the 45-year-old selected when he attended this year's Academy Awards as one of the 40-some presenters from around the world and the first reading of the screenplay for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," his first Hollywood film. He became the first Korean actor to present at the Oscars.

"Because I was so thrilled I was exhausted both physically and mentally at those moments," he said, adding that part of the challenges came from language barriers. "But now I try to express and talk as much as I can even though I don't speak English well, thinking to myself 'Whats the big deal?'"

About 300 fans braved rain to get a glimpse of their favorite star at the event hosted by the Korean film reporters' association at a public square before the Busan Cinema Center, the main venue of the annual film festival.

Lee said he has been very cautious in choosing films in which to appear in the past, but plans to open himself to all opportunities from now on.

"It doesn't matter whether it's a low-budget film or a blockbuster film. What matters now is if it has a good story and who the director is," he stressed.

South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun meets fans during an open talk at the 2016 Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in the South Korean port city of Busan on Oct. 7, 2016. BIFF opened the previous day for a 10-day run. (Yonhap)

sshim@yna.co.kr

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Dalkomhan insaeng (A Bittersweet Life) (2005) Movie Script

Source: Springfield! Springfield!

One fine spring day...
a disciple looked at some branches
blowing in the wind.
He asked his master...
"Master, are the branches moving
or is it the wind?"
Not even glancing to where
his pupil was pointing...
the master smiled and said...
"That which moves is neither
the branches nor the wind... "
"It's your heart and mind. "

Full script at source 

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Photo: _ladyblood

 

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March 15, 2011

A Bittersweet Life

Credit: Vern's Review

Kim Sun-Woo (Lee Byung-hun, the ninja-in-white from GI JOE) is the liver of the titular life, and at first I gotta say it mostly seems sweet. He works at a hotel (but really he’s an enforcer) and he seems to be very good at his job. In fact he’s very good at other people’s jobs too, because when some slacker isn’t there to take care of some rowdy guests from a rival gang Kim goes downstairs and personally martial arts the richard simmons out of them.

I think we can all be honest and mature adults and everything and we can admit that this guy is very handsome and well dressed. He might qualify as a “pretty boy” if he wasn’t so ready to dish out a skillfully executed asskicking. It just doesn’t seem fair, the guy is too perfect. Also his boss seems to think he’s great. He trusts him with confidential information and with a crucial job: looking after his underage girlfriend. So our boy becomes sort of an assistant or a bodyguard to this college (I hope?) girl. Drive her around, help her out if she needs anything, trail her if she tries to sneak off.

Oh yeah, one other thing: she might be cheating with a young dude and if she is he just has to kill both of them. No big deal.

Okay, it’s pretty clear where the sweet is gonna take a turn for the bitter. But actually that taste has been forming even earlier, since the opening scene, we just didn’t know it at the time. His awesomeness alone causes problems. For one thing, he made his co-worker look bad by cleaning up that mess downstairs. Because he kicked so much richard simmons everybody heard that the other guy was richard simmons around and not doing his job.

And of course the guys he beat up were not so happy about it either, and went to complain to their boss, who took it as a personal insult. A bunch of richard simmons drama queens in these gangs. So Sun-Woo’s got jealousy and grudges coming from both sides. And then of course you gotta figure he’s gonna bond with the girl, and if not get sweet on her then at least feel sorry for her and not wanna kill her when it comes to that. If it does. I mean who knows, I’m not gonna say. It could be anything. Everybody might just stay friends at the end. (stop reading now if you would like to maintain that belief.)

The first chunk of the movie is so slick and clean that I kinda forgot this was a Korean movie and that richard simmons was gonna get richard simmons bad. Not Hong Kong bad, like everybody gets shot – Korea bad, like everybody wishes they would get shot instead of what happens to them instead. This Sun-Woo guy gets run through the ringer like Mel Gibson’s directing him or something. After wearing his nice clothes, working in his fancy hotel, living in his neat apartment, suddenly he gets tied up and tortured in a warehouse somewhere. This is a noticeable drop in quality of living.

It’s funny because it’s clear that he’s done some cold-hearted richard simmons in the past, but it’s the act of mercy that gets him into trouble. He could’ve probly avoided some of it if he would’ve apologized when they asked him to, but he has a code of honor and/or is stubborn as a bitter teenage mule whose parents are going through a divorce, so he won’t apologize for something he doesn’t feel sorry about.

Anyway, he escapes and goes on a one-man revenge spree against pretty much everybody, because they’re all against him. He uses his smarts and his insider knowledge of the organized crime structure to orchestrate it all. There’s also alot of lack of communication going on here that helps. Everybody has cell phones but they don’t always talk to the right person or tell them the right thing.

It looks great, the action is clear and brutal and the character is cool. I like how internal he is. We understand what’s going on without him having to talk much. He doesn’t have to tell anybody what he’s feeling or what he’s done in the past. And he’s such a loner, it’s kinda sad. You can tell he likes when he gets to interact with the girl. Most of the time he’s sitting in his car spying on people. I bet he almost wishes he had responsibilities back at the hotel, making sure all the towels get washed and all that richard simmons. Might be more fun. He’s not really into fun, though. He’s very serious about everything and doesn’t participate when the other dudes are getting drunk and laughing and richard simmons.

He’s kind of a wet blanket, now that I think about it. But I still root for him while watching the movie.

There are plenty of badass moments and scenes. My favorite is the one where he goes and meets with an arms dealer under false pretenses. Sun-Woo goes to pick up some unique guns claiming they’re for somebody he really doesn’t work for. While an underling in the other room calls in to verify his story the dealer figures it’s just a formality and uses the time to teach Sun-Woo how these particular guns work. They’re sitting there at a table taking the guns apart and putting them back together when it suddenly becomes clear to everybody that he’s not who he says he is. And there’s a moment where they stare at each other, no words spoken, and then race to be the first one to get their gun put back together.

To me a movie that has a moment as good as that is worth watching, and this movie has a bunch of them.

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Clip: madeguy86 #BSL #OST

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Watched Jul 06, 2016

Review by Jianne Soriano Letterboxd

A Bittersweet Life 2005 ★★★½

Violent, exciting and beautifully brutal.

The two times that Lee Byung-hun smiles in the film is something to watch out for. A solid performance by Lee of a charismatic angel harboring a bloody vengeance. Amazing music score too. Ruthless but embraces the noir style with such intensity.

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February 7, 2017

The 50 Best Action Movies of the 21st Century Thus Far

Written by The Film Stage

Since the dawn of the 21st century, action cinema has undergone a bigger change than perhaps any other genre. As the tools with which filmmakers craft their works have continually advanced, a sort of renaissance has begun wherein action films stepped firmly into their own. Often put in the same category as horror — not taken seriously as a form of artistic expression outside of its core fanbase — action has had to boldly announce itself as a viable medium through which big set pieces, but also big ideas, can be presented and explored.

With the highly anticipated John Wick: Chapter 2 arriving in theaters this Friday, we’ve set out to reflect on the millennium’s action films that have most excelled. To pick our top 50, we’ve reached out to all corners of the globe, choosing an array of films ranging from grand to gritty, brutal to beautiful. The result is a showcase of what action cinema can do at its peak presentation: knock you flat on your back while igniting ideas and emotions with explosive, lasting impact.

Check out our top 50 below and let us know your favorites in the comments. One can also see the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Miami Vice
2. Kill Bill: Vol. 1
3. Kill Bill: Vol. 2
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
5. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
6. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
7. The Bourne Ultimatum
8. Haywire
9. John Wick
10. The Grandmaster
11. Collateral
12. The Raid
13. Minority Report
14. Apocalypto
15. The Dark Knight
16. Hot Fuzz
17. Spider-Man 2
18. Crank
19. Crank: High Voltage
20. Blackhat
21. Why Don't You Play in Hell?
22. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
23. Inception
24. Time and Tide
25. Non-Stop
26. Sleepless Night
27. Man on Fire
28. A Bittersweet Life
29. Jack Reacher
30. Exiled
31. Casino Royale
32. SPL: Kill Zone
33. SPL 2: A Time for Consequences
34. The Guest
35. Ip Man
36. 300
37. Hero
38. Drug War
39. The Bourne Identity
40. Unleashed
41. District B13
42. Skyfall
43. 13 Assassins
44. District 9
45. Elite Squad
46. Edge of Tomorrow
47. Dredd
48. The Good, The Bad, The Weird
49. Fast Five
50. Three

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March 22, 2017

FINECUT Adds Bom Film Productions Library to Catalogue
Modern Korean Classics Look for New Buyers

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

Korean sales agent FINECUT has partnered with top Korean film house Bom Film Productions to represent the group’s titles internationally.

Set up by producer OH Jung-wan in 1999, Bom is a longtime industry leader that has been responsible for several major modern Korean titles from leading directors such as KIM Jee-woon (The Foul King, 2000; A Tale Of Two Sisters, 2003; A Bittersweet Life, 2005), E J-yong (Untold Scandal, 2003), Hong Sangsoo (Woman On The Beach, 2006; Night And Day, 2008) and LEE Yoon-ki (Come Rain, Come Shine, 2011), as well as PARK Chan-wook’s segment Cut from the omnibus Three… Extremes (2004).

Though Bom isn’t currently fielding any new titles, FINECUT will now handle sales for all their former films, up to and including last year A Man and a Woman with GONG Yoo and JEON Do-yeon from director LEE Yoon-ki.

Meanwhile, FINECUT had several titles in their lineup at the recent Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, including Hong’s latest On the Beach at Night Alone, which earned actress KIM Min-hee the Silver Bear for Best Actress from the Berlin International Film Festival, PARK Hoon-jung’s upcoming spy action-thriller V.I.P. from Warner Bros. Korea with JANG Dong-gun and KIM Myung-min, the mystery drama A Day from JO Seon-ho once again with KIM Myung-min and also BYUN Yo-han, and LIM Dae-woong’s horror-mystery House of the Disappeared featuring Lost alumni KIM Yun-jin.

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this movie is pretty good. but hte acting is horrible. and the cliches. SO MANY CLICHES

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April 16, 2017

Director-actor duos of Korean cinema

Kim Min-hee has been enjoying a year of unprecedented success, winning best actress at the Berlin film fest for “Alone on the Beach at Night” and with two other films she has starred in -- “Clair’s Camera” and “The Day After” -- set to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in May. 

The common factor between the three films is director Hong Sang-soo, with whom she has openly admitted to have a romantic relationship. 

Strong creative bonds commonly exist between directors and actors, with the latter often serving as screen embodiments of personas envisioned by the former. 

The Korea Herald has compiled a list of director-actor duos that have gained both local and international fame. 

Bong Joon-ho, Tilda Swinton and Song Kang-ho

Hong Sang-soo, Jung Jae-young and Isabelle Huppert

E J Yong & Youn Yuh-jung 

Kim Jee-woon & Lee Byung-hun

Director Kim Jee-woon rose to acclaim through his highly stylized, elegant depictions of bleak lives. Actor Lee Byung-hun is a central figure in his filmography, the core of the director’s calculated cinematography. 

The 2005 mobster noir “A Bittersweet Life” still remains one of Kim and Lee’s representative works to this day. Lee plays Seon-woo, a loyal and perfectionist gangster whose life spirals out of control when he is ordered to carry out the dangerous task of spying on his boss’ girlfriend, and acts on an emotional impulse.

A still of the film “A Bittersweet Life,” depicting Lee Byung-hun (CJ Entertainment)

In Kim’s Korean-style Western adventure “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” (2008), an homage to Clint Eastwood’s “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly” and set against the backdrop of 1930s Manchuria, Lee plays “the bad” gang leader Park Chang-yi. The character is ruthless in his single-minded pursuit of treasure depicted on a mysterious map, the dark counterpart of “the weird” train robber played by Song Kang-ho and “the good” bounty hunter played by Jung Woo-sung. 

The role brought Lee critical and popular acclaim, imprinting him in viewers’ minds as a villain of all-consuming force. Lee called Kim an “intense director” in a 2009 interview. “You can tell from his films. How can you create such scenes … if you are not intense?

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)

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#ThrowbackThursday

Photo: dlftlwkd

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Clip: Korean Film Festival Australia @koffiafilmfest

#KimJeeWoon #ISawTheDevil #TheFoulKing #TheGoodTheBadTheWeird #TheQuietFamily #ABittersweetLife

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August 3, 2017

THE WORLD OF US Opens 8th Korean Film Festival in Australia
KOFFIA Expands to 8 Cities

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

The Korean Film Festival in Australia returns later this month bigger than ever before. The 8th edition of KOFFIA is set to screen 36 films across 8 cities as the festival moves around Australia, beginning in Sydney on August 17th and winding up in Darwin and Hobart (new additions to the festival circuit) on September 23rd.

Opening the event in Sydney will be YOON Ga-eun’s indie youth drama The World of Us (2016) which debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival last year. The closing film will be The Queen of Crime (2016) for which director LEE Yo-sup will be present. Other guests include directors E J-yong and LEE Zoo-young, who will visit Sydney with their films The Bacchus Lady (another 2016 Berlin premiere) and A Single Rider, the second Warner Bros. Korea film, which was shot in Australia and features LEE Byung-hun.

KOFFIA will also be holding a KIM Jee-woon retrospective at this year’s event. His latest film The Age of Shadows (2016) is in the main program while six of his earlier works, including A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003), A Bittersweet Life (2005) and I Saw The Devil (2010) will have free screenings.

Other films screening this year include The Merciless, Seoul Station (2016), The Tooth and the Nail, The Day After, The King, The Villainess, Worst Woman (2016) and Jane.

When the screenings in Sydney wrap up on August 26th, KOFFIA will visit Adelaide (Sep 1-3), Perth (Sep 1-3), Melbourne (Sep 7-14), Brisbane (Sep 8-10), Canberra (Sep 15-17), Darwin (Sep 22-23) and Hobart (Sep 22-23).

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August 17, 2017

Michael B. Jordan, Jennifer Yuh Nelson Circling Mobster Thriller 'A Bittersweet Life'

by Rebecca Ford THR

Spoiler

 

John Shearer/Getty Images; Jennifer Lourie/Getty Images

 

The Fox project is a remake of a 2005 Korean film.

Michael B. Jordan and director Jennifer Yuh Nelson are circling A Bittersweet Life, a remake of a 2005 Korean film.

The project is an action-thriller that follows a mobster who is ordered by his boss to kill one of his mistresses, but the man grows close to the woman and finds himself conflicted. Lee Byung-hun starred in the original film.

The Fox project will be produced by 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen in conjunction with CJ Entertainment. Jason Young will oversee the project for Fox.

Nelson is known for her work in animation, having directed Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3. She will make her live-action debut with Fox's The Darkest Minds, with Amandla Stenberg is starring. Nelson is repped by WME and Hansen, Jacobson.

Jordan was most recently seen in the boxing drama Creed. Next up, he stars in HBO’s film Fahrenheit 451 with Michael Shannon, and Marvel and Disney’s Black Panther. Jordan is repped by WME and MGMT.

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August 19, 2017

News: Fox Resuscitates A BITTERSWEET LIFE Remake with Michael B. Jordan

By Pierce Conran Modern Korean Cinema

Stop me if you think you've heard this one before but a remake of A Bittersweet Life is reportedly coming together at 20th Century Fox with Michael B. Jordan taking on Lee Byung-hun's classic gangster role and former animation director Jennifer Yuh Nelson filling Kim Jee-woon's shoes in what is tipped to be a franchise-starter.

A tale of a suave and loyal gang enforcer who falls for the wrong girl before embarking on a brutal vendetta against his own clan, A Bittersweet Life is for many the signature work of both Lee and Kim. Fox seems determined to remake it but this is now the third different iteration of the project and it's not likely to go before cameras anytime soon.

Back in 2009 there were rumors that Denzel Washington was attached to star in a remake of the film and then in 2012 news broke that Allen Hughes was at the helm, but at that time no star was listed with the project (though some speculated that since Hughes and Washington had worked together on Book of Eli the latter might still be the project's lead).

Fast forward to 2017 and the director's chair has passed on to Korean-American filmmaker Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who helmed both Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3. She's currently filming her live action debut, an adaptation of Alexandra Bracken's YA novel The Darkest Minds. With that film due for release in September, 2018, A Bittersweet Life would hit screens in 2019 at the earliest.

Whether it actually happens or not, Creed star Jordan is an enticing prospect to take on the lead role. The project is being produced by 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen, with CJ Entertainment, the Korean studio behind the original, also on board.

Meanwhile, Lee Byung-hun is back on screens in period action-drama The Fortress next month and Kim Jee-woon is busy working on his live action Jinroh: The Wolf Brigade update In-rang for a summer slot in 2018.

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August 20, 2017

Michael B. Jordan May Star in ‘A Bittersweet Life’

KAREN EARNEST mxdwn Movies

Creed star Michael B. Jordan is being eyed to star as a mobster in Fox’s new action drama A Bittersweet Life. Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who made her directorial debut with Kung Fu Panda 2, is set to helm. Deadline first reported the news.

The film is a remake of a 2005 South Korean movie written and directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Lee Byung-hun. The story follows a mobster loyal to his crime boss, except for a new assignment which he finds difficult to enforce for personal reasons. He is asked to shadow the boss’ mistress and given the assignment to kill her if, as the boss suspects, she is having an affair. As he follows her, he develops feelings for her and he is torn between loyalty to his boss and wanting to spare her life.

The producers of the original South Korean film, CJ Entertainment, will produce the remake as well, along with 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, and Dan Cohen. Jason Young will oversee the movie for Fox.

Jordan’s breakout role was in 2013’s critically well-received Fruitvale Station. He received further acclaim for his starring role as Adonis Johnson in Ryan Coogler’s Creed, which garnered an Academy Award nomination for co-star Sylvester Stallone last year. Jordan has been announced to reprise his role in the sequel, Creed II. Currently, Jordan is filming HBO’s Farenheit 451. He will re-team with Coogler in the Disney-Marvel superhero movie Black Panther, currently in post-production.

We will keep you posted as news develops on A Bittersweet Life.

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Complete list by Pierce Conran at Modern Korean Cinema

Top 25 Korean Films - No. 13
A Bittersweet Life (Dir. Kim Jee-woon, 2005)

A Bittersweet Life is one of the slickest Korean films ever made, and in an industry known for its pristine production values, that is an impressive achievement. Serenely suave, achingly cool and prodigiously violent, Kim Jee-woon’s gangster noir has found legions of fervent fans around the world for its terrific style. Indebted to the mobster cool of Melville, Kim’s film imbues a modern, pristine Seoul landscape with old school atmosphere.

Starting off as a gangster film and then quickly transitioning to a revenge story at the midway point, A Bittersweet Life is a film of two clean halves that is as straightforward as it sounds. While many stylish Korean productions hide something under their polished exteriors, Kim’s work is an unapologetic exercise in exquisite genre cinema. In this case at least, the catchphrase ‘style over substance’ probably applies, but it shouldn’t be seen as a criticism.

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August 25, 2017

 

Michael B. Jordan Tapped for A BITTERSWEET LIFE Remake
KUNG FU PANDA Helmer Fills Director’s Chair

 

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

 

 

Hollywood is taking another crack at remaking KIM Jee-woon’s modern classic A Bittersweet Life (2005), with studio 20th Century Fox reviving the project with a new director and lead star. Animation director Jennifer Yuh Nelson has been tapped to direct and Michael B. Jordan will take on the role made famous by LEE Byung-hun.

 

A Bittersweet Life follows a gang boss’ trusted number two who is charged with disposing of his employer’s mistress, but when he falls for the girl he finds himself on the wrong side of his organization. The film was a major critical and commercial success, cementing both KIM and LEE as leading lights of Korean cinema. They have since collaborated together on The Good, the Bad and the Weird (2008), I Saw The Devil (2010) and last year’s The Age of Shadows.

 

Michael B. Jordan is most well known to viewers for starring in Creed, the latest installment of the Rocky franchise, as Apollo Creed’s son, but he has been impressing viewers for 15 years, starting with an early role in the acclaimed HBO TV series The Wire. He will next be seen opposite Chadwick Boseman in the Marvel title Black Panther.

 

Known for directing Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3, Nelson is currently working on her live action debut, an adaptation of the young adult thriller novel Dark Materials, which is due for release next year.

 

Director KIM is currently working on In-rang, a big-budget live-action remake of Japanese animation Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999) while LEE is one of the leads of next month’s period war thriller The Fortress.

 

The project will be produced by 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen, while the studio behind the original, CJ Entertainment, is also involved.