Bad Guy (2001)

I won't lie, this movie has me conflicted but it does show an amazing amount of portrayal of either what is real or what could be real.The confusion that I'm dealing with isn't so much what is right or wrong but is how to deal with this and to process it emotionally.What would I do if I were thrust into a situation like this where I lost a little bit of myself at a time? Would I sink into a depression or would I become worse? Would I even surpass those who got me into that state? I don't know but this movie definitely was a hard one. At this point, I can't say whether or not it was worth watching but it has significantly impacted me.

I love foreign language movies, no matter where in the world they come from. I am especially drawn to Japanese Horror, Korean Drama and the South American Gangster genre. This movie is a South Korean Drama and it would have its critics in the Western World.Bad Guy is really about a guy who is not all bad and a girl who is kidnapped because she can't pay a money lender and is put on the game to suffer her retribution. The movie starts as a fairy story of a posh girl and her geek boyfriend meeting up. It quickly undergoes a dark twist before the girl is basically thrust upon the red light district and is basically raped into submission by passing punters.Probably the most unlikely part of the movie is when the girl actually falls for the leader of the hoods that put her on the street in the first place, a la Straw Dogs (a bit). She even stays on the game for him at the end of the movie, one would guess, to enable them to eat and travel...I feel this is an absorbing movie and is definitely worth a watch for those who have just under two hours to use. One could do worse than Bad Guy. I am left a little aghast at the twists and turns in the flick but overall, it is a good film with a sound plot - Which is not always the case with Korean Movies...

Another gem from Kim-Ki-Duk, very complex movie in terms of concept and screenplay. Even hard to digest, what is right, what is wrong...lines are blurred.You'd like to hate the character of Han-Ki very much but you'll be forced to like him. Evoked a mixture of emotions in me...its brutal in its sense, sensual in its sense...a totally different grammar for emotions...Once again, Kim-Ki-Duk beautifully used silence in the movie and the main character (as usual??) is silent for major part of the movie. This is not everyone's cup-of-tea, so beware if you are thinking of watching it...you may find it bad

Kim Ki Duk's Bad Guy is a brilliant study of vanity, sexual obsession and moral. It tells the story of a pimp (Han-Ki) who forces a girl into prostitution out of revenge. Bad guy is dark, extremely emotional, violent and forces us to think. Many parts of the movie can be interpreted as a dreamlike, wish-fulfillment fantasy from the viewpoint of Han-Ki. The movie leaves many questions. Why does the pimp never speak? Why the voyeurism? Are Han-Ki's emotions hate or love and pain? What do the torn photo's mean? And the girl dressed in red, is it the heroine in the future (Karma) or is it someone from the past (Han-Ki's ex?)? There is always more under the surface than it seems with Kim Ki Duk's movies, this movie demands multiple views to understand how brilliant it is. Watching Bad Guy is like entering an emotional roller coaster. It challenges all conventional ideas we have about love. Watch it with an open mind and U will have a very powerful experience.