Fantasia CR: A Bittersweet Life

Director Kim Ji-Woon delivers this stylish revenge film that succeeds in adding another impressive notch to South Korea’s burgeoning film industry.

An introspective mob enforcer manages to piss off all the wrong people and ends up fighting to within an inch of his life. Fortunately, he’s one bad S.O.B. with the chops (and the guns) to get some payback.

Bittersweet Life is a visual knockout and I can’t say enough about the slick look Ji-Woon has managed to create. Your enjoyment of the film, however, may well hinge on whether or not you accept that the same badass mofo who could twist your spine into a pretzel at the drop of a hat can also have severe emotional lapses in judgment that allow others to get the drop on him.

Nonetheless, with elaborate scenes of heart-stopping tension and sudden violent outbursts, Bittersweet Life will have you nailed to your seat long after the smoke has cleared.