My take on the themes and ending of Kim Jee-woon's clean, elegant and satisfying 2005 gangster film. A follow up to this video: • Do a Director's Intent...
Hee-soo [SPOILERS] I’ve seen some comments asking what this means for Hee-soo, and yes, Sun-woo likely killed her with this interpretation. Not exploring this was an oversight on my part. I was caught up in trying to draw a more universal reading of the film’s ending for the conclusion of the video. Some thoughts on her character: While Hee-soo could be read as a bit of a manic pixie dream girl (she’s mostly there to give Sun-woo his big epiphany), that is fitting, with the understanding that most of the film is Sun-woo’s fantasy - this is Hee-soo as *he* sees her. This dream Hee-soo also offers up a lot of harsh reality. She challenges Sun-woo’s overly clinical worldview when he confronts her with the boyfriend, and also shows him the consequences of his lifestyle. The scene before she escapes might be Sun-woo tormenting himself within his fantasy, for having killed her.
What about the very final shot, where Lee Byung-hun boxes against his own reflection? That is the key sequence expressing the essence of the character. It is an effective manner of projecting the character's inner self to the exterior. Sun-woo is a character whose idea of himself is entirely determined by the ideas others have of him. He thinks of himself only as reflected in other people's view of him, and he believes to be like that. He is a character who has never questioned himself before. In the last scene, when Sun-woo boxes against his reflection, I wanted to convey the idea that, in the battle against himself, he lost. If you look carefully at the ending, you will notice that his reflection disappears first, leaving only the glass and outside panorama before the credits. - Kim Ji-woon
do you have the rest of explaination ? because i think he talked about the narcisism of the character. He was cold, then he discovered the new feeling, a feeling making a new "role" which he feels so good into. And finally, his love for this role will lead himselft to the death ... because everything is leaded by him only. But i can't understand the meaning of "the dream" in the movie.
i also became really fond or sympathy for mr vengeance. That and a bittersweet life I've watched multiple times and are my top 1 and 2 korean films. Oldboy is up there too but something about mr vengeance just hits me different.
According to an interview with the director Kim Jee Woon himself(included in the DVD release) the movie was not a dream.Rather it was Seon Woo reminiscing about the time when his life was going so well in his dying moment
Hmm, which release was that? I may have missed it, but in all the interviews I’ve read with him, and what I’ve got on my Blu-ray/DVD copies, he’s never explicitly explained the ending. The closest I’ve seen him come to doing so is this quote, which Moon also shared above: “In the last scene, when Sun-woo boxes against his reflection, I wanted to convey the idea that, in the battle against himself, he lost. If you look carefully at the ending, you will notice that his reflection disappears first, leaving only the glass and outside panorama before the credits.” I think this tracks with my reading that the film has been Sun Woo’s internal conflict playing out; a battle against his instincts and place in life. At least, I find that a more satisfying way to read the film, as opposed to just some happy memories before he dies.
@@21stCenturyNabokov yeah, just found the discussion you’re referring to on the Korean audio commentary, you’re right. Still, it sounds like he’s talked to many people who still prefer to read it as a dream, even if Lee Byung-hun is having none of it haha
@@WildFlicks Yeah Hwang Jeong Min(who played Baek Dae Sik) seems to be one of those people.After he read the script he thought the whole movie was a dream and at the time Jee Woon thought he was joking.
Loved this film to pieces. I always thought there was something awesome in the shots conveyed by Sun-Woo's interactions looking through windows/glass. The thing hidden from us as viewers is his reaction to her cello playing before. But another thing hidden from us, but is alluded to earlier in the film (when I think Mun Suk taunts him for it) is his shadow boxing using his reflection. In one instance you have a man who finds it hard to look past his own reflection. He's in love with his image of himself. Where as in the other instance, he's seen looking through glass, past the reflections to what's on the other side and he feels a stronger infatuation with something not himself. You could say he was able to see beauty in something other than himself, which in his final moments he reflects on how it was that simple betrayal that caused all this. The guy betrayed his love affair with himself and it destroyed him, because his world was built around the lynch pin that above all - he loves himself
I thought for sure it was going it was going to be a twist ending where it's revealed the events were orchestrated by the girl to have the boss and his gang killed off by Sunwoo so she could live with her boyfriend in peace. I like the idea of the "imagination" ending but wish there were more clues towards this instead of a shot of him shadowboxing. One thing that was strange to me was how much he was able to survive (beaten nearly to death, buried alive, stabbed, shot, etc) to the point where it became implausible. I think that would cause me to lean more toward all of these events just being in his head.
@@WildFlicks I watched the remaster of Memories of Murder and damn they did such an amazing job. Hope Kim Jee Woon does one. The restaurant scenes alone has so much potential!!
You completely misinterpreted the ending...the ending presented is exactly as the events unfolded. That lost shot of him shadowboxing is actually a flashback and a continuation of a previous shot from earlier in the film. To say the whole movie was "just a dream sequence" is completely unfounded...
The final shot wasn’t a dream at all, it was from a previous scene and is also similar to the conclusion to many such endings inspired from Raging Bull.
I don't think it was a dream, I saw this showing of his smile as portraying a side of Sun-woo the film purposefully didn't show us, that this cold stern film protagonist was a human being with wants and he exists in a world of equal human beings, a world where if he gets his selfish revenge then so should the people he has wronged too.
Also my favourite Korean movie of all time, bit disappointed if the whole things are dream that's a cop out. Yellow sea and the man from nowhere are great
The director explained the meaning of the movie : he was never felt in love with the woman. He got something inside him make him like the role of "the guardian felt in love with the woman he protects", and this thing inside him will lead him to this sh*t... He accused all of people to be the origins of problems, but the only cause is inside him. And the fight against him : he lost, it's why he disappears at the end, when he fighted against his reflect.
Hee-soo [SPOILERS]
I’ve seen some comments asking what this means for Hee-soo, and yes, Sun-woo likely killed her with this interpretation. Not exploring this was an oversight on my part. I was caught up in trying to draw a more universal reading of the film’s ending for the conclusion of the video.
Some thoughts on her character:
While Hee-soo could be read as a bit of a manic pixie dream girl (she’s mostly there to give Sun-woo his big epiphany), that is fitting, with the understanding that most of the film is Sun-woo’s fantasy - this is Hee-soo as *he* sees her. This dream Hee-soo also offers up a lot of harsh reality. She challenges Sun-woo’s overly clinical worldview when he confronts her with the boyfriend, and also shows him the consequences of his lifestyle. The scene before she escapes might be Sun-woo tormenting himself within his fantasy, for having killed her.
What about the very final shot, where Lee Byung-hun boxes against his own reflection?
That is the key sequence expressing the essence of the character. It is an effective manner of projecting the character's inner self to the exterior. Sun-woo is a character whose idea of himself is entirely determined by the ideas others have of him. He thinks of himself only as reflected in other people's view of him, and he believes to be like that. He is a character who has never questioned himself before.
In the last scene, when Sun-woo boxes against his reflection, I wanted to convey the idea that, in the battle against himself, he lost. If you look carefully at the ending, you will notice that his reflection disappears first, leaving only the glass and outside panorama before the credits. - Kim Ji-woon
do you have the rest of explaination ? because i think he talked about the narcisism of the character. He was cold, then he discovered the new feeling, a feeling making a new "role" which he feels so good into. And finally, his love for this role will lead himselft to the death ... because everything is leaded by him only. But i can't understand the meaning of "the dream" in the movie.
This explanation is seriously good 🔥
I know 2005 was a great year for South Korean revenge movies but this one ended up becoming an all time favorite
What are the other Korean revenge movies from that year?
@@MatadorShifter lady vengeance
i also became really fond or sympathy for mr vengeance. That and a bittersweet life I've watched multiple times and are my top 1 and 2 korean films. Oldboy is up there too but something about mr vengeance just hits me different.
@@SchmidtyFilms ditto all three vengeance series by chanwook park are pure jem. best one for me is sympathy for mr. vengeance..really hits different
Definitely one of the more underrated movies of Korean cinema
one of my favourite movies of all time
According to an interview with the director Kim Jee Woon himself(included in the DVD release) the movie was not a dream.Rather it was Seon Woo reminiscing about the time when his life was going so well in his dying moment
Hmm, which release was that? I may have missed it, but in all the interviews I’ve read with him, and what I’ve got on my Blu-ray/DVD copies, he’s never explicitly explained the ending. The closest I’ve seen him come to doing so is this quote, which Moon also shared above:
“In the last scene, when Sun-woo boxes against his reflection, I wanted to convey the idea that, in the battle against himself, he lost. If you look carefully at the ending, you will notice that his reflection disappears first, leaving only the glass and outside panorama before the credits.”
I think this tracks with my reading that the film has been Sun Woo’s internal conflict playing out; a battle against his instincts and place in life. At least, I find that a more satisfying way to read the film, as opposed to just some happy memories before he dies.
@@WildFlicks It was included in the Korean releases
@@WildFlicks He also said that the lights in each lights in the buildings slowly turning off one by one is also a metaphor for Seon Woo slowly dying
@@21stCenturyNabokov yeah, just found the discussion you’re referring to on the Korean audio commentary, you’re right. Still, it sounds like he’s talked to many people who still prefer to read it as a dream, even if Lee Byung-hun is having none of it haha
@@WildFlicks Yeah Hwang Jeong Min(who played Baek Dae Sik) seems to be one of those people.After he read the script he thought the whole movie was a dream and at the time Jee Woon thought he was joking.
Loved this film to pieces. I always thought there was something awesome in the shots conveyed by Sun-Woo's interactions looking through windows/glass. The thing hidden from us as viewers is his reaction to her cello playing before. But another thing hidden from us, but is alluded to earlier in the film (when I think Mun Suk taunts him for it) is his shadow boxing using his reflection. In one instance you have a man who finds it hard to look past his own reflection. He's in love with his image of himself. Where as in the other instance, he's seen looking through glass, past the reflections to what's on the other side and he feels a stronger infatuation with something not himself. You could say he was able to see beauty in something other than himself, which in his final moments he reflects on how it was that simple betrayal that caused all this. The guy betrayed his love affair with himself and it destroyed him, because his world was built around the lynch pin that above all - he loves himself
I thought for sure it was going it was going to be a twist ending where it's revealed the events were orchestrated by the girl to have the boss and his gang killed off by Sunwoo so she could live with her boyfriend in peace. I like the idea of the "imagination" ending but wish there were more clues towards this instead of a shot of him shadowboxing. One thing that was strange to me was how much he was able to survive (beaten nearly to death, buried alive, stabbed, shot, etc) to the point where it became implausible. I think that would cause me to lean more toward all of these events just being in his head.
beatifull commentary. the movie deeply touched me
great movie & excellent analysis
Awesome video, looking forward to seeing your thoughts on possession
a masterpiece ....he should have called his Boss.
I reaally want this to get a decent remaster
Yeah it’d be great to get the Criterion/Arrow Video treatment for this one. Really wanna get my hands on the Arrow copy of A Tale of Two Sisters
@@WildFlicks I watched the remaster of Memories of Murder and damn they did such an amazing job. Hope Kim Jee Woon does one. The restaurant scenes alone has so much potential!!
Watch the “Man from Nowhere “
Absolutely great film
Excellent
When he kills moom reminded me of Robert Deniro in taxi when he goes in the building to save the girl
You completely misinterpreted the ending...the ending presented is exactly as the events unfolded. That lost shot of him shadowboxing is actually a flashback and a continuation of a previous shot from earlier in the film. To say the whole movie was "just a dream sequence" is completely unfounded...
Strongly agree
If it was all a dream so did he kill her
Sadly, probably.
The final shot wasn’t a dream at all, it was from a previous scene and is also similar to the conclusion to many such endings inspired from Raging Bull.
I don't think it was a dream, I saw this showing of his smile as portraying a side of Sun-woo the film purposefully didn't show us, that this cold stern film protagonist was a human being with wants and he exists in a world of equal human beings, a world where if he gets his selfish revenge then so should the people he has wronged too.
What’s the name of the song at the end of this video?
Its from A Bittersweet Life soundtrack. The title is Fairness if im not mistaken.
The song in the video intro/outros is Wilson Das Neves’ “Jornada.”
Favorite Korean film of all time and I've seen A LOT.
So it's a dream that he take revenge on boss. And he killed the girl??
Also my favourite Korean movie of all time, bit disappointed if the whole things are dream that's a cop out. Yellow sea and the man from nowhere are great
The director explained the meaning of the movie : he was never felt in love with the woman. He got something inside him make him like the role of "the guardian felt in love with the woman he protects", and this thing inside him will lead him to this sh*t... He accused all of people to be the origins of problems, but the only cause is inside him. And the fight against him : he lost, it's why he disappears at the end, when he fighted against his reflect.
Awarapan