REVIEW: BREATHLESS
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GRITTY, vicious and foul mouthed (and that's just the main character), South Korean drama BREATHLESS (18) is a movie that never pulls its punches.
Indeed, Sang-hoon (Yang Ik-june) is a man who likes to talk with his fists, only opening his mouth to swear at anyone in his eye line.
In fact, the first time we meet him he's attacking a stranger for beating his girlfriend, only to turn round and start slapping her too.
He's a man with a dark past. Cursed with a violent father who was responsible for the deaths of his mum and sister, Sang-hoon treats his family like strangers and channels his own rage into his job as a hired thug. All that changes when he meets a troubled schoolgirl who helps soothe his savage side.
Naturally, their friendship blossoms after he's knocked her out.
Blessed with stunning performances, the film's exploration of the legacy of violence is powerful, authentic and entirely unsentimental. This isn't one of those slick but beautiful hyper-violent Korean movies, this is as low-down and dirty as it gets - think Ken Loach with a pinch of fist-flying martial arts fury.
Ik-june, who also wrote, directed and produced the film, never puts a foot wrong, except for letting things drag on when it's obvious where the plot's heading. That said, the bittersweet redemption still stings when it finally arrives. - JUSTIN MATLOCK
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