Punch Lady (2007) Movie Review

“Punch Lady” is the new film from Korean director Kang Hyo Jin, who previously worked on the script for the popular hit “My Wife is a Gangster”. Here, she returns to familiar feminist territory, though tackling the more serious topic of domestic violence. Taking a literally hard-hitting approach to the subject, she offers up the portrait of an abused wife who is given the ultimate chance for revenge by facing her wicked husband in the boxing ring in front of thousands of fight fans.

The film gets off to a brutal, difficult to watch start in which 36 year old housewife Ha Eun (Do Ji Won, also in “Love Me Not” and “Cinderella”) is beaten to a pulp by her monstrous prize-fighter husband Ju Chang (actor Park Sang Wook, recently in fantasy “The Restless”). After their teenage daughter attempts to intervene in this, which is only the latest assault of a long 13 year marriage, and is smacked in the face with an ashtray for her troubles, the poor woman snaps and knocks him unconscious with a frying pan.

Arrested by the police for her actions, upon her release Ha Eun leaves the brute and comes into contact with an old boyfriend, who also turns out to be a fighter. When Ju Chang kills him in the ring, she finally snaps and publicly challenges him to a match in three months time, causing a media frenzy. Unfortunately, the gyms refuse to accept females, though she finds hope in the form of Soo Hyun (Son Hyun Ju, “My Rosy Life”), who agrees to train her for the fight, despite the fact that he is merely posing as a coach and is actually her daughter’s dowdy maths teacher. As the big day approaches Ju Chang continues to intimidate Ha Eun, pushing her closer and closer to the edge until the chance for revenge finally comes.

Oddly enough, after a serious and shocking start, and despite the subject matter, “Punch Lady” shifts gears and defies expectations by working in a fair amount of light-hearted comedy and hesitant romance. This actually works better than it sounds, adding a touch of warmth to the proceedings and saving the film from being merely yet another underdog sports story. Thankfully, director Kang manages to strike this tricky balance successfully, never undermining the film’s dramatic core, mainly since the humour is well judged, making the film quite funny in places.

Of course, the film is for the most part a grim and gritty affair, though again it surprises by not being a full on piece of feminist cinema. Although it certainly does focus on the lot of women in modern Korean society and the chauvinistic attitudes they often battle against, the film is basically a story of one person coming to know herself and to stand up for her rights as a human being. Ju Chang makes for such an evil scumbag, being possibly one of the most hateful villains to sully the screen for some years, that he stands not so much as a symbol of male oppression, but of bullies and violent sadists in general.

As such, it is impossible not to root for Ha Eun in her personal journey, and the film should be equally enjoyable and rewarding for men and women. Certainly, it builds to the expected cathartic conclusion, though it takes a pleasingly round-about and realistic route to get there, eschewing many of the clichés of the genre and taking its time to build up the heroine’s character. Do Ji Won gives a great performance as Ha Eun, adding depth to what could easily have become a two-dimensional sympathy magnet.

Kang directs with a naturalistic style, which fits the scenario perfectly, and the film definitely benefits from a low-key rather than flashy look. This helps to keep things grounded and believable, even during the more outlandish and tangential subplots. The fight scenes, which really only occur at the start and end, are well handled and exciting, with Kang wisely not skimping on the blood or shying away from the violence. This visceral feel serves to make the final outcome even more satisfying, and again gives the film a touch of welcome realism.

As a result, “Punch Lady” is a film that works well on a numbers of levels, combining different genres with considerable success. Anchored by a strong central performance and thanks to some solid character development, it makes for both thrilling and emotional viewing, and manages to entertain without ever losing sight of its essentially human drama. Whilst it may appear to offer a dangerously offbeat commentary on a serious societal problem, Kang’s approach in fact serves well to explore the issue of domestic violence in moving fashion and without ever becoming too preachy or dismissive.

Kang Hyo-jin (director) / Kang Hyo-jin (screenplay)
CAST: Do Ji-won, Son Hyeon-joo, Soo-hyeon, Park Sang-wuk, Choi Seol-ri, Lee Joo-sil