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 lthough
the DVD box art seems to suggest some kind of
wacky martial arts comedy, "The Art of
Fighting", the directorial debut from Shin
Han Sol, is actually a brutal, surprisingly
bittersweet drama. This attempt at misdirection by
the producers is a shame, as the film is very
entertaining, being both amusing and thrilling,
and deserves to reach a wider audience than its
rather uninspiring exterior presentation may
warrant.
The plot follows Byung Tae
(Jae Hee, "3-Iron"),
an awkward weakling whose school days are filled
with beatings by a particularly vicious gang of
thuggish bullies. One day Byung Tae meets Pan Su
(Baek Yoon Sik, "Save
the Green Planet"), a mysterious older
man who it soon transpires is a skilled fighter.
After a great deal of pathetic pleading by Byung
Tae, Pan Su eventually agrees to train the teen,
and begins a tough regimen designed to teach him
how to finally stand up for himself.
Though the story is
desperately familiar stuff, it is treated with a
pleasingly stripped down economy, and avoids any
needless subplots or any kind of tacked on
romance. The characters are well rounded and
believable, with a great, at times hilarious
performance by Jae Hee as the gangly, wide-eyed
coward who often seems to be half asleep. The
sheer wretchedness which he displays during the
early stages of the film generates an
uncomfortable mixture of sympathy and
embarrassment, and so his predictable journey to
self-assertiveness is all the more believable.
Thankfully, the film retains
a sense of realism throughout, as Byung Tae
undergoes an incredible number of beatings, and it
never falls into the trap of suddenly transforming
him into a fighting machine. Baek Yoon Sik is
similarly excellent as the reluctant mentor, in a
role which is kept nicely enigmatic. Refreshingly,
he is quite clearly a vicious man with a shady
past, rather than a noble, righteous spirit. As a
result, the gradual father-son dynamic which
inevitably develops between the two men is handled
in a subtle and plausible manner, and is based
upon admiration rather than cheap sentiment.
The film is filled with
action, though again in contrast to the way it has
been advertised, there is little in the way of
actual martial arts, and the fighting is generally
street brawling, complete with a series of nasty
tricks and broken bottles. The film is violent and
startlingly bloody throughout, though with a
definite cautionary air, clearly suggesting
feelings of regret and guilt rather than acting as
a simple glorification of masculinity and
aggression. This adds a welcome layer of
psychological depth and lifts the film above the
simplicity of its initial premise.
There is also a fair amount
of comedy, and the film is genuinely amusing
throughout, though not in a way which undermines
the drama. Most of the gags are derived from Byung
Tae's useless attempts to follow his mentor's
advice, including throwing coins and sneaky head
butts, which generally result in further beatings.
As well as being effectively amusing, these scenes
serve to subtly illustrate his character's
development. It helps that Byung Tae quite
obviously has a great deal of pent up rage,
unsurprisingly due to the countless thrashings he
takes, and so the viewer not only laughs at his
many failures, but comes to honestly wish to see
him land a few blows of his own.
At the end of the day, it's
hard not to be taken in by "The Art of
Fighting", which despite an initially
uninspiring scenario makes for a captivating and
exhilarating experience. Funny without resorting
to the usual surrealistic slapstick, and action
packed in a savage, though thoughtful way, it
rates as one of the best Korean films of the year
so far.
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