|
 yoo
Seung-wan has always been a talent to watch. A
director with a unique ability for blending the
artistic with the commercial, Ryoo is no doubt one
of the best filmmakers working in South Korea
today. I've always thought of him as a Korean
Robert Rodriguez; both began their careers by
producing a gritty masterpiece from almost no
budget at all ("El Mariachi" from
Rodriguez, "Die Bad" from Ryoo). His
most commercial film, "Arahan,"
turned out to be the most entertaining movie of
2004, despite receiving largely negative responses
from Korean critics.
This
brings us to "Crying Fist," Ryoo's most
recent outing. The story revolves around two main
characters, both of who are heavily flawed and, at
times, pathetic individuals. Tae-Shik (Choi
Min-Shik from "Oldboy")
is a one time silver medallist boxer in the Asian
games, now reduced to poverty, brain damage, and
alienation from his wife and son. In desperation,
he works the streets as a human punching bag,
getting beaten up for cash. Sang-Hwan (Ryoo
Seung-bum, the director's brother, and the lead in
"Arahan") is a frustrated thug who finds
himself imprisoned after accidentally killing a
man. After stirring up trouble and demonstrating
his fighting abilities, he is given the chance to
join the prison boxing club. What follows is the
journey of two different men who find their lives
deteriorating before their eyes, and who must
fight to regain what they have lost.
"Crying
Fist" is, without a doubt, Ryoo Seung-wan's
best film yet. Instead of making a clichéd
underdog story so prevalent in boxing movies, Ryoo
instead pits the two protagonists, both having won
the audience's sympathy and both deserving of a
victory, against each other in the ring. What
makes this approach fascinating is that the
audience doesn't know who to root for, and who to
rebel against. For most of the film, the audience
watches the two characters fight through the
hardships of life, and the climatic match is made
all the more emotionally moving because of our
investment in both men's fates. We want them both
to succeed, and yet knowing that they can't both
win.
Of
course, in order to become emotionally attached to
the characters requires superb acting on the part
of the actors, and thankfully both Choi and Ryoo
deliver. The real surprise here is Ryoo Seung-bum,
whose character in "Crying Fist" is a
180-degree turn from his character in
"Arahan", so much so that the actor is
virtually unrecognizable. Choi, meanwhile, once
again proves that he is one of the best actors
working in Korea today, becoming his character so
completely that you'd be hard to tell he was the
same actor from "Oldboy." The supporting
cast does good work, in particularly Na Mun-hee as
Tae-shik's emotionally stressed wife.
"Crying
Fist" is also technically brilliant, with the
cinematography intentionally overexposed to add
punch to the mesmerizing visuals. The music is
excellent, hitting just the right note in every
scene, and the use of the song "Pokarekare
Ana" is a particularly inspired choice. The
editing is flawless, and fully deserving of the
Grand Bell Award in Korea. Scenes flow so
seamlessly into one another that the montage
sequences are some of the best I've seen yet. The
lives of the two protagonists are intertwined in
such a manner that it feels as if they are playing
off one another even though, in reality, they
never meet until the climax.
As
for the boxing scenes, they are filmed in such a
way that is truly remarkable. Instead of the usual
method of tightly editing the matches to make the
actors look like professional boxers, "Crying
Fist" utilizes unusually long takes. The
second round of the final match is the most
memorable, as the entire round is shown without a
single edit being made. Such interesting moments
make it close to impossible to tear your eyes away
from the screen. They also add a layer of realism
to the film that makes the audience connect even
more with the characters and their struggles.
Interesting
side notes in "Crying Fist" are the
references to other films. Of note are the
influences by Park Chan-wook -- the long takes
during the boxing matches mirror the famous
corridor action sequence in "Oldboy,"
and just the fact that Choi Min-shik is boxing
alludes to virtually every fight sequence in the
aforementioned film. Many cast members from
"Arahan" also show up in "Crying
Fist" in small roles. The actor who played a
mob boss in "Arahan" is, ironically, a
prison warden in "Crying Fist". There
are other, amusing cameos sprinkled throughout the
film, including some from famous faces that
provides an additional layer of entertainment.
Without
a doubt, "Crying Fist" is one of the
most emotionally moving movies to come out of Korea
in 2005. One possible nitpick is that it may be
just a big too long; but even so, the emotional
payoff more than makes up for the extra length. As
I returned to the movie again and again, I found
my allegiance continuously shifting between
Sang-Hwan and Tae-shik. Even after knowing the
movie's outcome, the emotional punch never goes
away, simply because what is important is not who
wins, but rather the struggles the characters go
through to redeem themselves. |
