Bad Guy

Bad Guy

**

Reviewed by: Angus Wolfe Murray

A hoodlum becomes obsessed with a student and stalks her. He may not be a hoodlum, more of a pimp. She has a boyfriend, who is not an aggressive psychopath like the stalker, but gentle and decent. He doesn't last long in this story.

Ki-duk Kim's film is voyeuristic, as well as violent. A South Korean attempt at a Tarantino style, without the wit, Bad Guy is red light district fodder for the dirty mac brigade. The girl is forced to become a prostitute to pay a debt, despite being a virgin and shy with men.

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The hoodlum/pimp watches her from the shadows, as she is initiated into the sex industry. She cannot escape and is constantly in tears. Clients use her. The hoodlum/pimp remains cold and silent, brooding over his prize, his passion.

Beneath its tough exterior, the film has a soft centre. There is an element of The Beauty And The Beast, which sweetens its bitter taste. Accusations of pastiche might well be true, although Jae-hyeon Jo, who plays the hoodlum/pimp, is closer to a friendless James Dean than a streetwise Sean Penn.

Certainly misogynistic, Bad Guy portrays a world in which women have no rights and men dysfunctional feelings. Ugly is too kind a word for it.

Reviewed on: 10 Jul 2003
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Bad Guy packshot
South Korean pimp becomes obssessed with a shy, new girl in the brothel.
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Read more Bad Guy reviews:

Jennie Kermode ****

Director: Kim Ki-duk

Writer: Kim Ki-duk

Starring: Jo Jae-hyeon, Seo Won, Choi Duek-mun, Kim Yun-tae

Year: 2001

Runtime: 100 minutes

BBFC: 18 - Age Restricted

Country: South Korea

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