Bad Guy

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.

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.