I saw this movie years ago. It was great then and it's still great now. There's a reason why it's called A Classic. The striking thing about this movie is the brutality in the school system. I remember being horrified the first time I saw this, not believing such a thing was true. I was sure it was exaggerated. But I have learned there was no exaggeration. I have a close friend who served in Viet Nam. I was talking to him about it and how the viciousness of the teachers bled into the behavior of the children. He said you have to remember the time period (1978) and who those teachers were. They were brutal men who had spent their entire youth in war. WWII, Korean War, and VietNam. They had seen and done horrible things. Most of them were badly damaged. He said when he served in Nam they were all afraid of the Korean soldiers because they were so ferocious. They would arrive on choppers and leap from them on ropes and fly down. Their camp would be set up in moments away from everyone else. They would paint their faces. Within days their camp would be surrounded by stakes with human heads on them. While things have certainly changed as far as the physical abuse in Korea, the psychological abuse still continues...and the bullying seems to have no end. :(
A sweet movie filled with the much younger faces of a lot of people I see now who are in their 40's. That was fun. The brothers actually get along better than the synopsis leads us to believe, but there is definitely a strong rivalry. Won Bin's character as the 'beautiful' but troubled son goes too far and the eventual price he has to pay means there is a tragedy at the end of the story. It definitely tugs at your heart, but it's not a weep fest...for me anyway. Just a cautionary tale.
A very disheartening story of growing old. While I am sure there are stories like this in every country, Korea (and countries like it) have no mandated Social Security system for when people grow old. Most of the elderly spent every cent they had on raising their children with the idea that, like their generation had to, their children would be taking care of them in their old age. But with the crisis in unemployment and high cost of living in S Korea, their children, in many cases, are unable to do so...and of course there are those who are just unwilling. This movie shows a very bleak life ahead for the elderly in Korea, while at the same time sharing a wonderful story of a woman who retained her humanity and kindness and love for others despite living a hopeless and degrading life. Really well done movie. 9/10
Well....I loved 'looking' at it! :) Great cinematography, stunt and action coordination, sets. Really, it is terrific to look at, especially on a big screen. And has some of my favorite guys: Kang, Jung, and Kim. Nice 2+ hours of visuals and adrenaline rushes. I wasn't that confused about the agendas of everyone, because it was pretty clear they all had their own agendas and none of them was afraid to sink to the lowest common denominator to achieve it. No saints, just a lot of sinners. Enjoyed it quite a bit. A lot of hard work went into this. 8/10
Totally surprised at how much I liked this and I'm so glad I didn't trust the naysayers...Eye of the Beholder! Better than the first for me as far as story. It's more complex and darker. Loved the cast...all of them, which wasn't so with the first one (though I loved the 'guys'). Everyone 'fit' their roles really well. As usual there are the technical difficulties that are rampant with crime kdramas and leave me talking to my screen and rolling my eyes. Tailing a car by riding its bumper, beating someone half to death with a baseball bat swung at full strength...the internal injuries or brain damage would be massive and surely have killed the persons that was inflicted on in this drama...or at the very least caused weeks in the hospital and major surgeries. And the memory card! Stomach acid is almost as corrosive as battery acid! No way that thing would be usable! There were other irritants, but they seem rampant in Kcrime dramas, so it's not just this one. And that ending! Jung Tae-Soo (Jo Dong Hyuk) is BACK!!! Now I am SO hyped for a Season 3! 8.5/10 for me.
The striking thing about this movie is the brutality in the school system. I remember being horrified the first time I saw this, not believing such a thing was true. I was sure it was exaggerated. But I have learned there was no exaggeration. I have a close friend who served in Viet Nam. I was talking to him about it and how the viciousness of the teachers bled into the behavior of the children. He said you have to remember the time period (1978) and who those teachers were. They were brutal men who had spent their entire youth in war. WWII, Korean War, and VietNam. They had seen and done horrible things. Most of them were badly damaged. He said when he served in Nam they were all afraid of the Korean soldiers because they were so ferocious. They would arrive on choppers and leap from them on ropes and fly down. Their camp would be set up in moments away from everyone else. They would paint their faces. Within days their camp would be surrounded by stakes with human heads on them.
While things have certainly changed as far as the physical abuse in Korea, the psychological abuse still continues...and the bullying seems to have no end. :(
the subs are off, but you get the gist
subs are a bit off, but it's understandable...but I only watched about 5 minutes