Bad Guy
dir. Ki-duk Kim
2001

:star::star::star::star::nostar:

More sex & violence from my favorite South Korean director, Ki-duk Kim. But like always, the sex & violence are never exploitive. For Kim, sex & violence represent primordial human emotions at their most raw, and as such, they are the crux of any exploration of the human experience. And what happens when sex and violence blur into a single act? Bad Guy proves that there is indeed a difference between violent sex and sexy violence, because there's nothing "sexy" about the rape and bloodshed depicted in this or any of Kim's films.

Like so many other protagonists in Kim's films, the title character doesn't speak a word until the end, and when the "Bad Guy" does finally open his mouth, it is clear why he has remained mute for so long.

As a fan of Asian Cinema, particularly Japanese, Chinese and Korean film, I've learned that Asian films often feature sparse dialogue, at least compared to Western films. But what really sets Ki-duk Kim apart from other Asian filmmakers is that his characters are not just soft-spoken, they're downright mute. Kim has taken the adage "actions speak louder than words" and turned it into a hallmark of his artistic style.

The male lead, Jae-hyeon Jo, and the female lead, Won Seo, were both in The Isle (2000), but they were supporting characters who spoke throughout their scenes. In Bad Guy, they have to rely on their body language and facial expressions to convey an entire range of emotions, from love to hate and back again.

Ulitmately Kim's films have very little to do with the fact that the main characters are mute, but I am especially fascinated by how it creates a unique style without being problematic to the narrative. I decided early on that I'd steer-clear of typical reviews in my Film Diary, so instead of giving any sort of plot summary or in-depth analysis, I'm just noting my emotional and intellectual reactions to the films, even if it takes me off on tangents unrelated to the plot of the film. I did, however, find a great review of Bad Guy at the British site DVD Times (unfortunately there isn't an American release available yet): http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=12258