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Bad Guy More at IMDbPro »Nabbeun namja (original title)

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51 out of 66 people found the following review useful:
Extremely good film, 18 April 2005

Author: sain11 from Australia

This is an extremely good film - highly recommended. It will not be to everyone's taste, but if you are not afraid of thinking during a film then you should find plenty to take away from this one.

Bad Guy is a film based on the central premise of a relationship built between what is effectively a hostage-taker and his hostage. What transpires is a stream of abuses, power-shifts, emotional turmoil, love, hate, violence, sex, and almost every other aspect of life. This is an extremely original story, well told, with fascinating characters that are extremely human... both the good and bad sides of humanity.

The production values are very high, great acting, direction, cinematography, script, music, everything is top notch.

Typically, Korean films are very much based in real characters, social issues, and have an earthy approach that humanises their films beyond those of most countries. Bad Guy is no exception... while it is violent, confrontational, and decidedly dark, it bristles with underlying emotion and shows life without the rose coloured glasses.

The characters are at times extremely emotional, and at others almost entirely emotionally void as they struggle constantly to keep their balance in circumstances that are spiraling around them.

This is not an 'easy' film, in that it does not hand feed the viewer, there are no 'Jaws' style music queues to let you know when to be scared. You will need to work out how to feel for yourself with this one, which is fairly rare in this day and age.

As said earlier, this movie is not for everyone, however if the concept sounds like something that interests you, then you should enjoy this film. If on the other hand you don't like the idea of watching a film based on the idea of a man forcing a woman into a life of sexual servitude, then stay well away from this film.

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37 out of 50 people found the following review useful:
If Quasimodo and Esmeralda Were in Seoul's Red Light District Now, 25 February 2005

Author: noralee from Queens, NY

"Bad Guy (Nabbeun namja)" is an earlier film of Ki-duk Kim that is probably being released now in the U.S. due to the success of "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom)," but fans of that visually entrancing parable should be warned how very different this exploration of the depths of human nature is.

The style has some similarity in that there is no exposition and we have to connect images that tell a tale of two very different people over time. Context is everything as voyeurism keeps repeating along a sexual spectrum of men and women together -- to romantic or erotic or degrading or lustful or violent, full of obsession or love or hate or longing or disgust, whether in prostitution, a relationship, or rape.

A key context is emotions and degrees, whether by the man or woman, or mutual, or drained of feeling such that I'm not sure love has any meaning in this film. There's a recurring use of Egon Schiele's erotic art to make some kind of comparative point about a continuum of sexual images and their effect on the viewer.

The titular character is reminiscent of Quasimodo of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" fixating on Esmeralda if he were a psychopathic pimp in, I presume, Seoul's lurid red light district and played by the charismatic Jae-hyeon Jo, like an apolitical "Romper Stomper." I did get a little lost where he fit into the hierarchy of the yakuza-like gangster organization that controls the district, how much authority he has, and who was on top of whom to interpret their obsessions. Some of the encounters we see are presumably his limited fantasies as he miraculously recovers from various violently noble efforts to protect and reach out to the object of his affection that reminded me of the ambiguous ending of Jane Campion's "The Piano."

The film explores some of the same territory as the work of Catherine Breillat, but the context seems uneasily different when I'm the only woman in the theater and the director is male, perhaps because the central woman is always an object, even as she pitifully adapts to her various degradations, and even resists being freed from them. All the women in the film treat each other like the men treat them.

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28 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
Despite misgivings, a powerful and excellent film, 30 May 2003

Author: FilmFlaneur from London

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I saw this film shortly after seeing the same director's The Isle and was much more affected by this production, although they are both striking works. Like the earlier film, Bad Guy is a tale of obsession between lovers who exist on the edge of human relations, and features some disturbing scenes. There's a sado-masochistic thread common in those Ki-duk Kim's films I have seen which some viewers will, understandably, find controversial. The major characters are isolated, one is tempted to say insulated, from humanity, and develop their own fiercely peculiar interactions. There's the exploited lake girl (also a whore) who tends the pontoon huts in The Isle, miles from civilisation, and the murderer who seeks his hideout on the water. There's the student held as prostitute, imprisoned in her booth, and the largely mute brothel thug who falls for her, frequently stuck admiringly behind his viewing glass. These are people apart from the rest of the world by reason of misfortune or status, who hold our attention as they eventually come together.

Unlike the animal cruelty and fish hook fetishism exhibited in The Isle, Bad Guy's principal talking point lies in the changing relationship between an unwilling whore and her abductors. Bad Guy's victim is 'hooked' against her will just as securely as are the fish in The Isle. Inveigled into prostitution after a tough guy develops a romantic fixation on her in the street, she gradually comes to accept her new condition in life, the advances of her captor and even grows to 'like' being in the arms of her customers. I use inverted commas for this word as the idea that a woman can gradually enjoy her forced acquiescence into moral degradation, and enter into a voluntary relationship with a tormentor, is debatable to say the least.

There's a scene in the film which neatly describes the dilemma. The thug spends his first night with his love, an unconsummated encounter after which she sleeps on the floor beside him. She has been intimidated, then reassured, he ardent yet constrained by his feelings. First thing next morning he rises, studies her room, and spends a moment on straightening a nail in her wall. Through his one way mirror set in the wall, he has previously seen her at her most pathetic trying, unsuccessfully, to hang up a garment. Clearly this brief DIY is a moment of loving thought, out of place in any black and white view of their peculiar relationship. In fact Bad Guy is full of moments of tenderness, aided greatly by the plaintive melody of the score and the intense chemistry between the two leads. One superbly staged scene is where the two kiss through the one-way glass, she unaware of his secret response to her longing, at least until his lighter flame belatedly flickers his visage into view later. Another is as she resignedly dons a trashy wig and applies thick lipstick. He looks on again in secret, aghast at her depression, unable – or unwilling - to interfere. Far from being a vicious peeping tom, by this stage he is practically a protector, transfixed by an obsession, as a couple of times he even dashes in to rescue her from unwanted advances. Fresh from a brutal world, the mute is not violent to his ward, nor does he rape her, and by the end of the film his possession is less physical than it is emotional. Add to this on the one occasion he speaks the sudden sound of his high pitched voice, (vocal chords presumably damaged by a conspicuous throat injury) so aptly suggestive of a eunuch's speech, and the nature of his character can be seen quite differently.

Outside of this central relationship, one might nit-pick at less than satisfactory plot points. How the thug recovers so abruptly from life-threatening wounds for instance, or his spell in prison, during which legal processes seems to take no time at all (by reference to an extended fantasy is the usual answer, an occurrence which further undermines the allegations of misogyny). Or the girl's prompt location of the missing parts of the photograph, itself symbolic of her fractured relationships, beneath a considerable expanse of anonymous sand at the beach, and so on. (Ki-duk Kim's use of the shore line as an emotional 'no-man's zone' incidentally reminds one of the importance of such moments in Takeshi Kitano's oeuvre.) The overall impression however is of quite an achievement, and one which is perhaps more mature about the unpredictable nature of love and attraction than the director has been earlier. In short, Bad Guy is no bad film, and despite some misgivings about the moral premise of the piece, is well worth seeing.

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24 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
Disturbing and then some, 16 May 2006

Author: Dennis Littrell (dalittrell@yahoo.com) from SoCal

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is what might be called postmodern naturalism. Director Ki-duk Kim tells a brutal story without comment and without mercy. He reminds us of some human truths that will make some viewers uncomfortable, and he invites controversy.

First, two things: Spoilers to come, so if you haven't seen this movie you might want to stop reading now.

Second, if you've seen the movie only once and are scratching your head, you're not alone.

Here's what happens: Han-ki (Jae-hyeon Jo), a street tough pimp walking along in a South Korean city spies this very pretty and privileged college girl, Sun-hwa (Won Seo), sitting on a bench waiting for her boyfriend. The girl is everything Han-ki desires. He sits down next to her. She pretends not to notice him while she talks on her cell phone to her boyfriend. When she does deign to notice him (and his desire for her) she shirks back in horror at his dirty, lower-class presumption and gets up. Her boyfriend arrives while she throws ugly glances at Han-ki. Han-ki can't take it anymore and grabs her and forcefully kisses her as the boyfriend beats him about the head. Some soldiers arrive on the scene and beat the tar out of Han-ki. As a parting gesture, pretty girl spits on Han-ki as he is held by the soldiers.

That's "the setup." It's the kind of setup that cries out for revenge or at least a comeuppance, which is what I expected. Or perhaps pretty college girl and the bad guy will find true love and overcome their social differences. What actually happens is beyond expectation in a way that is likely to stun and totally engage the viewer.

Pretty girl is at a book store. She compromises herself (in the viewer's eyes) by tearing a page out of an art book and putting it in her purse. This can be seen as the fatal moral flaw that leads to her degeneration. Han-ki sees this. (He has been following her.) Near her on the book display is a fat wallet. Pretty college girl grabs it, looks both ways, and puts it in her purse. This is the fatal moral flaw leading to entrapment and a descent into hell. She hurries to the bathroom and in the stall opens the wallet and takes out the money. Meanwhile the guy who lost the wallet is told (presumably by the bad guy) that she has the wallet and is in the bathroom. By the time he gets there she is gone. He chases after her and finally catches her. He roughs her up, calls her a pickpocket, and then forces her to go to a loan shark and sign an agreement (with her body as collateral) for money that he says was in the wallet.

This might be called "the turn" as the setup takes on a startling twist.

Next Sun-hwa is forced into prostitution by Han-ki. She makes some feeble attempts to get away, but mysteriously has nowhere to go it seems, and anyway is too afraid to run. She realizes that she is going to lose her 21-year-old virginity so she begs her captors to let her lose it to her boyfriend. Han-ki and his fellow thugs mysteriously oblige. However, the boyfriend is confused and doesn't get the job done. They pull him out of the car, slap him around, dump him, and Sun-hwa is back at the showcase on the street. Through a two-way mirror Han-ki watches her lose her virginity to a forceful client.

Question number one: why doesn't Han-ki ever speak? Question number two: why does he watch her behind the two-way mirror instead of taking her himself? The answer comes later in the film when we do hear him speak for the first time. His voice is a high shriek. Guess what his unique problem is.

And then comes the resolution. Yes, this is a love story of sorts and yes they do fall in love in a way that is debased and seemingly fated. He's a pimp and she's now a prostitute. This works out since he is able to vicariously experience her sexually and she is able to thereby serve the man she loves. And together they can make a living.

There is also a supernatural element in the film that suggests that the story is part wish-fulfillment fantasy by Han-ki. His ability to beat up the other guys and survive knife wounds fairly begs credulity. During the course of the film he loses enough blood to supply a small hospital. And the scene where both he and Sun-hwa appear together on the beach as if by magic is more mystical than realistic.

Director Ki-duk Kim's message seems to be that animal passion will win out in the end, and that humans are, despite the facades they put on, just animals doing animal-like things in the human jungle, and deliverance comes only when one realizes his or her nature and gives into it. Ki-duk Kim makes us identify with the bad guy and feel that he and pretty girl are no worse or no better than anyone else.

In short I found this movie disturbing like something from, say, novelist Cormac McCarthy. I am thinking especially of his novel, "Child of God." That title is ironic in the sense that his anti-heroic protagonist really is, whatever we may say or think, or however bestial his behavior, a child of God, while Ki-duk Kim's title "Bad Guy" ("Nabbeun namja") is also ironic in the sense that Han-ki is by societal standards certainly a bad guy, but by naturalistic (or cosmic) standards no better or worse than the pretty college girl.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

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19 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
Love can make a man insane., 19 August 2005

Author: siderite from Romania

This is not the best of movies, but I rank it high because it did it for me. Though the characters are not really presented to the viewer, they are developed through the movie by showing their actions. The plot is not really important here, and people that cling to whatever feminist or political agendas when discussing a movie are wasting everybody's time. It reminds me of an old Italian movie, I can't remember the name or actors because I've seen it when I was a kid, with a mafia boss that falls in love with a woman, kidnaps her but wants to charms her, rather that rape her. This is also about a generally violent man who's attention is captured by a beautiful girl and he also wants access to her soul, rather than her body.

The movie is full of contrasts and paradoxes, but what sets it apart is the atmosphere (I had my heart pumping a good part of the movie, without it being an action movie or anything) and the subtle way it reveals the deep needs of every character.

Its bad part, though, is that close to the end you keep expecting the movie to end and it doesn't. The slow pace of the movie doesn't help either, so a feeling of "is it over yet?" can easily set in.

I liked it, I recommend it to people who have the mood to see a psychological Asian movie about gangsters, prostitutes and the power of love.

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22 out of 34 people found the following review useful:
Probably Kim Ki-Duk's best film, 19 July 2006

Author: bastard wisher from Hawaii

With the work of South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-Duk, the viewer has to accept some very fundamental "flaws" that inherently seem to be a part of his work in a practical sense. The production values are always cheap, the soundtrack music is always tacky, the acting is never more than at the most basic level, there are continuity errors... in a word, his films always seem low budget and as if everything were shot in one take. Also he has almost an insistence on breaching realism and lapsing into his own vague allegory. His characters never follow any kind of real internal logic, but rather act according to the scenario he conceives. All of these factors amount to the reason I don't think I will ever be able to consider any of his films true masterpieces.

That said, in return for accepting these inherent flaws, the viewer is rewarded with a candid, unadulterated look into the creative mind of a very interesting person. Kim Ki-Duk's vision is relentlessly idiosyncratic, but very consistent and pure. Watching his films, you gain direct access into his thoughts. This is not film-making by committee, this is "auteurism" in the truest sense. That in and of itself is such a rarity that his films are worth seeing for this reason alone. And this film, "Bad Guy", is probably the purest, most definitive example of Kim Ki-Duk's vision. All the preoccupations that manifest in his other work are here: The mute, inexpressive protagonist, the seeming obsession with prostitution and the degradation of women in general, and also the director's tendency to eventually lead his characters into an incomprehensible fantasy world. Whether or not the viewer is willing to accept these illogical flights of fancy is purely a matter of taste, but personally i find his work fascinating solely because it is so stubbornly idiosyncratic and fueled by a remarkably pure sense of creative expression.

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19 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
Sex,violence,obsession,prostitution,love,life,pure cinema, 31 July 2005

Author: losriley (losriley@hotmail.com) from United Kingdom

This is a very entertaining film. It contains sex and violence.(Yes that's what I said).The themes are very dark and at the same time this is a very loving film.It is certainly a challenging film and strangely being set in South Korea has many European sensibilities.If you think the world can be explained in terms of black and white then this is not an easy film. However if you understand that the world you live in has shades of grey then here is a multi coloured chunk to digest.I liked the central characters and found them very believable.This film shows particular skill in having very rounded supporting roles. The lives of these people even when violent or mundane and self destructive are very easy to comprehend.It is the first film I have seen by this director and it will definitely not be the last.

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18 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
A reality few people want to believe ..., 26 February 2007

Author: kenneth_hopf from United States

This film could probably not have been made in the US without severely damaging the reputation of the producer on the grounds of political incorrectness. Further, my impression is that practically no reviewers recognize what is really going on here. It is about the psychological transformation of a very conservative, and somewhat shy woman, into what in the US we would hypocritically call a slut, i.e., a woman who wants sex and is not averse to using it to make a living as only a woman can. The movie also highlights a key fact about female psychology: nice guys come in last. Of course, women universally deny this, but it is nonetheless true. The only nice guy in the movie, the woman's former boyfriend, doesn't even get sex, he just gets beaten up. Further, the Bad Guy, the guy who forces this woman into prostitution, is in the end precisely the guy she chooses to be with! Sex, which was initially foisted upon a woman who resisted ferociously, effects a transformation. The woman who exists at the beginning of the movie is completely gone at the end, and it is the kind of transformation that can happen only to a woman. The politically correct and highly Christianized society of the West, especially in the US, does not like to acknowledge that women have it in them to change in the manner depicted in the film. It is too threatening to their world view. And that is the greatness of this film: it's honesty about men and women, and an in-your-face courage to face the truth. The story is not perfect, but it is the only one I know of that has the courage to state the truth about these things, and on the whole it's merits greatly outweigh it's flaws. See this movie if you want enlightenment, but be prepared to have your boat rocked if you're the kind of person who prefers to live in a fantasy world of niceness and Christian piety.

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7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Another success for Ki-duk Kim, 13 September 2005

Author: sfdavide from san francisco, ca

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Director Ki-duk Kim has done it again. With his beautiful human stories like Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and 3-Iron, he has come up with a very human story of a different sort.

One of the most incredible and searing performances I have seen in years by Jae-hyeon Jo, as Han-ki, the Bad Guy, and almost totally wordless. His eyes tell as much about the way he is feeling as any words can. The raw human emotions are amazing. Watching Sun-hwa go from the most innocent girl into the call girl that she becomes makes your heart break but then watching how she begins to feel about the Bad Guy at the end tempers this a little. And that ending, with that traveling den of iniquity makes you feel both sorry for the two and at the same time you feel that these two people have found something that they have been looking for. Once again an Asian film maker ends a film realistically unlike American film makers who always go for the happy ending which would have ruined this story. I do hope that no American film maker decides to remake this film

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7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Silent Voyeur, 31 August 2005

Author: the-pessimist from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Excellent movie. Just not to be confused with the 1937 Hollywood epic! The title itself is quite interesting, in that the film is about the girl, yet the title is about the "guy". What's more interesting is that, 'that' very the lead actor doesn't say a single word for at least 90mins if I recall correctly, and when he does, he sounds like a six year old boy. Seo Won (female lead), has given an excellent performance, and really shows the viewers what it's like being a Korean prostitute.

This film is about voyeurism without a shadow of a doubt. The two-way mirror isn't just some sort of tangible metaphor or anything of the sort. However, it has to be said, if there is anything which comes close to describing the topic of the film, it will be the blossoming of a disturbing relationship, and love, between two personalities that would have had no chance of being together if it weren't for the girl's financial situation.

On the whole, another brilliant Korean flick, of which there are many coming into mainstream cinemas in the UK now.

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