A Bloody Aria (2006)
"Guta-yubalja-deul" (original title)

On a day trip through the countryside, aspiring opera singer In-jeong flees to the woods to escape the advances of her lecherous professor and mentor, Yeong-sun. When a seemingly harmless ... See full summary »

Director:

Shin-yeon Won

Writer:

Shin-yeon Won

Stars:

Ye-ryeon Cha, Suk-kyu Han, Kyeong-ho Jeong

Cast

Credited cast:
Ye-ryeon Cha	...	In-jeong
Suk-kyu Han	...	Moon-jae
Kyeong-ho Jeong	...	Hong-bae
Shi-hoo Kim	...	Hyun-jae
Byung-joon Lee	...	Young-sun
Mun-shik Lee	...	Bong-yeon
Dal-su Oh	...	O-guen
Hyeong-tak Shin	...	Won-ryong

Storyline

On a day trip through the countryside, aspiring opera singer In-jeong flees to the woods to escape the advances of her lecherous professor and mentor, Yeong-sun. When a seemingly harmless local man offers her a ride to the bus station, In-jeong thinks she's been saved - until he insists that they stop to meet his friends, a disturbed group of country-bred thugs. In-jeong finds herself reunited with Yeong-sun and it slowly becomes clear that the pair is being held captive to participate in the gang's sadistic mind games. This film examines the power struggles that exist even at the lowest rung of society.

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Plot Keywords:

professor | opera singer | womanizer | audition | college professor | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [kr]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

31 May 2006 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

A Bloody Aria

Filming Locations:

Seoul, South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$249 (USA) (4 January 2008)

Gross:

$667 (USA) (18 January 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Prime Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

a hard movie with hard topics - mainly the bullying aspect of Korean society

"Director Won takes a refreshingly different approach to what could have been a standard tale of city folks menaced by crazy bumpkins, mainly in that he serves up an off-key set of characters, none of whom really fit into the traditional roles viewers are used to. The film does not feature an obvious protagonist, or even an anti-hero, and although some of the characters are more vicious than others, it gradually becomes clear that all are victims in one way or another. Despite this, the characters are well drawn, and the viewer learns about them through a series of revelations which unfold in a surprising, though believable manner.

None of the relationships in the film are straightforward, with some of them emerging as being very twisted, and through this, Won ventures into some fairly complex moral territory, and explores the effects of institutions such as the army. The film is chiefly concerned with themes of bullying, which it actually deals with in quite a subtle manner and on several levels, dealing with both the aggressors and victims in a fluid way which eschews stereotyping or easy answers. The lines between right and wrong are not so much blurred as thrown out of the window, as the characters gradually become more and more animalistic, yet at the same time, somehow more human, giving the proceedings an almost tragic feel."