7.6/10
30,628
82 user 81 critic

A Bittersweet Life (2005)

Dalkomhan insaeng (original title)
Not Rated | | Action, Drama | 1 April 2005 (South Korea)
A Bittersweet Life Poster
Things go wrong for a high ranking mobster when he doesn't proceed by his boss's orders.

Director:

Jee-woon Kim (as Kim Jee-woon)

Writers:

Dong-Cheol Kim (character created by: A Bittersweet Life), Jee-woon Kim (as Kim Jee-woon)

Stars:

Byung-Hun Lee, Min-a Shin, Yeong-cheol Kim | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
7 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »

Photos

See all 34 photos »
Learn more

More Like This 













◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
The Man from Nowhere (2010)
Action | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.

Director: Jeong-beom Lee
Stars: Won Bin, Sae-ron Kim, Tae-hoon Kim
Next »
The Chaser (2008)
Action | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.

Director: Hong-jin Na
Stars: Yoon-Seok Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Yeong-hie Seo
Next »
I Saw the Devil (2010)
Action | Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.

Director: Jee-woon Kim
Stars: Byung-Hun Lee, Min-sik Choi, Joon-Hyuk Lee
Next »
Sinsegye (2013)
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

An undercover cop finds it difficult to play both a cop and a goon.

Director: Hoon-jung Park
Stars: Jung-jae Lee, Min-sik Choi, Jung-min Hwang
Next »
Hwanghae (2010)
Action | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

The attempt to carry out a hit on a professor goes terribly awry, triggering a series of violent events which force a taxi driver to run for his life.

Director: Hong-jin Na
Stars: Jung-woo Ha, Yoon-Seok Kim, Sung-ha Jo
Next »
Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom (2008)
Action | Adventure | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

The story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.

Director: Jee-woon Kim
Stars: Kang-ho Song, Byung-Hun Lee, Woo-sung Jung
Next »
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)
Action | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

A recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.

Director: Chan-wook Park
Stars: Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin, Doona Bae
Next »
Biyeolhan geori (2006)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A small time thug collecting debts for the local triad is torn between his criminal aspirations and his devotion to family.

Director: Ha Yoo
Stars: In-sung Jo, Ho-jin Chun, Min Namkoong
Next »
Mother (2009)
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A mother desperately searches for the killer who framed her son for a girl's horrific murder.

Director: Joon-ho Bong
Stars: Hye-ja Kim, Won Bin, Goo Jin
Next »
Lady Vengeance (2005)
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

After being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly cruel and brutal means.

Director: Chan-wook Park
Stars: Yeong-ae Lee, Min-sik Choi, Shi-hoo Kim
Next »
Memories of Murder (2003)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

In a small Korean province in 1986, three detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.

Director: Joon-ho Bong
Stars: Kang-ho Song, Sang-kyung Kim, Roe-ha Kim
Next »
Joint Security Area (2000)
Action | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

In the DMZ separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been killed, supposedly by one South Korean soldier. But the 11 bullets found in the bodies, together with the 5 ... See full summary »

Director: Chan-wook Park
Stars: Yeong-ae Lee, Byung-Hun Lee, Kang-ho Song
Edit

Cast

Credited cast:
Byung-Hun Lee ... Sun-woo
Min-a Shin ... Hee-soo
Yeong-cheol Kim ... Mr. Kang (as Kim Young-Chul)
Jung-min Hwang ... President Baek (as Jeong-min Hwang)
Roe-ha Kim ... Mun-suk
Hae-gon Kim Hae-gon Kim ... Weapon smuggler
Eric Moon Eric Moon ... Gun Dealer's Brother (as Eric)
Dal-su Oh ... Myung-gu
Gi-yeong Lee Gi-yeong Lee ... Mu-sung
Goo Jin ... Min-gi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yu-mi Jung ... Mi-Ae
Tae-hee Kim Tae-hee Kim
Mu-yeong Lee Mu-yeong Lee
Kwang-rok Oh Kwang-rok Oh
Domashchenko Vadym Domashchenko Vadym ... Russian weapon smuggler
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Things go wrong for a high ranking mobster when he doesn't proceed by his boss's orders. Written by marinanic

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

hotel | business | imagination | driving at night | mob boss | See All (70) »

Taglines:

When doing right goes very, very wrong.

Genres:

Action | Drama

Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Details

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | Russian

Release Date:

1 April 2005 (South Korea) See more »

Also Known As:

A Bittersweet Life See more »

Filming Locations:

South Korea

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment,CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics,B.O.M. Film Productions Co. See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

|

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

In some alternate posters Byung hun Lee is shown smoking. But, in movie he never smoke. See more »

Goofs

Just before the bad guys ambush Sun Woo in his flat, he is lying on his couch and the clock beside him reads "9:45" , two shots later, we get a close up of the clock as it switches from 9:39 to 9:40. See more »

Quotes

Sun-woo: Send them away. I have no reason to talk with him.
Mun-suk: C'mon Sun-woo, President Baek is my guest, show some courtesy.
Sun-woo: No, i don't care about courtesy.
Mun-suk: Don't do this to me, you may do this at your own club. Show me some respect.
Sun-woo: To you? You're kidding.
See more »

Alternate Versions

Two versions of the film exist, the original theatrical version and the director's cut. The director's cut's edits include slight cutting and re-arrangement of scenes, swapping music placement and some additional scenes that do not appear in the original version of the film. See more »

Connections

Remade as Awarapan (2007) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the differences between the Theatrical Version and the Director's Cut?
See more »

User Reviews

 
Another breathtaking revenge movie from South-Korea
14 August 2005 | by raweater – See all my reviews

I had the luck to watch this gem at the Fantasy-Film-Festival in Frankfurt yesterday. It was shown in a theater with about 600 seats and against my expectations the room was packed with people.

In comparison with Oldboy or Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance the story is not as deep and goes more straightforward to the pure revenge theme. But this does not make the movie less enjoyable. The cinematography is brilliant and the main-character delivers a great performance. It contains beautifully choreographed martial-arts and gunfight scenes with references to masterpieces like Taxi Driver and Kill Bill.

Despite the fact it is very harsh in some scenes the humor does not come to short. The scene with a discussion of Korean-Russian wannabe-gangsters made me nearly wet my pants.
63 of 82 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 82 user reviews »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page

Stream Comedy Titles With Prime Video

Explore popular comedy titles available to stream with Prime Video.

Start your free trial


Clear your history

Recently Viewed