A Bittersweet Life (2005)

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

7 wins & 4 nominations.

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	...	Weapon smuggler
Eric Moon	...	Gun Dealer's Brother (as Eric)
Dal-su Oh	...	Myung-gu
Gi-yeong Lee	...	Mu-sung
Goo Jin	...	Min-gi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yu-mi Jung	...	Mi-Ae
Tae-hee Kim
Mu-yeong Lee
Kwang-rok Oh
Domashchenko Vadym	...	Russian weapon smuggler

Storyline

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

---

Plot Keywords:

south korea | anti hero | arms dealer | arms deal | crime family | 

---

Taglines:

When doing right goes very, very wrong.

---

Genres:

Action | Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean Russian

Release Date:

1 April 2005 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

A Bittersweet Life

Filming Locations:

South Korea

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,080,094

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment, CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics, B.O.M. Film Productions Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

---

Goofs

Toward the end of the film, when Kim Sun-woo is walking down the corridor searching for his former boss, a guard sitting and reading a newspaper gets up to stop him. Kim Sun-woo shoots him but his gun is not pointed at the guard. Rather, it is clearly pointed at the wall where fake blood appears after the shot like a paint gun.

---

Quotes

Mr. Kang: Let's not make a fuss.
Sun-woo: This is my last place. I have nowhere else to go.
Mr. Kang: Do you really want to take this too far?
Sun-woo: [Ignores his question, rebukes] Why would you do this to me, Mr. Kang?
Mr. Kang: Because you did not follow my orders.
Sun-woo: No, none of that stuff. Tell me the real reason why. Were you really trying to kill me? Do you know how long I have worked for you? Like a dog, I have served you for 7 years! Why? Tell me anything. Anything. Tell me!
[shoots Mr. Kang]

---

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.

---

Connections

References La Dolce Vita (1960)

User Reviews

A truly excellent movie!

I had the opportunity to watch this brilliant movie at home, while translating it from English to Greek for the viewers of the Thessaloniki Film Festival in November, 2005.

I was impressed by the stunning performance of the leading actor, as well as of the other actors. The music of the film was also wisely selected.

Some -few- funny moments in the film help the viewer lighten up and get ready for what I saw as brilliantly directed fighting scenes, that neither bored me nor made me look away.

At the end of the film, when the desciple was crying for "a dream that can never come true" I was absolutely sure that what I saw was nothing less than a true work of art.