'Blood and Bones' uncovers extremes of desire
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Human instinct is essentially insatiable. The more, the better - though the society and morality classes preach otherwise. Here is a man who has no limit in his pursuit. He's violent, destructive, merciless and even manipulative. But can we blame him?
"Blood and Bones", directed by renowned Korean-Japanese Choi Yang-il (or Yoichi Sai in Japanese), presents the bewildering question through a graphic yet powerful depiction of a man whose raw, animalist energy is so overwhelming that viewers might get dizzy.
The main character Kim Jun-pyeong (Takeshi Kitano), a Korean living in Jeju island, moved to Osaka in 1923 when the nation was suffering under the rule of the imperial Japan.
The opening scene where Kim watches the shore dotted with smoke-fuming factories is rather gloomy, but it is certainly a land of opportunity for the young Korean, considering his expectant eyes.
But before one can do some guesswork what might have happened to Kim's initial adventure in Osaka, the movie quickly jumps into the cinematic present where he has grown into something monstrous.
Kim is deeply and almost uncontrollably obsessed with three things throughout his life: sex, money and offspring. He never stops having sex with women, be they Korean or Japanese, and in the process often resorts to crude violence.
His Korean wife, Lee Young-hee (Kyoka Suzuki), gets frightened whenever Kim appears. Her fear is understandable since Kim virtually rapes her whenever he wants, using his physical strength.
Kim is also keen to have as many children as possible. He constantly "breeds" with women and when one fails to get pregnant, he even pushes something inedible into her mouth, believing that such disgusting home-made food would increase fertility.
Equally important, Kim goes to great lengths in order to earn money, not caring about how he gets it. When he opens a fish factory shop using his poor wife's money, Kim literally sucks the blood out of workers to increase his wealth.
Thanks to his absolute authority bolstered by his indulgence in violence, employees are forced to work day and night, generating money that Kim uses to freely pursue his desires.
When the factory closes, he becomes a loan shark and demonstrates man's obsessions with money.
The question is why the character is portrayed as a paragon of human desires gone to the extremes. No explanation is needed about the unlimited scope of yearnings, but Kim's somewhat embarrassingly crude and beastly character is perplexing.
Confounding any effort to interpret the film is a brilliant performance from Kitano, who took the first leading role in a movie that he didn't direct in 14 years. Kitano's Kim is a pot-bellied middle-aged man who is quicker than anyone else in grabbing a chance to fight and destroy whatever he encounters.
Somehow, the character seems to be indifferent to the normal value system of society. Kim has his own value system, which is impenetrable, and Kitano's dedicated acting has turned the character's inexplicable outburst of hatred and violence into a display of life's raw energy.
Of course, the film's focus is placed on Kim's go-alone pursuit of sex, money and offspring on the strength of his physical power, but it is notable that these scenes are set against a vast arc of history that stretches the bulk of the 20th century.
While Kim is satisfying his every urge in a small Korean community town, supporting characters go through the end of World War II, the rise of communism and the Korean War.
Gradual yet visible changes in the neighborhood of Kim's fish factory also reflect the fast-paced change of times. Old, wooden structures are replaced by concrete buildings, and the district itself transforms into one of normal Japanese towns.
Yet Kim's house remains the same. Kim himself never changes. All this is disappointing to Kim's son, Masao. Interestingly, Masao is one of the few characters who directly challenges Kim's cruelty and callousness. The conflict between son and father gets deeper and deeper as the story unfolds, which should be taken cautiously.
The screenplay is adapted from the bestselling Yamamoto-Shugoro Prize winning novel "Chi to Hone" by Yang Sog-il, a Korean Japanese writer who often teams up with director Choi.
The novel, first published in 1998, is based on the life of Yang's father and how he viewed him, which means Kim's character is not totally fictional. According to past press interviews, Yang had had difficulty writing about his father because of his violent and destructive nature that haunted the writer's life.
It seems equally hard for the audience to grasp what the movie tries to convey. Director Choi said underneath Kim's violent and devilish image lies the loneliness of a fragile human being.
"This movie describes a small community covering 200 square meters, and yet I have attempted to represent a world bigger than the small community at the same time. And I want to portray people as realistically as possible rather than in a social context. This is not for a social commentary", Choi said at a news conference held on Tuesday.
Kyoka Suzuki, who played Kim's wife, said she was happy to take the role in a movie together with Kitano, one of the finest actors in Japan. "I have never played a role of a woman's entire life, so I was happy when I got the part. It was difficult not because the role was about a foreigner but because I had to act the entire life of a woman in the movie", she told reporters.
In all fairness, the movie is powerful. But its exhausting running time of 142 minutes may tire the audience as Kim does to his weary family members. But director Choi had another idea. The original screenplay, if made into the movie without any editing, would have produced a seven-hour-long movie.
"If I'm given another chance, I want to make it again as a seven-hour-long full version", Choi said. No wonder he was often called "Kim Jun-pyeong" by staff when he directed the movie.
By Yang Sung-jin
"Blood and Bones", directed by renowned Korean-Japanese Choi Yang-il (or Yoichi Sai in Japanese), presents the bewildering question through a graphic yet powerful depiction of a man whose raw, animalist energy is so overwhelming that viewers might get dizzy.
The main character Kim Jun-pyeong (Takeshi Kitano), a Korean living in Jeju island, moved to Osaka in 1923 when the nation was suffering under the rule of the imperial Japan.
The opening scene where Kim watches the shore dotted with smoke-fuming factories is rather gloomy, but it is certainly a land of opportunity for the young Korean, considering his expectant eyes.
But before one can do some guesswork what might have happened to Kim's initial adventure in Osaka, the movie quickly jumps into the cinematic present where he has grown into something monstrous.
Kim is deeply and almost uncontrollably obsessed with three things throughout his life: sex, money and offspring. He never stops having sex with women, be they Korean or Japanese, and in the process often resorts to crude violence.
His Korean wife, Lee Young-hee (Kyoka Suzuki), gets frightened whenever Kim appears. Her fear is understandable since Kim virtually rapes her whenever he wants, using his physical strength.
Kim is also keen to have as many children as possible. He constantly "breeds" with women and when one fails to get pregnant, he even pushes something inedible into her mouth, believing that such disgusting home-made food would increase fertility.
Equally important, Kim goes to great lengths in order to earn money, not caring about how he gets it. When he opens a fish factory shop using his poor wife's money, Kim literally sucks the blood out of workers to increase his wealth.
Thanks to his absolute authority bolstered by his indulgence in violence, employees are forced to work day and night, generating money that Kim uses to freely pursue his desires.
When the factory closes, he becomes a loan shark and demonstrates man's obsessions with money.
The question is why the character is portrayed as a paragon of human desires gone to the extremes. No explanation is needed about the unlimited scope of yearnings, but Kim's somewhat embarrassingly crude and beastly character is perplexing.
Confounding any effort to interpret the film is a brilliant performance from Kitano, who took the first leading role in a movie that he didn't direct in 14 years. Kitano's Kim is a pot-bellied middle-aged man who is quicker than anyone else in grabbing a chance to fight and destroy whatever he encounters.
Somehow, the character seems to be indifferent to the normal value system of society. Kim has his own value system, which is impenetrable, and Kitano's dedicated acting has turned the character's inexplicable outburst of hatred and violence into a display of life's raw energy.
Of course, the film's focus is placed on Kim's go-alone pursuit of sex, money and offspring on the strength of his physical power, but it is notable that these scenes are set against a vast arc of history that stretches the bulk of the 20th century.
While Kim is satisfying his every urge in a small Korean community town, supporting characters go through the end of World War II, the rise of communism and the Korean War.
Gradual yet visible changes in the neighborhood of Kim's fish factory also reflect the fast-paced change of times. Old, wooden structures are replaced by concrete buildings, and the district itself transforms into one of normal Japanese towns.
Yet Kim's house remains the same. Kim himself never changes. All this is disappointing to Kim's son, Masao. Interestingly, Masao is one of the few characters who directly challenges Kim's cruelty and callousness. The conflict between son and father gets deeper and deeper as the story unfolds, which should be taken cautiously.
The screenplay is adapted from the bestselling Yamamoto-Shugoro Prize winning novel "Chi to Hone" by Yang Sog-il, a Korean Japanese writer who often teams up with director Choi.
The novel, first published in 1998, is based on the life of Yang's father and how he viewed him, which means Kim's character is not totally fictional. According to past press interviews, Yang had had difficulty writing about his father because of his violent and destructive nature that haunted the writer's life.
It seems equally hard for the audience to grasp what the movie tries to convey. Director Choi said underneath Kim's violent and devilish image lies the loneliness of a fragile human being.
"This movie describes a small community covering 200 square meters, and yet I have attempted to represent a world bigger than the small community at the same time. And I want to portray people as realistically as possible rather than in a social context. This is not for a social commentary", Choi said at a news conference held on Tuesday.
Kyoka Suzuki, who played Kim's wife, said she was happy to take the role in a movie together with Kitano, one of the finest actors in Japan. "I have never played a role of a woman's entire life, so I was happy when I got the part. It was difficult not because the role was about a foreigner but because I had to act the entire life of a woman in the movie", she told reporters.
In all fairness, the movie is powerful. But its exhausting running time of 142 minutes may tire the audience as Kim does to his weary family members. But director Choi had another idea. The original screenplay, if made into the movie without any editing, would have produced a seven-hour-long movie.
"If I'm given another chance, I want to make it again as a seven-hour-long full version", Choi said. No wonder he was often called "Kim Jun-pyeong" by staff when he directed the movie.
By Yang Sung-jin
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