Ryoo Seung-wan's latest shows his growth as a filmmaker
Kim Kyu Hyun (internews)
Six years ago, Ryoo Seung-wan rode into the Korean indie film scene with his jaw-dropping debut "Die Bad". Scavenging the leftover film stock and employing his friends and family members as cast and staff, Ryoo and his young crew made four short films in strikingly diverse styles and contents. He then re-edited them as one feature, which was eventually distributed to commercial theaters. "Die Bad" is a viciously raw, deliriously inventive, and powerfully moving piece de resistance that recalls, among other great films, Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets". Ryoo followed this startling debut with more commercial efforts: the ultra-violent heist film "No Blood No Tears (2002)" and the martial arts fantasy "Arahan (2004)" in the Steve Chow-Jackie Chan mold. These films, while receiving strong support from some critics and fans, tended to draw mixed responses; Ryoo's bold experimentation with the well-e...|
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