A Bittersweet Life (Second Sight Films UHD)

Director: Kim Jee-woon
Screenplay: Kim Jee-woon, Dong-Cheol Kim
Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Shin Min-a, Kim Yeong-cheol, Hwang Jung-min, Kim Roe-ha
Country: South Korea
Running Time: 119 minutes
Year: 2005
BBFC Certificate: 18

The early 2000’s was a fantastic time to be into movies; Film4 had established itself as a channel for movie fans to congregate and critics Mark Kermode and Mark Cousins were regularly presenting short, curated seasons of films on BBC 2 and Channel 4, showcasing many titles that had, until then, remained fairly obscure and unseen. Among this, we started to see a surge in popularity of the boutique DVD labels and in particular, an appetite for more foreign language films to get a release in the UK, particularly those from Japan and South Korea. The standout label for me at that time was Tartan’s Asia Extreme collection, a forerunner to the modern boutique disc releases from the likes of Arrow, 88 Films and, indeed, Second Sight Films, it presented lavish collections of extras to accompany its films, allowing viewers to deep dive into these cultures like never before. And, in amongst the more well known likes of The Ring, Audition and Battle Royale, I found a Korean thriller which absolutely blew me away – Kim Jee-woon’s A Bittersweet Life.

Telling the story of gangster and hotelier Sun-woo (Byung-hun), it’s a fairly straightforward set up. Sun-woo is ordered by his boss, Mr Kang (Yeong-cheol) to keep an eye on his girlfriend Hee-Soo (Min-a) who he believes is being unfaithful and, if he catches her in with another man, “deal with the problem”. But, Sun-woo also falls for Hee-Soo and, when he discovers her with her lover he spares the both of them on the promise that they never see each other again. Kang finds out about this and orders Sun-woo killed, leading to a stunning spiral of revenge and violence. 

A Bittersweet Life is definitely a slower burn film, opening with a great scene in Sun-woo’s hotel as he evicts a group of rival gang members in brutal style, before slowing down to allow us to spend some time with and get to know its characters and their motivations. In a similar vein to Takashi Miike’s Audition, this really has the effect of lulling you into a somewhat false sense of security for the eventual cacophony of chaos, but also shows how good the cast is in their respective roles. Alongside Byung-hun’s reserved and almost melancholic Sun-woo, Shin Min-a is brilliant as Hee-Soo, the twenty something that the much older gang leader Mr Kang has taken as his girlfriend. We spend a lot of time with these two in the first act, as Sun-woo accompanies Hee-Soo about her days, showing her as a young, independent woman who seemingly desires to shed the shackles of her violent mobster boyfriend, and Byung-hun’s almost tender opening up of Sun-woo as a character makes his decision to let her live even more tragic.

Once the real violence hits, though, it hits hard, from the crew who kidnap and torture Sun-woo, seemingly at first from the rival gang who have formed the secondary plot thread through the first half of the story, to their attempts to kill a man who is determined to live and have revenge on those who’ve betrayed him. The action hits hard, with Byun-hung bringing an incredible physicality to Sun-woo through fights and stunts that frequently seem savage and dangerous, especially in an age where they are unlikely to not be augmented with CGI. Sun-woo’s escape from his captors stands out as a particularly impressive sequence, given space to breathe as we at first feel his suffering and then revel in the fight that ensues when he manages to get the upper hand, battling inexplicable odds to get away and plan his next move. It’s absolutely breathtaking and the cinematography in these action scenes is remarkable with plenty of wide shots to sell the stunts and close ups to allow us to feel the impacts. There’s an almost baletic quality to these scenes which modern blockbusters with their fast cuts and CGI assisted action seem to be missing. All of this builds up to an equally savage finale shootout with an incredible amount of environmental destruction and claret splashing from squibs, a veritable cornucopia of violence. 

Throughout all of this, there’s rarely a moment when we’re not with Sun-woo and Byun-hung sells him incredibly well as a character, not only as a gangsters heavy, but as a vulnerable man almost uncomfortable with his emotions. Unlike many action heroes, this is a character we see hurt, sometimes in shocking and brutal ways, having to find the strength to bounce back and survive; and for all the sub-plot built up initially around Sun-woo’s attraction to Hee-Soo, this is not a romantic film. This is a story of an infatuation that is not meant to be, that over a short space of time has wide reaching effects, tearing apart the lives of this group of characters. It is, as the title suggests, a bittersweet story, with an ending that’ll stick with you and a final shot that is at the same time both tender and devastating. A Bittersweet Life is a superb film and is absolutely essential for fans of thrillers and Asian cinema.

Bonus Features

• Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
• A new presentation featuring additional restoration work and UHD Dolby Vision grade by Second Sight Film
• New scene specific audio commentary with Director Kim Jee-woon and film academic Areum Jeong
• New audio commentary by Pierce Conran and James Marsh
• Audio commentary with Director Kim Jee-woon and Actors Kim Young-chul and Lee Byung-hun
• Audio commentary with Director Kim Jee-woon, Director of Photography Kim Ji-y and Set Designer Yoo Seong-hee
• Making of A Bittersweet Life with optional commentaries
• Archive featurettes: Art; Music; Sound; Action; Gun Smith; Special Art; Special Effects; CG; Tell Me Why; A Bittersweet Life in Cannes
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes with optional commentary
• Music Videos
• Teaser, Trailer and TV Spot

This brand new UHD transfer is an excellent way to watch A Bittersweet Life, looking absolutely terrific and showing off the films mostly night time photography. The HDR makes both the noirish shadows and subtle neons shine through vividly, while the audio is crisp and clear.

The bonus features as well are equally generous, presenting not only all the content from the 2006 Tartan Asia Extreme release, but also a slew of new features from a substantial making of and new audio commentaries, this is really the definitive package for this film.