Jeremy LeGrand: Lines of Knowledge - A Response to A Bittersweet Life/Dalkomhan insaeng (South Korea: Ji-woon Kim, 2005)

(ENG 282: International Film Studies student response)

"Lines of Knowledge"



Dalkomhan Insaeng, "A Bittersweet Life," is filled with excellent passages and dialogue, an incredible film directed by Ji-woon Kim. I was blown away at the very opening of this film, a scene of soft treesblowing in the wind with shades of green and gray. The followingpassage is expressed while zooming into the slow-motion branches blowing:

"One late autumn night, the disciple awoke crying. So the master asked the disciple, "Did you have a nightmare?" "No." "Did youhave a sad dream?" "No," said the disciple. "I had a sweet dream.""Then why are you crying so sadly?" The disciple wiped his tears awayand quietly answered, "Because the dream I had can't come true."

By dream, Kim is referring to his love that will never unfold (I'll elaborate more on this later). Set with the theme of revenge the story takes on so much more. The plot is that of a hotel management/gangster storyline filled with betrayal and graphic violence which could be compared to "Oldboy."

The real "enforcers" are conveniently disguised as hotel managers. Our main character Sun-woo, "Byung-hun Lee," is not actually expressed as the antagonist or protagonist. It is the first film I have viewed in which you as the viewer could decide for yourself. His boss sends him on the task of watching over his young girlfriend while he is away on business.

"Have you ever been in love," he says, "No", says Sun-woo,"That is why you are perfect for the job."

Now this leaves you guessing if this is just a set up to see if he actually falls in love, or remains as the faithful servant to his master. The following quote reinforces this decision, a split in the way a viewer could make sense of this plot:

"Be smart. Things are going good for you now. But the world is not easy. You can do 100 things right, but one mistake can destroy everything."

He inevitably makes this very mistake and ends up falling for this girl. His very dream will never come true, because he has never fallen in love. He has been stripped of his emotions, and knows nothing at all except carrying out brutal tasks as an enforcer.

"Kim Sun Woo, doyou think the world is all yours?"

He cannot get what he wants except the revenge he seeks after falling in love and not being able to get what he wants. Another twist is how the revenge is actually played out. Once, twice, even three times you see him at the brink of death but somehow he manages to escape and pursue on his path to slay his boss, this same boss who once said:

"Being young is a gift, as you get older you lose patience."

Patience in the sense of you messup, no matter how many years you served under me, your done…