UK Premiere / Features – International
Showing @ Filmhouse 2 Sat 18 @ 19:35 & Sun 19 @ 19:30
Sung-hyun Yoon / South Korea / 2010 / 116 min / Korean with English subtitles
Bullying takes place across all ages, sexes and institutions, but none more so than amongst teenagers in high school. When schoolboy Ki-tae (Lee Je-hoon) dies and his broken-hearted father tries to piece together what happened, it quickly becomes clear that bullying lies at the heart of it. Through a series of flashbacks, we watch as the close relationship between him and his two best friends breaks down beyond repair and all of their lives change forever.
Although poignantly slow and delicate at times, this film has a surprisingly snappy pace and a thread that unravels unpredictably, keeping the audience engaged throughout. The acting – particularly in groups – feels very natural with back-and-forth spontaneous conversation, much of which is unfortunately lost in the limits of subtitling. The masterfully subtle transgression from close friendships to bullying and victimisation feels very knowing, as if it comes from a personal place for writer-director Sung-hyun Yoon. Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of bullying will instantly recognise the bully’s mentality, which is brutal, full of mind games but above all, cowardly. The way the victims maintain their dignity and inner strength despite outwardly seeming to have become very insular and lonely is powerfully done, demonstrating that they, in the end, are the ‘winners’. But the real strength in this piece is its ability to present the bigger picture; that ultimately everyone is human and it is the cruelest amongst us who live with the greatest regrets and pain.