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A breathtakingly impressive directorial debut, and one of the best Asian films of 2009…
Winner of numerous awards throughout Asia and Europe, including the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, the Jury Prize for Best Film and Best Male Performance at Montreal’s Fant-Asia Film Festival and the Best Film award and Critics’ Prize at the Deauville Asian Film Festival, Breathless marks the writing and directorial debut of Yang Ik-June, an actor whose track record to date has seen him in little more than supporting and bit roles.
Yang Ik-June gives a remarkable performance in the lead role of Sang-hoon, a debt collector and general thug for hire, prone to violent outbursts directed at pretty much anyone or anything that happens to get in his way. He leads a solitary life of few connections save his boss and old friend Man-Sik (Man-shik Jeong), his estranged half-sister and her son, and his ex-convict father – for whom Sang-hoon as nothing but hatred as the man who killed his mother and broke his family apart.
Things change for after a chance meeting with schoolgirl Yeon-Hue (Kot-bi Kim), and what begins for Sang-hoon as a customary violent encounter – she slaps him and he knocks her out cold – soon turns into a offbeat and touching friendship as they recognise how much they have in common – both have been damaged by domestic violence.
Yang Ik-June’s approach as director is surprisingly assured and understated, combining an unapologetic and even shocking view of his characters and the violence around them with a genuine warmth and humour. It’s an unerringly believable account of an unlikely friendship that doesn’t beg for audience sympathies with big swells of music to pull your emotions – there’s little music at all (not that that was, from Ik-June’s accounts, deliberate).
Certainly, the character of Sang-hoon remains pretty unsympathetic even after you discover his tragic history. And yet with Ik-June natural, if unassuming charm, he truly creates a character you care for as you see realise he has the potential to break free of this violent cycle. It’s touching without artifice, and that makes it very impressive indeed.
Moreover, despite the often-violent content and almost non-stop profanity, Ik-June creates a film that is unexpectedly watchable and entertaining. It’s akin to films like Nil By Mouth – which itself was written and directed by an actor, Gary Oldman (even though he chose not to take a role in it) –in it’s themes of working-class life coloured by domestic abuse.
With extemporary performances from the cast, which features both veterans, novices and – if Ik-June is to be believed – some very talented extras from the filming crew, Breathless is a breathtakingly uncompromising portrayal of life, yet manages to be funny and moving at the same time – a brave and remarkable debut film from a young actor and filmmaker who we will definitely see more of in future.
We spoke to Yang Ik-June late last year, read the exclusive interview here…
Breathless is released on a special 2-disc collector’s edition DVD on 22 March by Terracotta Distribution.
DVD details
Distributor: Terracotta Distribution (UK)
Breathless comes to DVD in the UK as a two-disc collector’s edition laden with bonus features, many of which are exclusive to this version.
The exhausting list of features includes: an interview with director Yang Ik-june; an interview with actress Kim Kkobbi; behind the scenes at the Rotterdam Film Festival; special Korean Film Industry Preview Screening footage; London Korean Film Festival Q&A at the Barbican Centre; London Press Junket footage; trailers (including Korean, UK and French); and a stills gallery.
This is a superb edition from Terracotta. It even a collector’s booklet featuring sleeve notes personally written by Yang Ik-june and co-star Kim Kkobbi. Hopefully this will help the film continue to find a wider audience, as it really deserves it...
