Just seen it

A Dirty Carnival (Ha Yu, South Korea, 2006)

The best, most accomplished gangster film I've seen in well over a decade didn't even receive a UK release, a sad state of affairs. I had to import this excellent movie from Australia. The story follows the rise & fall of a small time enforcer named Byung-du (Jo In-seong), desperate to rise in the Triad ranks & acquire a 'sponsor' (that is, a gangster who owns legitimate businesses & can pay enforcers to protect his interests from rivals) so he can earn enough to look after his ailing family.

There are the usual gang rivalries & action scenes here, including a sensational pitched battle between dozens of gang members swinging baseball bats, but what really strikes home is Yu's depiction of men struggling in a recurring pattern of life & death. This is conveyed by their gangland boss, who dangles the prospect of wealth to whomever helps him while his lieutenants - lazy, greedy & self-obsessed - are betrayed & killed by footsoldiers driven to act because their own need for advancement is being ignored. What with the boss remaining untouchable at the top there's a fascinating danse macabre feel to all this.

But the film riffs equally fascinatingly on the theme of families, whether criminal, ones own, or those formed in school. This latter is the film's most daring conceit as Yu boldly introduces a budding filmmaker friend from Byung-du's schooldays, Min-ho (Nam-gung Min), whose intention is to make a gangster film & who seeks out his old friend Byung-du for research & advice. This 'film within a film' takes a completely unexpected turn late in the game with severe ramifications for both men.

The performances/characters are equally praiseworthy with lead Jo In-seong terrific & sympathetic as the ruthless yet emotionally lonely enforcer caught between two worlds. Nam-gung Min is also excellent as Byung-du's single-minded school friend. The warmth between them makes events in the final reel all the more shocking. In fact all characters in this gangster epic, from the big boss himself to Byung-du's schoolfriend love interest Hyeon-ju (Lee Bo-yeong), right down to the smallest hoodlum, are smartly etched in Yu's complex, engrossing & emotionally engaging epic.

This for me surpasses the likes of Heat & Goodfellas. Yu's film has the script, structure, dialogue & performances that at the very least puts it on the level of those other films if not far ahead. That it remains largely unknown abroad, with simplistic & shallow South Korean tat such as A Bittersweet Life reaping foreign accolades is a situation that deserves remedy. At any rate do try & see A Dirty Carnival. Strongly recommended.

Mai Yamane! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD83P-vn5JI&feature=related