''A Bittersweet Life'' (; lit. "The Sweet Life") is a 2005 South Korean

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating s ...

action drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

written and directed by

Kim Jee-woon Kim Jee-woon (; born July 6, 1964) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Career Kim started out directing theater but has worked with increasing levels of success in cinema, showing accomplished acting and a detailed stylization in ...

. It stars

Lee Byung-hun Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received critical acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably ''Joint Security Area'' (2000); '' A Bittersweet Life'' (2005); '' The Good, the Bad, the Weird' ...

as Sun-woo, a hitman who becomes targeted by his boss after he spares the latter's cheating mistress. The film was released theatrically in South Korea on 1 April 2005. It opened on 265 screens throughout the country, and registered a total of 1,112,950 admissions by the end of its run. It was also screened out of competition at the

2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival started on 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on 21 May. The Palme d'Or went to the Belgian film '' L'Enfant'' by Dardenne brothers. ...

. A 30 seconds longer director's cut was later released, featuring slight cutting and re-arrangement of scenes, swapping of music placement and some additional scenes that do not appear in the theatrical cut. The film received an unofficial Indian remake titled '' Awarapan'' in 2007.

Plot

Kim Sun-woo (

) is a high-ranking enforcer and loyal subordinate of crime boss Kang ( Kim Yeong-cheol). The two share concerns over business tensions with Baek Dae-sik (

Hwang Jung-min Hwang Jung-min (born September 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is one of the highest-grossing actors in South Korea, and has starred in several box office hits such as '' Ode to My Father'' (2014), ''Veteran'' (2015), '' The Himalayas'' (20 ...

), a son from a rival family. Previously Sun-woo had beaten up Baek's men for overstaying their welcome at their nightclub. Kang, preparing to leave on a business trip, assigns Sun-woo to shadow his young mistress Hee-soo ( Shin Min-ah), whom he fears is having an "affair" with another man. As Sun-woo performs his duty — following Hee-soo, and escorting her to a music recital - he becomes quietly enthralled by the girl's beauty as glimpses into his lonely, empty personal life become prevalent. When he does come to discover Hee-soo and her lover at her home, he beats up the man and prepares to inform Kang. However, he changes his mind and spares the two on the condition that they no longer see each other again, earning him Hee-soo's enmity. Later, a man asks Sun-woo to apologize for beating up Baek's men, but he refuses. Agitated, he gets drunk in his apartment, and is kidnapped by Baek's henchmen. They prepare to kill him, but Kang saves him with a phone call. Kang, who has learned of his attempted cover-up of Hee-soo's affair, questions his motive, but he doesn't answer. Kang orders his men to torture Sun-woo, but gives him a chance to fix his mistake. Instead, Sun-woo escapes and vows revenge. Sun-woo delivers Hee-soo a farewell gift, then attempts to buy a handgun. The deal goes bad and he ends up killing the arms dealers. This incurs a vendetta with the brother of one of the dealers, who goes to the nightclub he works at. Sun-woo lures Baek to an ice rink and kills him, getting injured in the process. Undeterred, he arrives at the night club and kills his way in. Confronting Kang, Sun-woo vents over how badly he has been treated despite his years of loyalty. Receiving no justification, Sun-woo kills Kang. Baek's henchmen, who have been trailing Sun-woo, shoot at him and Kang's henchmen. Sun-woo emerges as the only survivor of the battle, just as the arms dealer's brother appears. Bleeding profusely, Sun-woo recalls watching Hee-soo's music recital. That was the only time he was seen smiling. The arms dealer's brother then executes him. The film ends with a continuation of an earlier scene, where Sun-woo looks out of a window at the city below him. After making sure he's alone, he begins to shadowbox his reflection in the glass, looking very happy.

Cast

as Kim Sun-woo * Kim Yeong-cheol as Mr. Kang * Shin Min-ah as Moon Hee-soo *

as Baek Dae-sik * Kim Roi-ha as Mun Suk * Jin Goo as Min-gi *

Lee Ki-young Lee Ki-young (born August 26, 1963) is a South Korean actor. His notable roles include ''Marathon'' (2005), '' A Bittersweet Life'' (2005), and '' Love Me Not'' (2006). Filmography Film * '' Night in Paradise'' (2020) * '' How to Steal a D ...

as Oh Mu-sung * Oh Dal-su as Myung-goo *Kim Hae-gon as Tae-woong *

Eric Mun Eric Mun (born Mun Jung-hyuk on February 16, 1979) is a South Korean rapper, songwriter and actor. He is a member and leader of the South Korean boy band Shinhwa. He is also well known for several dramas such as '' Phoenix'' (2004), '' Super R ...

as Tae-goo *Jeon Gook-hwan as President Baek *Kim Han as Se-yoon * Kim Sung-oh as Oh Mu-sung's subordinate * Jung Yu-mi as Mi-ae

Soundtrack

The ''A Bittersweet Life''

original soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

was released on April 7, 2005.

Box office and critical reception

The film was screened out of competition at the

. The film at the time had the highest price when its distribution rights were sold to Japan for . Critical reception was highly positive, with critics describing it as "organic, essential, beautifully staged and refreshingly realistic." Derek Elley from ''

Variety magazine ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

'' described the film as "a tour de force of noirish style and Korean ultra-violence that will have genre fans nailed to their seats." Sam Toy from ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' stated Lee "puts in a star-making performance as the brutal chief whip-turned-fugitive, never overplaying what could easily become hammy and clichéd, and easily holds this Korean noir together." He added "this is hugely enjoyable, and beautifully brutal."

was praised for his acting ability with a critic from ''Cinema Eye'' saying that he "brings sheer excitement in his performance" and is "an angel dressed in vengeance." The critic also noted that ''A Bittersweet Life'' is "the best film of 2005." A critic from BeyondHollywood.com gave the film 4/5 stars. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, it currently holds a 100%, with an average score of 8.1 out of 10 based on ten reviews. In 2009, ''

'' named it third in a poll of the "20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen* (*Probably)." When the film finally ended its theatrical run, it had 1,291,621 admissions.

Remake

The 2007 Indian film '' Awarapan'' contained plot elements similar to the film. The film, directed by

Mohit Suri Mohit Suri is an Indian film director. Born into the Bhatt family, he is well known for directing the films ''Murder 2 '' (2011), the musical romance '' Aashiqui 2'' (2013) and the romantic thrillers '' Awarapan'' (2007), '' Ek Villain'' (201 ...

, starred Emraan Hashmi,

Shriya Saran Shriya Saran Bhatnagar (; born 11 September 1982) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi-language films. Although Saran aspired to become a well-known dancer, she became an actress with her film debut in 2001 ...

and

Ashutosh Rana Ashutosh Ramnarayan Neekhra (born 10 November 1967), known professionally as Ashutosh Rana, is an Indian actor, producer, author and television personality. He has worked in Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi films. He has also worked ...

. In August 2017, an American remake was announced, with Jennifer Yuh Nelson to direct and Michael B. Jordan to star.

Awards and nominations

;2005 42nd Grand Bell Awards *Best Supporting Actor –

*Nomination – Best Film *Nomination – Best Director –

*Nomination – Best Actor –

*Nomination – Best Cinematography – Kim Ji-yong *Nomination – Best Editing – Choi Jae-keun *Nomination – Best Lighting – Shin Sang-ryeol *Nomination – Best Art Direction – Ryu Seong-hee *Nomination – Best Music – Jang Young-gyu, Dalparan *Nomination – Best Visual Effects – Kim Wook (DTI), Kwak Tae-yong (CELL), Demolition *Nomination – Best Sound – Kim Kyung-tae, Choi Tae-young (Live Zone) ;2005 13th

Chunsa Film Art Awards The Chunsa Film Art Awards (also known as the Icheon Chunsa Film Festival) have been presented in South Korea since the founding of the prize by the Korea Film Directors' Society in 1990. The awards take their name from the pen name of the early ...

*Best Actor –

;2005 25th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards *Top 10 Films *Best Actor –

*Best Music – Dalparan, Jang Young-gyu ;2005 26th Blue Dragon Film Awards *Best Cinematography – Kim Ji-yong *Nomination – Best Director –

*Nomination – Best Leading Actor –

*Nomination – Best Supporting Actor –

*Nomination – Best Lighting – Shin Sang-ryeol *Nomination – Best Art Direction – Ryu Seong-hee *Nomination – Best Music – Dalparan and Jang Young-gyu ;2005 4th Korean Film Awards *Best Supporting Actor –

;2006

42nd Baeksang Arts Awards The 42nd Baeksang Arts Awards ceremony took place on April 14, 2006 in Seoul. It was presented by IS Plus Corp. and broadcast on SBS. Nominations and winners Complete list of nominees and winners: (Winners denoted in bold) Film Television ...

*Best Actor –

*Nomination – Best Director –

;2005 38th

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear ...

*Best Original Soundtrack – Dalparan and Jang Young-gyu *Nomination – Best Film ;2006 8th

Deauville Asian Film Festival The Deauville Asian Film Festival (the Festival du film asiatique de Deauville) takes place annually in Deauville, France since 1999 and focuses on Asian cinema. A film competition was added to the festival in 2000 and a video competition in 2002. ...

* Lotus Action Asia – Grand Prix Action Asia, Action Asia Prize ;2006 10th

Fantasia Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

*Silver Prize, Best Asian Film *Best Cinematography – Kim Ji-yong

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bittersweet Life, A 2005 films 2005 action films South Korean action films South Korean neo-noir films South Korean films about revenge Films about organized crime in South Korea Films directed by Kim Jee-woon 2000s Korean-language films CJ Entertainment films South Korean films remade in other languages 2000s South Korean films