A Bittersweet Life DVD, 2005

A blackly comic thriller in which the right-hand man to a powerful gang leader is enlisted when it seems that the gang leader's girlfriend might be seeing another man. He is ordered to resolve the matter, commanding him to follow her around to see what information he can dig up. The orders are explicit: if he catches her cheating, he is to execute her. However, when he spies her with her boyfriend, he makes a fateful decision, one with major consequences for all involved.

Yet another in the seemingly endless series of beautiful looking, hyper-violent crime thrillers in Tartan's Asia Extreme series. Kim Lee-Woon's striking film benefits ... more >

Yet another in the seemingly endless series of beautiful looking, hyper-violent crime thrillers in Tartan's Asia Extreme series. Kim Lee-Woon's striking film benefits considerably from the rather impassive performance given by Lee Byung-hun as the relentless hitman, put in the firing line by his ruthless boss after refusing to eliminate the latter’s unfaithful girlfriend. The director makes a virtue of the actor’s restrained (some would say, blank) presence and integrates it perfectly into the film’s texture. < less

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