Off the top of my head I can only name one South Korean movie that I've seen and that is OLD BOY which I found painfully overrated and isn't a film I instinctively feel belongs in the top 250 list on IMDb . I need to check if it's merely coincidence or if indeed South Korea is home to the neo-noir / revenge thriller because this short film is very much in the same vein while at the same time having an identity of its own
It's very gritty and violent , so much so that it eventually ends up becoming rather depressing . The main character Sam was abandoned by his mother as a baby and now works as an underground bare knuckle fighter , an underground that is corrupt and leads to confrontation with the mob bosses ruling it . There is a very strong existentialist feel to the short as the protagonist uses his illegal career to give his life purpose while the visual style of the film ties in with the subtext in being very dark and gloomy . Where IF I HAD A HEART fails to a large extent is that it isn't self contained and feels like a pre title segment to a feature length film . I do have to confess my much prefer shorts to be stand alone self contained stories
It's very gritty and violent , so much so that it eventually ends up becoming rather depressing . The main character Sam was abandoned by his mother as a baby and now works as an underground bare knuckle fighter , an underground that is corrupt and leads to confrontation with the mob bosses ruling it . There is a very strong existentialist feel to the short as the protagonist uses his illegal career to give his life purpose while the visual style of the film ties in with the subtext in being very dark and gloomy . Where IF I HAD A HEART fails to a large extent is that it isn't self contained and feels like a pre title segment to a feature length film . I do have to confess my much prefer shorts to be stand alone self contained stories