Hopelesswas presented in the selection Un Certain Regard. First feature film by Korean director Kim Chang-Hoon, this cruel feature film reveals a thriller of a rare darkness. While the young Yeaon-gyu (Hong Xa-Bin) tries to escape the ordeal that his violent father-in-law makes him suffer, a meeting with one of the barons of the local underworld will sign his escape. But at what cost?
Unforgiving
Korean cinema is known worldwide for its character as far as the Buttist who contrasts with this curious K-pop country where it is said to be good to live. Paradoxically, the outbreak of violence still occupies a central place, a red thread of a world ravaged by cynicism. Futility of life, integrated domination and cornelian choices are in pure Korean tradition the keys to voute dHopeless. In this small town where individualism reigns, Yeon-gyu seeks to find an exit door caught in the limelight between a waiter's job, a suffocating home and incessant pressure at school.
He dreams of Holland where equality would be one of the structural characteristics of this distant country that he fantasizes so much. The first scene of the film leaves no doubt as to the colour of the film. In the courtyard of his high school, 17-year-old Yeon-gyu takes a stone which he immediately breaks on the skull of one of his classmates. In a fraction of seconds, Mass is said and it is already known that hope will only be a glimmer in the dark night.
If the director admits to having always wanted to make a police film, he who was fascinated small (and in a completely different register) byJurassic ParkThese are the consequences of the crime rather than « the crime in itself that captivates him » Ever since. Although he acknowledged his inexperience for a first feature film, it gave rise to a filming of spontaneous forms, in which actors gave free rein to their personal interpretation. The young director acknowledges the influence of his memories in an interview with France Info:
« As a child, I had observed a lot of forms of violence in society, which influenced my personal development even though I did not experience them directly. »
For this ambitious film to exist, the actorSong Joong-kieven admits that he has given up his stamp, this project is particularly close to his heart. In this role of gang leader, swept away by years (in all senses of the term), the actor enjoys a charisma at all odds with a lead look that makes his soul impenetrable. Yet he binds himself to a singular form of friendship when he decides to take under his wing the young Yeaon-gyu. He lives in hell as the violence of his alcoholic father-in-law increases every day.
Like novels likeBlood a-su Kim where the mafia derives its profits from daily activities like the parasol trade,Hopelesscultivates the same spirit of human trafficking through the mafia's grip on small businesses to which they promise loans. Far from gambling movies like Casino, in this small Korean city, it is the traffic of stolen motorcycles that flourishes to better sell them afterwards. Worn by a code of honour and violence that has been set up as a system of conflict resolution as a sign of loyalty, the underworld leaves no respite to its victims. His caids and small strikes themselves support a pyramidal structure and they have no choice but to suffer in silence.
In the dark night, sooner or later will shine a hope...
Made with elegance,Hopelesssigns an almost without fail until its sometimes dusty outcome, typically Korean in its demeasurement but which questions the legitimate motivations of its characters. If violence carries with it an infinite potential, some narrative axes suddenly end up with apparent inconsistencies. But the relationship that Yeaon-gyu maintains gives the film an original stamp.
Between solidarity and a form of love that transcends the bonds of blood, the whole is filmed with modesty. Kim Chang-Hoon thus weaves their progressive union with great sensitivity. Despite some youthful mistakes,Hopelessis a black thriller that deserves attention. Would Cannes be the cradle of a future great name of Korean cinema?
Ejaculated with memorable scenes and fascinated by the mafia, this drama crime of absolute darkness knows its classics. And despite themes far from being new, it's a well-executed and well-interpreted first film (the casting is inhabited) where the violence is on screen that we are dealing with. Does a great Korean filmmaker come out?
Hurry to see this one.
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