[Korean Film News] Press Screening of Choi Yang-il's "Su" [수]

The first English review of the grim revenge actioner Su [수], by ethnic Korean-Japanese filmmaker Choi Yang-il (Yoichi Sai) comes to us via The Korea Herald. According to the reviewer, Su ups the ante of Choi's previous outing, the unrelentingly violent "Blood and Bones" (2004), based on the semi-autobiographical novel "Chi to Hone" by Korean-Japanese author Yang Seok-il, and starring Takeshi Kitano. In Choi's upcoming Korean debut, Ji Jin-hee takes the lead as Tae-su, who, forcibly separated for decades from his twin brother Tae-jin, witnesses his brutal murder just as the two are reunited. Unaware that Tae-jin's brother is a notorious hit-man, the assassin and his mob boss have hell to pay as Tae-su punches, kicks, stabs, shoots and kills in his quest for vengeance and fight for survival. Foregoing the stylish blood-letting familiar to viewers of films like A Bittersweet Life, the director chooses instead to elaborate in excrutiating detail the course of action taken by Tae-su as he settles old and new scores with the gangsters. The film's title, Su ('life' in Korean), is related to the last character of Tae-su's name. Considering the pervasive image of water, Su (whose Korean sound also means 'water') is also concerned about the very essence of life. In some stylistic scenes, director Choi seems to suggest that water cleans not only blood but also the soul - a tormented soul that is trapped in a cycle of guilt and violence. Water's purifying image clearly offers a few droplets of hope; however, Tae-su's animalistic instinct for survival at the expense of other lives points to a disturbingly dark side of what life means for a vengeful spirit. Su opens in Korean theatres March 22nd.

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[Source: The Korea Herald]