Rent Bad Guy (2001)

Original and shocking. - Bad Guy review by CP Customer

The plot of 'Bad Guy' revolves around Han-gi, a quiet pimp who spots a young middle class college girl named Sun-hwa sitting on park bench, and instantly and obsessively falls in love with her. When she humiliates him after rejecting his crude advances, he manipulates events to drive her into debt and legal problems and from there into prostitution. He watches her in a brothel every night through a two way mirror, as she descends further and further into a life of degradation. Essentially the story is that of a relationship of what is effectively a hostage taker and his hostage. What emerges is a stream of abuse, power shifts, emotional turmoil, love, hate, violence, sex, and almost every other aspect of life. It's at times quite a demanding film to watch, in that writer-director Ki-duk Kim doesn't lead you by the hand prompting you on how you should feel, and instead cleverly leaves the viewer to work out how to feel about the characters and events for themselves. Overall it's a highly original film, well acted, directed and with high production values, though due to the subject matter obviously not a film for everyone. However, if you're not easily shocked and the story sounds like something that interests you, then it's an enjoyable and thought provoking film.