Review of A Dirty Carnival (2006) by Andrew C — 15 Jul 2007

Another excellent 'gangster' flick from Korea. I use the term loosely because it's much more than a copy of Oldboy or anything of it's ilk (even if it does have an awesome sustained basball bat beatdown). No, it's much more of a character study of the central character and his relationship with some childhood friends - one who is now a budding film-maker and the other, a stunning girl working in a bookshop. As he struggles to keep his friends out of his gangster lifestyle he loses sight of his gangster ethics with devasting conseqences.

I prefer this one to something like 'A Bittersweet Life' simply because that one was pure hyperviolence, almost Ichi The Killer levels of bloodletting. A Dirty Carnival is a lot more restrained - and while there is plenty of asskicking you go away feeling that you actually cared about the characters.