Breathless

The visceral debut from Yang Ik-Joon makes a strong statement on domestic violence and the different ways it affects the lives of people in all walks of life. Shot extensively with hand-held cameras and full of brilliant performances (including Ik-Joon himself), Breathless somehow manages to be a very graceful film despite its permeating grittiness and brutality. Its social commentary is pitch perfect, never becoming trite or preachy. One of 2009's must-see films.

An intense experience for the banality and close-up impartiality of its domestic violence. The horror is being tied - by family - to a cyclical downward spiral of broken angry animals. How any moment your comfortable everyday can switch unannounced into a painful crippling injurious everyday. Dark and uncomfortable.

ya aslinda oyle kusursuz bi film degil; kulp takmak, eksik gedik aramak istesen onlarcasini siralarsin ama.. ama nasil diyeyim, Güney Kore islerinde bi baskalik var yahu. bazen bir insani defoyu, bazen bir insani zaafi incecik, ama en acitan yerinden kurcalayan, ciz ettiren bir tarafi var. hollywood'un 10 tane sozumona kallavi dramasini bir araya getirsen, sunlarin kimi islerindeki 38 saniyelik hissiyatin kili tuyu olamiyor. bence.

Korean culture has a lot of built in cultural and identity angst. It has always come out in film but in this it's lives caught up in the banal everyday meaningless abuse, neglect, and alienation instead of fatuous historical or abstract existential reasons. The suffering here all originates from the family which is not unlike most characters in Korean films. The rage and helplessness of the people involved is nicely depicted with great acting.

Simply magnificent. At the risk of sounding cliché, 'Breathless' is a powerhouse of a movie. Yang Ik-june leads the film brilliantly, but Kim Kkot-bi's support performance is truly astonishing, and the unspoken, but absolute relationship between the two is expertly conveyed. The whole movie if full of rage, frustration, guilt and angst, but is interspersed with moments of extraordinary clarity and beauty. I'll forgive a very slightly messy ending, because this is a masterpiece.

A harsh, unflinching portrayal of impotent rage and the circular nature of violence. Hard to watch at times, but punctuated with occasional moments of tenderness that penetrate the nihilism and at least offer a sliver of hope. The relationship between the two main characters was nicely handled; two people who barely know each other but understand each other implicitly.

I can see why people loved this - the violence and intensity of the performances alone give it an impact and a sensory level which few films are able to achieve. Maybe it's because I've seen too many Asian gangster films, or maybe because the main characters were simply outside the realms of credibility, but it wasn't for me. The director/star could be one to watch, but he needs to step away from genre clichés.

It was getting better and better with every minute and then everything went meh and bleh and lame and cliche and sappy and whatever.

Maybe this is a brilliant film but relentless scenes of women being beaten up is not my thing. I know I know I'm a weirdo

Star Rating: ★★★

bu filmi yazan, yöneten başrolünde oynayan aynı kişi. yoksa kahramanın bu kadar mükemmel şekilde rol yapması imkansız olurdu herhalde. ayrıca hiç gişe beklentisi olmadan çekilmiş film. "lan acaba seyirci buna ne der?" demeden olayları(küfür, dayak, ağlama...) gözümüze "en saf haliyle" seriyor. başından sonuna harika bir film. daha ne diyim ki...

(2nd viewing)

Dragged down slightly by the ending. Otherwise an absolutely stunning film.

;_;

Exhausting story of domestic abuse and detachment with great acting and lively camerawork. The glamour-free violence and lack of clear moralising were oddly refreshing.

I felt like something was missing, or perhaps the message has been done too many times, but overall it was quite well done.

The many scenes of protracted violence ended up becoming monotonous (a point, perhaps) but nevermind, because the script and the acting is top-notch. A very good film.