In Seoul, Byung-Doo (In-sung Zo) is a twenty-nine year old gangster that works under the command of Sang-Shui (Yoon Jae-Moon) in the mobster organization of the boss Hwang (Ho-jin Chun). Byung-Doo is also the patriarch of his family and is having financial problems to support his old mother that is very ill and his younger siblings. When Hwang is pressed by the corrupt prosecutor Park, Byung-Doo sees the chance to prove his loyalty to Hwang, climb positions in his criminal career and improve his income, and he volunteers to get rid off Park, killing him and burying his body and the secret with his partner Jong-Soo (Ku Jin). Meanwhile, his former high school friend and aspirant director Kim Min-Ho (Min Nam-Koong) meets him asking Byung-Doo to be his adviser in his debut movie about gangsters. Later Byung-Doo goes to a high school reunion with Min-Ho where he meets his high school crush Hyun-Joo (Bo-young Lee) and they start seeing each other. One night, after arguing with Hyun-Joo, Byung-Doo gets drunk and makes confidences to Min-Ho about his dark secret, affecting his relationship in the criminal organization and friendship with the ambitious director.
"Biyeolhan Geori" is a great Korean movie of gangsters. The story about family, friendship, ambition and betrayal is engaging and disclosed in an adequate pace. The choreography of the fights is impressively realistic, giving the sensation that the cast is fighting for real. The ambiguity of the lead character Byung-Doo is very well developed in the screenplay and performance of In-sung Zo Zo that gives the necessary credibility to his character, a family man and cold blood killer. This feature has indeed the true spirit of the gangster's movies like for example "Godfellas" and "Casino", and the plot is open to interpretation since it is never clear who might be the mastermind of Min-Ho's betrayal. Based on the last scene, I believe Jong-Soo forced Min-Ho to snitch out Byung-Doo to take over his position in the family. The music score is also excellent and gives a touch of high-quality to this great feature. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Caminhos do Crime" ("Ways of the Crime")
"Biyeolhan Geori" is a great Korean movie of gangsters. The story about family, friendship, ambition and betrayal is engaging and disclosed in an adequate pace. The choreography of the fights is impressively realistic, giving the sensation that the cast is fighting for real. The ambiguity of the lead character Byung-Doo is very well developed in the screenplay and performance of In-sung Zo Zo that gives the necessary credibility to his character, a family man and cold blood killer. This feature has indeed the true spirit of the gangster's movies like for example "Godfellas" and "Casino", and the plot is open to interpretation since it is never clear who might be the mastermind of Min-Ho's betrayal. Based on the last scene, I believe Jong-Soo forced Min-Ho to snitch out Byung-Doo to take over his position in the family. The music score is also excellent and gives a touch of high-quality to this great feature. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Caminhos do Crime" ("Ways of the Crime")