Austin Lieber
Professor Bates
East Asian Cinema
3/7/14
Target Acquired
Hyun Mok Yoo’s The Aimless Bullet beckons to be called nothing less than a
South Korean realism cinematic masterpiece. It is at times uncomfortable to watch, but
anybody looking for a truly reflectionist film will find total satisfaction with The Aimless
Bullet. This classic film capitalizes on the impoverished lifestyle of the average South
Korean post Second Republic rising. Despite the limitations and financial hardships the
time period presented, Yoo wanted to pursue a movie with a more creative and
experimental style. He had quite the background in Korean film, having produced many
others in earlier and later years (in total 40).
Yoo is known as one of the more poignant directors in South Korean cinema for
his realist style. He is very effective at translating the zeitgeist of the nation to the
audience because of this. He makes it clear that The Aimless Bullet is set after the Korean
War when society was still recovering. Yoo has Kim Jin-kyu star as Chul Ho, the eldest
brother and provider for his impoverished family. His brother, Young-Ho, is played by
Choi Moo-ryong. Yoo portrays the two different lifestyles of the brothers and how they
struggle to provide both money and happiness for their shared family.
This postwar mellow-drama starts off by showing one of Young-Ho’s war
buddies drunkenly stammering out of a bar with his crutches. This scene shows us that
Young-Ho is a war veteran, and instantly adds depth to his character. As we follow
Young-Ho back to his ramshackle house, Yoo introduces us to his family, a truly sorry
sight. His niece asks him for gifts he cannot provide; which is a reoccurring theme of the
movie. Chul-Ho is the only member of the family with a job; the financial burdens of the
house, as well as the majority of the household responsibility, fall on him. In this way,
Yoo spares the audience no details as to what life was like during this postwar time
period. However, despite the number of postwar East Asian films that center around the
family life, this film articulates more clearly the complexities and hardships that surround
it.
As the viewer gets further into the movie, he or she will continue to see the
reoccurring main theme of the film: poverty and the misery of a family, if not treated
with sacrifice, will lead to the dissociation of the family. Young-Ho made the largest
dent in his family because he sacrificed everything, leaving everyone worse off. Yoo
attempts to demonstrate to the viewer, repeatedly, that there is a balance between how
much utility a family member serves, and how much they take from their family. Yoo
made this film in such a way that the audience can wholeheartedly empathize with each
characters’ situation. By doing this, Yoo helps the audience develop a deeper connection
to the movie.
As stated previously, Hyun Mok Yoo is a prominent director in South Korean
realism, which is supported by his use of the camera in this film. If one were to pay
attention to framing in this film and how the subject distance and position on screen
relays certain messages, they would find that the camera brings the theme of poverty and
redevelopment to light. The camera makes the story as realistic as it can be. Yoo relies on
many low angle shots to make the audience feel distanced and inferior to the subject and
conversely high angle shots to make the audience feel superior to the subject. Combining
this with the shot distance, the audience will empathize more with the characters on
screen.
Overall, I would recommend this film for a lover of East Asian cinema, especially
if they’re interested in reflectionism or realism. Sparing no details, Yoo opens the door to
the life of a disheveled post-war family. Even though there are many movies whose plots
focus on post-war East Asian families, this movie so crisply illustrates the life of each
family member and the role they play in each other’s lives. Yoo’s artistic use of the
camera only further helps to make the movie seem more realistic and reflective of its time
period. I would rate this film a 8.5/10 because of its artistic cinematography, but it is
limited to that because at times certain scenes can be hard to watch. I enjoyed this film,
but it’s very depressing and hard to watch at times. It is still a cinematic masterpiece, just
not one that I particularly cared for.
Sources:
"Obaltan." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053577/?ref_=ttexrv_exrv_tt>.
Link:
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YJ8P1PMexDvHLCreeNlFhkO2Q&sig2=qMRT8TWaZRArlXXCyreyag