The Foul King

Kim Jee-woon's second film, and one of Song Kang-ho's roles from just before he became a star. Dae-ho works at a bank, where his manager puts him in a headlock and humiliates him in front of everyone, daily. One day he walks into a wrestling gym. He wants to learn to defend himself; what the trainer gives him instead is a mask and the role of the villain. Dae-ho enters the ring as a wrestler who breaks the rules. The idea lives in the fakeness of wrestling: even though everything is arranged in advance, Dae-ho is answering back for the first time in his life. With the mask on he can speak, object, and do everything he cannot do at the office. Kim Jee-woon keeps comedy and cruelty in the same scene; the film makes you laugh while protecting its character not at all. Song Kang-ho's physical performance carries it, and he does most of the wrestling himself. A good discovery for anyone interested in Korean cinema and odd hero stories. For a viewer expecting triumph, the ending does not go where it is supposed to.