No Mercy for the Rude

Colour, 35 mm
South Korea, 2006, 113 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

He goes by the name of Killa and he never speaks. He grew up an orphan and he spends his time watching bullfights, eating oysters, writing poetry and killing. He became an assassin in order to be able to pay for an operation which will bring back his voice. He makes up his own rules for his “work”, killing only those with scary faces and bad manners. When Killa, She, a vagrant girl he meets in a bar, and a street kid form a strange kind of family, and Killa starts getting used to his new peaceful haven, he is given his last commission. This is a film about a total outsider who wants to find his place in the world and be somebody. It’s a tilt on the combat films popular in South Korea and something of a response to the work of Tarantino and Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. The main role in the film, with its bizarre locations, violence, light wit, irony and European classical music, is played irresistibly by Shin Ha-kyun, who cleverly portrays the two sides to his character – the hard-hitting assassin and the soul-stirring dreamer.

About the director

Park Chulhee (b. 1964) studied English literature at Handong university. He worked as assistant director to Lee Jang-hoo, Jang Sun-woo (his film To You From Me, 1994, was screened at Karlovy Vary in 1995) and Hwang Qudok. He also writes screenplays. He debuted as a director with his feature film No Mercy for the Rude.