A Bittersweet Life Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

A Bittersweet Life Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 20, 2024

Kim Jee-woon's "A Bittersweet Life" (2003) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Second Sight. The supplemental features on the release include multiple audio commentaries; cast and crew interviews; making of featurette; alternate and deletes scenes; promotional materials; and more. In Korean, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"If the hammer is light, the nail will rise back up."

Bittersweet Life could have been a cracking contemporary gangster film. It has a handsome male lead who fits the part he was picked to do. It has plenty of proper testosterone of the kind that nowadays can be discovered only in Asian action films, and usually in Korean action films. (I am sorry, but Hong Kong action films are not the same after the reunification. They have become as generic as their Hollywood counterparts, and often very similarly sanitized, too). It has an appreciation of style that is unmissable.

Unfortunately, Bittersweet Life behaves like an impostor -- it juggles many identities and does a range of very particular things to appeal to the festival crowd. As a result, many of its contrasting segments become incompatible, creating an artificial environment that is problematic for a proper contemporary macho gangster film, which is exactly the kind of film it should have been. Also, there seems to be a legitimate disconnect between its director and many of the actors. The director is eager to convince that it deserves to be appreciated as an arty film, while many supporting actors clearly ignore his wish. It feels like after fifteen or so minutes the handsome male lead realizes that it is so and begins working hard to close the gap between them, but manages to succeed only a few times, which is the most disappointing development in the entire film because he is very, very good.

The narrative is broken into three large acts. In the first act, fearless bodyguard Sun-woo (Lee Byung-hun) is asked to look after Hee-soo (Shin-min a), a young cello player, while his aging boss, Chairman Kang (Kim Yeong-cheol), is away on a business trip. Shortly after, Sun-woo discovers that Hee-soo has a secret young lover, but instead of killing them, as his suspicious boss has requested, he warns them to end their relationship if they wish to stay alive. In the second act, Chairman Kang orders another bodyguard to kill Sun-woo for disrespecting him. In the third act, Sun-woo, having miraculously survived multiple beatings, becomes a one-man army and goes after Chairman Kang.

There are several decent twists, but they do not alter Sun-woo’s path. However, a few are at the center of the contrasting segments that are most problematic. For example, in one of these segments, Sun-woo is tortured and buried alive, but he reemerges and despite having a broken arm wipes out an entire crew of hitmen. The action choreography is good, but this material has a very different vibe and feels inspired by The Crow. In another similarly odd segment, Sun-woo is temporarily placed in a fluid reality that could have been inspired by Vanilla Sky.

The best material is the one that will undoubtedly remind viewers of Oldboy. In it, Sun-woo looks and acts like a real madman, driven by an uncontrollable desire to punish with brutal force. But he also appears strikingly elegant and mysterious, demanding that his descent into madness is taken a lot more seriously, so this is the version of his character that should have dominated the entire film.

Kim Jee-won has directed several very good films. These films have terrific action and a special atmosphere, so they are not easy to forget. In this film, there is a lot of proper action and a good atmosphere too, but they are mixed awkwardly, as if to meet the expectations of someone or a group of people who had different ideas of what it should be. Too bad.

In an archival interview, Kim Jee-won reveals that he was greatly inspired by Kill Bill. However, Sun-woo and his adventures are impossible to link to Kill Bill.

A Bittersweet Life Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, A Bittersweet Life arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Second Sight.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K master, finalized under the supervision of director Kim Jee-won. A 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack release is available as well. You can see our listing and review of it here.

I viewed the entire film on 4K Blu-ray and later spent time with the Blu-ray. The overall quality of the visuals is good. However, I was left with the impression that the film could look better, especially on Blu-ray. Why? Some of the darker sequences become a bit noisy, and select darker nuances are a bit underwhelming. These minor fluctuations are not introduced by the original cinematography. For some reason, the 4K master produces slightly dated visuals. Colors are stable and balance is convincing. I felt that some highlights could have been manage marginally better, but they did not bother me at all. Image stability is very good. While comparing how different parts of the film look on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray, I noticed that most darker areas are slightly more attractive in native 4K. If you can play 4K Blu-ray releases, I suggest choosing the combo pack. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

A Bittersweet Life Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed A Bittersweet Life on 4K Blu-ray and later spent time with the Blu-ray. The following comments are from our review of the 4K Blu-ray release.

The 5.1 is very aggressive and effective. Yes, it does help that A Bittersweet Life is a recent film with plenty of diverse action material, but it is very nicely mixed. During the big shootouts, surround movement in particular is outstanding. The dialog and narration are clear, stable, and easy to follow. The English translation is good.

A Bittersweet Life Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - this scene specific audio commentary was recorded by director Kim Jee-woon and film academic Areum Jeong.

• Commentary Two - this audio commentary was recorded by critics Pierce Conran and James Marsh.

• Commentary Three - this audio commentary was recorded by Kim Jee-woon and actors Kim Young-chul and Lee Byung-hun.

• Commentary Four - this audio commentary was recorded by Kim Jee-woon, cinematographer Kim Ji-y and production designer Yoo Seong-hee.

• The Making of A Bittersweet Life - this archival program can be viewed with optional commentaries by Kim Jee-woon and crew members. It features raw footage from the pre-production and shooting processes of A Bittersweet Life. With English subtitles. (26 min).

• The Style of A Bittersweet Life - this archival program is broken into eight sections. With English subtitles.
  
  1. Art (13 min).
  2. Music (8 min).
  3. Sound (5 min).
  4. Action (14 min).
  5. Gunsmith (9 min).
  6. Special Art (5 min).
  7. Special Effects (5 min).
  8. CG (11 min).

• Tell Me Why - in this archival program, Kim Jee-woon and cast and crew members recall their trip to Cannes and different experiences from the shooting of A Bittersweet Life. With English subtitles. (22 min).

• A Bittersweet Life in Cannes - an archival program with footage from the Cannes Film Festival, where A Bittersweet Life was screened, and clips from interviews with the film's producer and cast and crew members. With English subtitles. (39 min).

• Deleted and Alternate Scenes - a selection of deleted and alternate scenes which can be viewed with a commentary by Kim Jee-woon. With English subtitles. (24 min).

• Music Video One - a music video for "Sweet Sleep". Presented with English subtitles. (4 min).

• Music Two - Yangpa music video. Presented with English subtitles. (3 min).

• Promotional Materials -
  
  1. Original Teaser Trailer
  2. Original Theatrical Trailer
  3. TV Spot

A Bittersweet Life Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Bittersweet Life juggles several identifies and tries too hard to impress the festival crowd that recognizes films like it only if they have a certain arty flavor. This is unfortunate because it has a terrific lead that would have looked incredible in a macho action film like The Yellow Sea. I do not think that it is a bad film, but it is clearly a mismanaged film. If you wish to have it in your library, consider the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack reviewed here.