In the late 90´s, South Korea and other parts of Asia were hit with an economic crisis. The criminal underworld stepped up their profile to take advantage of the chaos. That point in recent history sets up "Bloody Ties", an interesting look into the drug trade of South Korea. Don´t expect an intricate expose in the style of "Traffic" as "Bloody Ties" emphasizes stylized filmmaking and dark humor over realism. The story takes place in Busan, the second largest city in South Korea (right behind the capital city of Seoul) and home of South Korea´s largest port, which makes it ripe for the drug trade.
The film´s lead is an unrepentant dealer named Lee Sangdo (Ryu Seung-beom), whose stock and trade is crystal meth. Lee has grown up in the drug industry as his uncle was a dealer and his mother was killed in a fire while cooking up the uncle´s product. Despite this tragic event, Lee is happy with who he is and what he does. He loves the money and fancy clothes, but never makes the same mistake that Tony Montana did. Lee never gets high off his own supply. Things aren´t all rosy for Lee.
Breathing down his neck is Detective Do (Hwang Jeong-min), a cop driven by the brutal murder of his partner by a drug lord named Jangchul (Lee Do-gyung). Having never brought the villain to justice, Do ruthlessly goes after all dealers by any means necessary. Do gleefully enjoys taking payoffs from Lee just as much as he does in dishing out beatings to him. Do forces Lee to help him arrest his supplier, but when the arrest ends with the man being killed Do is suspended and Lee is sent to prison.
Eight months later, Lee is released to find the landscape has completely changed. A new dealer has moved into his turf and Lee finds himself persona non grata. Meanwhile, Do is reinstated and discovers that the new dealer in town is Jangchul, who has spent the last several years hiding out in China. Once again, Lee joins up with Do if only so he can eliminate the competition and return to doing business as before.
"Bloody Ties" certainly wears its influences on its sleeves. The film draws quick comparisons to an old John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat film. In fact, Detective Do´s look is definitely cribbed from Chow´s old look. Do has the same haircut, wears the same aviator sunglasses, and swaggers across the screen with the same cocky airs. All that´s missing is a dark trenchcoat and a pair of guns. However, "Bloody Ties" never delves into the themes of male bonding, honor, and existentialism that Woo´s films often dealt with. Neither Do nor Lee develop any sort of begrudging friendship or respect. They hate each other, pure and simple, and are often trying to stab the other in the back at the most opportune time. Here, there is no honor among thieves or cops.
The film´s lead is an unrepentant dealer named Lee Sangdo (Ryu Seung-beom), whose stock and trade is crystal meth. Lee has grown up in the drug industry as his uncle was a dealer and his mother was killed in a fire while cooking up the uncle´s product. Despite this tragic event, Lee is happy with who he is and what he does. He loves the money and fancy clothes, but never makes the same mistake that Tony Montana did. Lee never gets high off his own supply. Things aren´t all rosy for Lee.
Breathing down his neck is Detective Do (Hwang Jeong-min), a cop driven by the brutal murder of his partner by a drug lord named Jangchul (Lee Do-gyung). Having never brought the villain to justice, Do ruthlessly goes after all dealers by any means necessary. Do gleefully enjoys taking payoffs from Lee just as much as he does in dishing out beatings to him. Do forces Lee to help him arrest his supplier, but when the arrest ends with the man being killed Do is suspended and Lee is sent to prison.
Eight months later, Lee is released to find the landscape has completely changed. A new dealer has moved into his turf and Lee finds himself persona non grata. Meanwhile, Do is reinstated and discovers that the new dealer in town is Jangchul, who has spent the last several years hiding out in China. Once again, Lee joins up with Do if only so he can eliminate the competition and return to doing business as before.
"Bloody Ties" certainly wears its influences on its sleeves. The film draws quick comparisons to an old John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat film. In fact, Detective Do´s look is definitely cribbed from Chow´s old look. Do has the same haircut, wears the same aviator sunglasses, and swaggers across the screen with the same cocky airs. All that´s missing is a dark trenchcoat and a pair of guns. However, "Bloody Ties" never delves into the themes of male bonding, honor, and existentialism that Woo´s films often dealt with. Neither Do nor Lee develop any sort of begrudging friendship or respect. They hate each other, pure and simple, and are often trying to stab the other in the back at the most opportune time. Here, there is no honor among thieves or cops.
In the late 90´s, South Korea and other parts of Asia were hit with an economic crisis. The criminal underworld stepped up their profile to take advantage of the chaos. That point in recent history sets up "Bloody Ties", an interesting look into the drug trade of South Korea. Don´t expect an intricate expose in the style of "Traffic" as "Bloody Ties" emphasizes stylized filmmaking and dark humor over realism. The story takes place in Busan, the second largest city in South Korea (right behind the capital city of Seoul) and home of South Korea´s largest port, which makes it ripe for the drug trade.
The film´s lead is an unrepentant dealer named Lee Sangdo (Ryu Seung-beom), whose stock and trade is crystal meth. Lee has grown up in the drug industry as his uncle was a dealer and his mother was killed in a fire while cooking up the uncle´s product. Despite this tragic event, Lee is happy with who he is and what he does. He loves the money and fancy clothes, but never makes the same mistake that Tony Montana did. Lee never gets high off his own supply. Things aren´t all rosy for Lee.
Breathing down his neck is Detective Do (Hwang Jeong-min), a cop driven by the brutal murder of his partner by a drug lord named Jangchul (Lee Do-gyung). Having never brought the villain to justice, Do ruthlessly goes after all dealers by any means necessary. Do gleefully enjoys taking payoffs from Lee just as much as he does in dishing out beatings to him. Do forces Lee to help him arrest his supplier, but when the arrest ends with the man being killed Do is suspended and Lee is sent to prison.
Eight months later, Lee is released to find the landscape has completely changed. A new dealer has moved into his turf and Lee finds himself persona non grata. Meanwhile, Do is reinstated and discovers that the new dealer in town is Jangchul, who has spent the last several years hiding out in China. Once again, Lee joins up with Do if only so he can eliminate the competition and return to doing business as before.
"Bloody Ties" certainly wears its influences on its sleeves. The film draws quick comparisons to an old John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat film. In fact, Detective Do´s look is definitely cribbed from Chow´s old look. Do has the same haircut, wears the same aviator sunglasses, and swaggers across the screen with the same cocky airs. All that´s missing is a dark trenchcoat and a pair of guns. However, "Bloody Ties" never delves into the themes of male bonding, honor, and existentialism that Woo´s films often dealt with. Neither Do nor Lee develop any sort of begrudging friendship or respect. They hate each other, pure and simple, and are often trying to stab the other in the back at the most opportune time. Here, there is no honor among thieves or cops.
The film´s lead is an unrepentant dealer named Lee Sangdo (Ryu Seung-beom), whose stock and trade is crystal meth. Lee has grown up in the drug industry as his uncle was a dealer and his mother was killed in a fire while cooking up the uncle´s product. Despite this tragic event, Lee is happy with who he is and what he does. He loves the money and fancy clothes, but never makes the same mistake that Tony Montana did. Lee never gets high off his own supply. Things aren´t all rosy for Lee.
Breathing down his neck is Detective Do (Hwang Jeong-min), a cop driven by the brutal murder of his partner by a drug lord named Jangchul (Lee Do-gyung). Having never brought the villain to justice, Do ruthlessly goes after all dealers by any means necessary. Do gleefully enjoys taking payoffs from Lee just as much as he does in dishing out beatings to him. Do forces Lee to help him arrest his supplier, but when the arrest ends with the man being killed Do is suspended and Lee is sent to prison.
Eight months later, Lee is released to find the landscape has completely changed. A new dealer has moved into his turf and Lee finds himself persona non grata. Meanwhile, Do is reinstated and discovers that the new dealer in town is Jangchul, who has spent the last several years hiding out in China. Once again, Lee joins up with Do if only so he can eliminate the competition and return to doing business as before.
"Bloody Ties" certainly wears its influences on its sleeves. The film draws quick comparisons to an old John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat film. In fact, Detective Do´s look is definitely cribbed from Chow´s old look. Do has the same haircut, wears the same aviator sunglasses, and swaggers across the screen with the same cocky airs. All that´s missing is a dark trenchcoat and a pair of guns. However, "Bloody Ties" never delves into the themes of male bonding, honor, and existentialism that Woo´s films often dealt with. Neither Do nor Lee develop any sort of begrudging friendship or respect. They hate each other, pure and simple, and are often trying to stab the other in the back at the most opportune time. Here, there is no honor among thieves or cops.
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