DVD Review: The City of Violence

By Utpal Borpujari

Director Seung-wan Ryoo is best known in India for the 2004-made Arahan, a comic take on marital arts that was probably the first-ever Korean film to get big-time theatrical release in this country. The maker of films like Die Bad (2000), which was a big hit in Korea, and Crying Fist, pays a great tribute to Quentin Tarantino in The City of Violence.

This is a film that takes the route of violence to explore the fickleness in human relationships. The story is about four childhood friends, whose innocent dreams for the future somewhere get sidelined as they grow up. The story starts with the funeral of one of them, and as two of the remaining three friends start investigating the death, they find that they have to confront the fourth.

Set in the backdrop of organized crime and its links to urban development, the film makes for a compelling viewing, but if you don’t like too much violence, this one is not for you.

The City of Violence; Korean; Dir: Seung-wan Ryoo; 89 mins; Rs 349; Shemaroo World Cinema

(Published in Deccan Herald, www.deccanherald.com, www.deccanheraldepaper.com, 02-05-2010)

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