Interesting to know. I find that even the “scrappy” Korean films seem to have a “bloody ballet” quality to them where even though nothing is flashy, there’s still an artistic merit.

I found a stateside release for Asura on Amazon, so I’m glad I don’t have to pay 30-40 bucks for the import DVD.

I think you were right on the money, Paul, when you mentioned ‘Soo’ in your review, as that might be the closest example to the sort of scrappy, dogged, ‘survive at any costs’-style action at the end of ‘Asura.’

Hmmm…that’s a tricky question. If we say that ‘A Bittersweet Life’ is more gun heavy and ‘Friend’ is more knife orientated, then I’d have to go with ‘Friend’. The violence is very scrappy and desperate, making the likes of what you see in ‘The Man from Nowhere’ and ‘Man on High Heels’ seem stylized in comparison.

Action-wise, is Asura more like A Bitterweet Life or Friend? I imagine it strays past the likes of Man From Nowhere and Man on High Heels.

Cheers Zack! It’s certainly a relentlessly cynical ride, and for that reason won’t be for everyone, but the narrative pulled me in with the way it placed Woo-sung in such a hellish situation, and how on earth he was ever going to get out of it.

I agree that the lack of characterization made parts of it comes across as an exercise in onscreen brutality, but as I mentioned in the review, for me it just struck the balance and managed to remain entertaining throughout. While it’s never implicitly stated, it felt like Woo-sung edges towards at least trying to do the right thing (as far as the restrictive situation he’s in will allow) by the end, and I liked the arc between him and Joo Ji-hoon. It felt like a little ray of humanity shone through amidst the bloodbath.

And yes, no surprise at all that it was the same cinematographer as ‘I Saw the Devil’, he has a fantastic eye for capturing violence and grimy locales.

Zack, you should paste your review here.

For me, the macho posturing on display was delivered in such an exaggerated manner that the movie’s tone continually veered in and out of black comedy. I couldn’t quite grasp director Kim Sung-Soo’s point of view on this material, so more often the film’s rampant corruption and eagerness for brutality came across as a parody of a Korean crime thriller.

I suppose I would have liked it more if he had played it straight, but there’s no denying that ‘Asura’ has one hell of a finale. It took me back to the heroic bloodshed days of yesteryear, even though nobody in this sequence is particularly heroic! I read online that cinematographer Lee Mo-gae also shot ‘I Saw the Devil’ – he must have felt right at home during that ending.