A Bittersweet Life

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A Bittersweet Life

2005

2h 0m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

100%

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12 Reviews

90%

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10,000+ Ratings

A gangster (Lee Byung-hun) starts a violent feud after he refuses to kill his boss's (Kim Yeong-cheol) cheating girlfriend.

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

scenes of Tarantino-esque mayhem, messy rebirth and ultra-violent destruction serve to dramatise Sun-woo’s conflicting inner desires as he shadow-boxes with himself as much as taking down everyone else.

Apr 11, 2024

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Apr 1, 2006

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Panos Kotzathanasis

HanCinema

The film is filled with cliches of the category, starting with the script and continuing with the characters. However, Kim Jee-woon seems to realize the fact, and does not take the film so seriously, in a tactic that adds to the entertainment it offers

Dec 16, 2018

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

The worst things about it are still awfully solid, and the best things are deep and probing far beyond what you'd ever naturally expect from a film of this model.

Rated: 8/10

Mar 4, 2015

Full Review

Adam Lippe

Examiner.com

It's all artifice. No matter how good the acting, how stylish the visuals, or efficient the screenplay, A Bittersweet Life never convinces us that it's not a movie.

Dec 17, 2011

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Don Willmott

Filmcritic.com

What's great about all this isn't just the gloriously choreographed violence (among the best I've ever seen) but also Lee Byeong-heon's bravura and surprisingly profound performance

Rated: 4/5

Mar 10, 2009

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Will S

Simply outstanding. Gratuitous without being excessive. Mean, but with a great sense of humor. Extremely awesome John Wooish modern gangster film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/05/25

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Dani G

It's one of those cases where you are watching a very enjoyable (and sometimes gratuitous) non-stop violence and bloody fest that's not ok, but you don't have a problem watching it again to enjoy once more. I wonder if John Wick took some elements from this one

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/18/25

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b s

又是一部有强烈韩国风格，荷尔蒙爆满，但却脱离现实的电影。作者在满足商业片爽感的前提下，通过佛经和回忆植入了自己的思想，多少会带来一点抽离和不协调。

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/11/25

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K Y

Forever Classic In My heart

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/06/25

Full Review

브래디 톰

an easy story that is blurry and overblown..

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/25

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Craig H

The very 1st film i reviewed on here over 4 years ago and decided to watch it again. The Story of a man working within a criminal underworld who has aspirations for something better and more in life through his meeting of his bosses lover, but reality is bitter and brutal. It's dark, stylish, tragic and no one does revenge more poetically and visually than Asian movies. One of Asias best, would make a brilliant double feature with Oldboy!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/24/24

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Kim Jee-woon

Director

Lee Byung-hun

Seon-u

Kim Yeong-cheol

Boss Kang

Shin Min-a

Huisu

Kim Roe ha

Munseok

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Synopsis

A gangster (Lee Byung-hun) starts a violent feud after he refuses to kill his boss's (Kim Yeong-cheol) cheating girlfriend.

Director: Kim Jee-woon
Producer: Oh Jeong-wan
Screenwriter: Kim Jee-woon
Production Co: Bom Film Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 22, 2019
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital Surround EX