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Champion: 'Champion' tells the true story of Kim Deuk-gu, a poor man from the countryside that took up boxing and became one of the world's elite fighters. In 1982, after winning fame in the ring and marrying his first love, Kim travelled to Las Vegas to fight Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, the reigning lightweight world champion. After 14 intense rounds in which Kim refused to give in, he fell into a coma from which he would never wake, changing the sport of boxing forever and throwing a nation into shock...
Yu Oh-seong re-teams with director Kwak Kyeung-taek (director of 'Friend', the biggest film in Korean history) for this tragic but ultimately uplifting tale, winner of the Gold Award at the Philadelphia Film Festival, of one man's struggle to overcome all the odds with the hopes of a nation riding on his narrow shoulders. Acclaimed cinematography, ferocious fight choreography, and dynamic, heartfelt performances have established 'Champion' as one of undisputed classics of modern World Cinema.
(Dir. Kwak Kyeung-taek, 2002, Cert. 15)
Crying Fist: Two lost souls. One fight for redemption...
In one corner is Sang-hwan (Ryoo Seung-bum), a bitter and angry young man with a huge chip on his shoulder. Despite the best efforts of his father, Sang-hwan's rebellious criminal behavior finally lands him in juvenile prison. There, at what seems to be the lowest moment in his young life, a guard turns him towards boxing in the hope of safely channelling his rage at the world.
In the other corner is Tae-sik (the ever marvellous Choi Min-sik), a middle-aged man whose moment of glory came long ago when he won the silver medal for Korea as an amateur boxer at the Asian Games. Yet now, with his family life falling apart due to mounting debt, he earns his income as a novelty act, standing out in the street and offering up his body as a punching bag to passersby for money...
What brings these two characters together is the subject of Ryoo Seung-wan's extraordinary film in which the destination is not so important as the means taken to get there. Directing his brother Ryoo Seung-bum and Oldboy's Choi Min-sik, perhaps the premier actor ever produced by Korea, with a deftness and maturity that had only been hinted at in his early Tarantino-esque career (No Blood No Tears) and his recent popcorn output (Arahan), Ryoo Seung-wan resolutely avoids the boxing movie cliche.
Gritty, violent, and emotionally compelling, the gripping Crying Fist is one film that certainly packs a real punch!
(Dir. Ryoo Seung-wan, 2005, Cert. 15)
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