• Latest
  • Trending

NYAFF XIX Review: In BEASTS CLAWING AT STRAWS, No Money, Problems. More Money, Murder, More Murder… More Problems.

September 2, 2020
HUNTED Review: When The Prey Becomes Predator

HUNTED Review: When The Prey Becomes Predator

January 18, 2021
Amazon’s LORD OF THE RINGS-Based Series Takes Another Step Forward

Amazon’s LORD OF THE RINGS-Based Series Takes Another Step Forward

January 18, 2021
Warrior – Season 1: Episode 5 “The Blood and the Shit” Finding One’s Purpose within

Warrior – Season 1: Episode 5 “The Blood and the Shit” Finding One’s Purpose within

January 18, 2021
AN AUTUMN´S TALE Review: A look back when Chow Yun Fat fell in love with Cherie Chung on the streets of New York

AN AUTUMN´S TALE Review: A look back when Chow Yun Fat fell in love with Cherie Chung on the streets of New York

January 16, 2021

WILLY’S WONDERLAND: Get Caged In Horror With Cage In The Official Trailer

January 15, 2021

A WRITER’S ODYSSEY: CMC Ramps Up Lu Yang’s Formerly-Titled ‘Assassin In Red’ For A CNY US Release In February!

January 15, 2021
MORTAL KOMBAT: Prepare Yourself With These New Stills From The Upcoming Reboot Starring Lewis Tan

MORTAL KOMBAT: Prepare Yourself With These New Stills From The Upcoming Reboot Starring Lewis Tan

January 15, 2021
CHERRY Trailer: Tom Holland Is A Fourth Wall-Breaking Bank Robber With A Story To Tell

CHERRY Trailer: Tom Holland Is A Fourth Wall-Breaking Bank Robber With A Story To Tell

January 14, 2021
EXILED: THE CHOSEN ONES Spawns New Poster Art

EXILED: THE CHOSEN ONES Spawns New Poster Art

January 14, 2021
THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN Launches Sales At Voltage

THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN Launches Sales At Voltage

January 14, 2021

PAYBACK Gets An Official Trailer For Joseph Mensch’s Directorial Crime Drama Debut

January 14, 2021

Warrior – Season 1: Episode 4 “The White Mountain” The Grass is Never Greener

January 14, 2021
Film Combat Syndicate
  • Login
  • Film Combat Syndicate
  • Forums
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Film Combat Syndicate
  • Forums
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Film Combat Syndicate
No Result
View All Result
Home Reviews

NYAFF XIX Review: In BEASTS CLAWING AT STRAWS, No Money, Problems. More Money, Murder, More Murder… More Problems.

Lee B. Golden IIIbyLee B. Golden III
September 2, 2020
inReviews
5
1
98
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Adapting author Keisuke Sone’s 2011 novel for the big screen, writer/director Kim Young-hoon’s Beasts Clawing At Straws weaves a chilling, oftentimes clever tale about greed and desperation.

RelatedPosts

HUNTED Review: When The Prey Becomes Predator

Warrior – Season 1: Episode 5 “The Blood and the Shit” Finding One’s Purpose within

AN AUTUMN´S TALE Review: A look back when Chow Yun Fat fell in love with Cherie Chung on the streets of New York

The story is told in pulp format with five chapters to its body until the remaining twenty minutes when things catch up, firstly introducing Joong-man (Bae Sung-woo), a sauna worker who stumbles upon a Louis Vuitton bag left by a patron in one of the lockers. Time passes by and the bag is never picked up, so Joong-man opens what turns out to be a bag full of cash, then deciding to hide it in storage until he figures out what to do with it, or someone comes asking about it.

Another sequence of events introduces Tae-young (Jung Woo-sung), a Port Officer who owes a great deal of money to a loan shark named Doo-Man (Jeong Man-sik) whose right-hand man, Meki (Bae Jin-Woong), is a butcher with no compunction for how he likes his particular delicacies. Following up, we meet Mi-ran (Shin Hyun-Bin), who is forced to work off her debts as a hostess while trapped in an abusive marriage after losing big in the stock market.

Each of these stories have multiple players, but only one connects each as the root source of the deception, desperation and surprise twists that ensue around the aforementioned bag full of cash in Beasts Clawing At Straws. For this, out of all the co-stars in the film, the one that deserves most of your attention is Yeon-hee (Jeon Do-yeon), Mi-ran’s boss who doesn’t appear until much later in the film, and who herself stands to gain heavily from the bag in addition to Doo-Man.

Tae-young himself has all the reason in the world to utilize that money himself, but that’s long before an attempt to sucker an old friend trying to leave the country off radar nearly goes bust with pesky detective Myung-goo (Yoon Je-moon) looming over Tae-young’s shoulder. It’s one twist among several in the film that leads to grisly results, in addition to Mi-ran’s brisk affair with Jin-tae (Jung Ga-ram), a half-Chinese patron at the bar where she works.

Most interestingly, Kim explicitly implores you to pay attention to the bag as it’s the main focus of the opening and closing shot of the film altogether; The bag is a minor detail compared to the characters, but it’s as important as the background audibles of the opening sequence in the bathhouse going forward.

Beasts Clawing At Straws isn’t all doom and gloom though, especially with its precocious 70’s caper-style ending. The film is cleverly written and executed, featuring line-up of some very dicey characters who are bound to get what’s coming to them in some way or another, regardless of their circumstances. To this affect, it’s a story where the ends justify the means, in a sense, culminating a story in Beasts Clawing At Straws that’s as punishing and titilating as it is vindicating.

NYAFF streams for its 19th installment from August 28 through September 12. Click here to learn more!

Like this Article? Subscribe to Our Feed!

Lee B. Golden III
filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com | Website

Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • WhatsApp
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • Skype
Tags: beasts clawing at strawsnyaff 2020
Share2Tweet1ShareShareSend
Please login to join discussion
No Result
View All Result

Categories

  • Acquisitions and Release
  • Animation
  • books
  • Campaigns
  • Casting
  • Contests
  • Editorials
  • Exclusives
  • Festivals And Events
  • First Looks
  • Guest Articles
  • Home Releases
  • In Production
  • In-Development
  • Interviews
  • Markets
  • News
  • Now Streaming
  • OPINIONS
  • Posters
  • Reviews
  • Short Reviews
  • Shortfilms
  • Stills
  • Stream This
  • Teasers
  • Television
  • THE HIT LIST
  • Trailers
  • Watch Now
  • Webseries

Recent Posts

  • HUNTED Review: When The Prey Becomes Predator
  • Amazon’s LORD OF THE RINGS-Based Series Takes Another Step Forward
  • Warrior – Season 1: Episode 5 “The Blood and the Shit” Finding One’s Purpose within
  • AN AUTUMN´S TALE Review: A look back when Chow Yun Fat fell in love with Cherie Chung on the streets of New York
  • WILLY’S WONDERLAND: Get Caged In Horror With Cage In The Official Trailer

Recent Comments

  • LOST PHOENIX Teaser Introduces A Look At James Couche's Indie Action Feature Debut | Film Combat Syndicate on LOST PHOENIX: Exclusive New Stills For James Couche’s New Independent Proof Of Concept Thriller Ahead Of Full Feature By 2021
  • EVERYTHING 'MANDALORIAN': Part Two - A Look Back On Season Two, And The Future Of The Series | Film Combat Syndicate on EVERYTHING ‘MANDALORIAN’: Part I – A Look Back On Season One
  • Now On Netflix: Shinsuke Sato's ALICE IN BORDERLAND Delivers Exhilirating Action Sci-Fi With Chilling Effect | Film Combat Syndicate on Fantasia Review: Shinsuke Sato’s KINGDOM Is A Soaring, Sweeping Epic That Dares You To Dream
  • 2020 TBR READING CHALLENGE: A Year's Footnotes From A Book Dragon | Film Combat Syndicate on Your Next Read: THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
  • Live-Action BLEACH Director On Sequel Hopes: "I Am Looking Forward To It." | Film Combat Syndicate on Sato Shinsuke’s BLEACH Is Highly-Spirited Otaku Soul Food

Archives

Latest News on PopGeeks.net:

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram
Hosted By:

© 2019 Film Combat Syndicate.

No Result
View All Result
  • Film Combat Syndicate
  • Forums
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact Us

© 2019 Film Combat Syndicate.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.