Director and producer Kang Hyo-jin’s black dramedy, The Backstreet Noire, last made a stir at Cannes this year where it screened for the press and buyers. Just as interesting as the official trailer now out as of a few days ago is a quote a found in Elisabeth Kerr’s THR review back in May deeming it, among other things, “stylish but frequently mean-spirited” and “thorougly unpleasant”…
Definitely not the kind of film one might recommend ideally, but probably worth a viewing for one’s own analysis. Its noir cinematography, gritty and brutal tone and the cast’s performance look fitting of just the kind of black comedy that might appeal to cinephiles keen on Asian films and genre titles of its kind. Moviegoers will definitely have an opportunity to check it out locally when it opens on September 7 and with any luck it’ll reach stateside for the rest of us to pick apart and critique.
Chang-do is a good-for-nothing who earns his living by being beaten instead of others. Mi-young, his fiancée gets killed by a drunken driver, Hee-sung. But Hee-sung gets off scot-free with the power and money by her lover. Chang-do’s minions hit her to be in a coma by mistake. Chang-do takes Hee-sung to Mi-young’s hometown. Finally Hee-sung awakens but loses all her memories. What will be their destiny?
