Just saw a really fine film- a comedy with dramatic elements.
Title: 아부의 왕 / Ahbuwei Wang (which means "Flattery King")
English title: The Suck Up Project: Mr. XXX-Kisser (as in Ass Kisser)
Stars Song Sae-Byeok as a member of a planning dept for a sales company, but he is transferred to the sales department. At the same time as the transfer, he finds his mother has borrowed money from loan sharks to bribe school officials so that Song's father, a vice principal can finally get a promotion to prinicipal. This is all unknown to the father, but Song must quickly earn all the money back in one month's time....otherwise big trouble with the loan sharks (the leader of the loan sharks is masterfully portrayed by Ko Chang-Seok)
Song is not good at sales, so after some mishaps, he seeks out a 'master' who is said to have incredible skills at flattering people to in turn manipulate them into buying whatever he is selling. The master is played by Sung Dong-Il , and the chemistry between the two actors is perfect and makes the film.
Two very beautiful and talented actresses, Kim Sung-Ryeong and Han Chae-Ah (Ms Han as Song's ex university girlfriend, and Ms. Kim as former love interest and partner of Sung) add some great performances. Special mention has to go to actor Lee Byung-Joon, who plays the pushy mega powerful and corrupt foil of Song's conflicted, but generally innocent salesman who must balance his newly found skills of flattery while remaining an honest man as he has always been taught by his father (who was unaware of his wife's scheming ways).
I was lucky, of course to see a screening of the film with English subtitles. I have not seen a lot of Korean films, but the ones I have seen have always impressed me, whatever the genre. Acting, directing, scripts always have been quite good, with dense layering of various emotions and themes.
A trailer:
Topic: General Korean Movie Thread (Read 20718 times)