Hoezo in KINO

Lee Chang-dong’s directorial debut is a character study and social commentary on urban life in the form of a neo-noir crime thriller. Mak-dong is a young man who returns to Seoul after his military service who struggles to survive big city life and becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. While Lee uses classic genre tropes, he also comments on the contemporary social-economic changes in South Korea, in particular the struggles of the working class and ever-expanding corruption. With this film, he lays the groundwork for all his later work, particularly in his exploration of human suffering and social issues.