Boys Of Tomorrow (Screen Daily Review)

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Boys Of Tomorrow (Woori-Ege Nae-Ileun Eobda)

Dan Fainaru in Pusan 19 October 2006

Dir/scr. Noh Dong-seok. S Kor. 2006. 93mins.

Pursuing similar themes to those covered in his debut feature Generation, which screened a couple of years ago in Pusan, Noh Dong-seok’s Boys Of Tomorrow again takes up the cause of lost youth whose hopes and dreams are trampled by the slum misery into which they are born.

Shot on HD with a camera deployed in almost documentary fashion, this tale of a dysfunctional family cheated out of everything they ever had focuses mostly on two brothers, both still in their teens and each struggling in his own way.

Noh Dong-seok's downbeat approach, slightly alleviated by an ending which leaves a glimmer of hope for one of the main protagonists, will be appreciated by festivals and sympathetic arthouse circuits. But his jerky, and at times muddled, narrative will make it hard for Boys Of Tomorrow to enjoy much commercial reach.

Kisoo (Kim Byeong-seok), the older of the two brothers, lives in a basement studio and works as driver, hoping one day to become a full-time drummer. But every time his goal seems to be within reach, he is dragged back by his family, which has no one else to care for it.

There is his mother, a religious nut whose husband abandoned her years ago; his younger brother Jongdae (Yu A-in) who is always in trouble and eager to get his hands on a gun, which would give him authority on the streets; and his older brother, a gambling bum whose hooker wife has run away and left dad with Johan, a baby boy, who he in turn leaves with Kisoo.

Closest to Jongdae, and feeling guilty for an early accident in which his sibling lost a testicle, Kisoo tries to make him go straight but to no avail. Instead Jongdae, who is supposed to wash cars for a living, sees all the rich petty criminals around him and cannot help but feel tempted to want some of the same for himself. "Work doesn't get you anywhere" he screams at Kisoo before running away.

When Jongdae, despite Kisoo's warnings, finds employment with Mr Kim (Choi Jae-sung), a smalltime pimp, it is only a matter of time before trouble follows. Jongdae falls for one of the younger prostitutes and attacks a client when she is assaulted, incurring the wrath of his boss. The final bloodbath seals any chance Kisoo might have had of extracting himself from the vicious circle in which he is caught.

Told in retrospect by an older Jongdae, the story manages to pack in plenty of pain and frustration. The plot may advance in an erratic mixture of hesitancy and leaps and bounds, but importantly manages to maintain its prevailing mood of darkness and oppression throughout.

All the locations have the disheartening look of places one would never dare visit, in particular the seedy bordello whose hookers are revealed as shockingly youthful innocents once their make-up and working garb are removed.

The determination of Kim Byeong-seok, as the older brother, to do everything in his power to prevent his younger brother from following the wrong path, is effectively and sharply contrasted with Yu A-in's rebellious pout as Jongdae, who seems destined to slip from one disaster to the next. Their separation in the final reel is particularly moving.

Meanwhile Choi Jae-sung, as Mr Kim, is all oily charm and has the appeal of a deadly cobra. The rest of the cast acquits themselves in exemplary fashion.

Photography owes much to gritty documentary footage taken on the raw, while the editing respects atmosphere much more than any sense of continuity.

Production companies/backers
Generation Blue Films

International sales
Film Messenger

Executive producer
Peter Kim

Producer
Shin Chang-gil

Cinematography
Cho Sang-yoon

Editor
Lee Jeong-min
Noh Dong-seok

Production design
Kim Si-yong

Music
Kwon Se-young

Main cast
Kim Byeong-seok
Yu A-in
Choi Jae-sun
Lee Dong-ho
Kang Cho-rong
Park Myung-shin
Kim Jun-ki