|
Starring
:
Kwon
Sang-woo
Lee
Jung-jin
Park
Hyo-jun
Han
Ga-in
Kim Won-kwon
Lee Jong-hyeok
Action
:
Shin
Jae-myung
Writer
:
Ha
Yu
Producer
:
Cha
Seoung-Jae
No
Jong-yun
Director
:
Ha
Yu
|
Once
Upon a Time In High school
(2004)
A.K.A.
- Spirit Of Jeet Kune Do; Once Upon A Time In Highschool
Reviewed
by Mike Banner
When
his family moves home to the Gangnam area of Seoul, shy and
introverted Hyun-Soo (Kwon Sang-woo) is forced to transfer to
the notorious, militaristic Jungmoon High School, where
violent bullying is rife and severe corporal punishment is
meted out for even minor misdemeanours. There he makes friends
with the charismatic Woo-sik (Lee Jung-jin), the school's most
skilled fighter and develops a crush on Eun-ju (Han Ga-in), a
girl from a different school who rides on the same bus. Away
from school, Hyun-soo spends his time idolising Bruce Lee and
practising tae kwon do at his father's gym. As Hyun-soo
struggles to develop his relationship with Eun-ju, the
violence among students and teachers, at Jungmoon,
is escalating and the only way for Hyun-soo and Woo-sik
to survive is to take a stand against those responsible.
Since
the 1970's, Bruce Lee has been a hero to millions of people.
As well as being a gifted martial artist and an icon of cool,
in his films he often played characters who stood up to oppressors
and bullies. This made him someone the downtrodden and the
bullied idolised and were inspired by. Bruce Lee references
appear throughout Ha Yu's semi-autobiographical tale of 1970's
high school life. At the beginning of the movie we see a young
Hyun-soo thrilled as he watches Fist of Fury. Later we see him
mimicking Bruce and enacting scenes from his films with
his class mates, reading a Jeet Kune Do instructional book and
even practising with nunchaku. These are minor details and the
real Lee influence appears in the films final fight sequence
but I'll come back to that later.
The
film is a pretty simple story of a young man's school days.
Hyun-soo is a shy and awkward boy who makes friendships, falls
in love and does most of the things a teenage boy does while
trying to cope with the institutionalised violence from
teachers, the army staff (who dispense the more brutal
punishments) and violence from fellow students. It's a system
where beatings are passed down from the strongest and most
powerful to the weakest and seems to show how violence only
leads to violence.
As
Hyun-soo's relationships grow his character begins to open up
and allows the audience to really start to connect with him.
Kwon Sang-woo carries the film very well. He's endearing, not
overly melodramatic and thoroughly believable as the lonely
new boy and later the angry young man who's ready to fight.
The romance elements of the film aren't predictable and mostly
veer away from melodrama. It's sweet, touching and carries an
honesty that runs through the all parts of the film. The
performances, from a solid cast, and the writing are
believable and will likely strike a chord with anyone who's
experienced bullying, unrequited love and fragile, childhood
friendships (which will most likely be everyone).
The
believability also extends to the action scenes. They aren't
slick and neat affairs that you may be used to from Hong Kong
films. They're frenetic brawls with occasional moments of well
executed tae kwon do kicks and punches. The rawness of the
fights make them gripping and very exciting to watch. Hyun-soo
is, towards the end of the film, seething with frustration and
anger towards the bullies that erupts in blistering style and
this is where the Bruce Lee influence is felt the most
strongly. It's reminiscent, emotionally rather than
stylistically, of Bruce's assault on the Japanese dojo in Fist
of Fury. Filled with a Lee-like righteous anger, Hyun-soo
makes a stand and takes on the bullies in a heart pounding,
brutal and thrilling finale that any action fan will enjoy.
This
is a well acted and written coming-of-age drama with some
intense fight scenes. An absorbing and thoroughly enjoyable
movie.
Rating:
 
|
