Based on the 2008 novel Wandeuk by Kim Ryeo-ryeong, Punch is a terrific coming-of-age story set in the slums of Seoul.
What They Say:
“During my second year of high school, I met the greatest opponent of my life…”
Wan-deuk (Yoo Ah-in, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Antique) is a soft-spoken rebel who has all the makings of an at-risk youth. He comes from a poor family headed by a hunchback father and a stammering uncle. He is a quiet loner, who best expresses himself with his fists. He has no dreams for the future beyond the day he can escape the watchful eye of his meddling homeroom teacher, Dong-ju… who just happens to live right next door.
Dong-ju (Kim Yun-seok, The Thieves, The Chaser) is no ordinary educator. He speaks bluntly and seems more concerned with the world outside the classroom than school regulations. Dong-ju takes a particular interest in his young neighbor’s life, and one day, he blindsides Wan-deuk with some unexpected information: the mother Wan-deuk never knew is a Filipino immigrant, and she wants to see him.
The Review:
Audio:
The only language option for this title is the original Korean language with English subtitles. The mix is a basic 2.0, but since it’s a movie based on dialogue, that wasn’t an issue. The sound was clear with no dropout or distortions, and it maintained a level balance throughout.
Video:
Presented in its original 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio, the video for this was fine. Not a bright, colorful film, the visuals were fairly drab with a lot of earth tones and dim lighting, but that was done intentionally for effect. There were no technical issues that I noticed.
Packaging:
This is a two disc set, and it comes in standard amaray case. There is a spot for a disc on each side of the case. The front cover features the Wan-deuk and Dong-ju looking somewhat hopeful, while the back has a few screen shots and the series summary. The coloring of the case is based around dull earth tones, but that matches the tone and design of the movie, so it’s fine. I did like the Polaroid of the main cast (the neighborhood family) that’s on the back because it does a nice job of showing the unity the neighborhood eventually gains.
Menu:
The menus for this release are simple, but effective. The same pictures of Wan-deuk and Dong-ju from the front cover are used (one on each disc) as the main visual for the menu with the selections set off to the side. While nothing much to look at, they are functional and easy to follow, and that’s the most important thing.
Extras:
There are quite a few extras on this release. There’s a 20 minute interview with the author of the novel (“Story Before the Movie”) talking about her experience in seeing the book come to life; “Hey You, Doh Wan-Deuk” is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie; “Music Story” talks about the creation of the soundtrack; “About the Characters” is exactly what it say; and there are about 10 minutes or so of deleted scenes. On top of that, there are photo stills, trailers, cast bios, and liner notes. All together, there’s over an hour of stuff to check out here; if you like extras you should like what’s available here.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Punch is a movie with a lot of heart. It’s based on a Korean book named after the protagonist, Wan-deuk, who has had has had a rough life: his mother left when he was still a baby, and his father has spent his life as a cabaret performer. As you might expect, money had been tight all of Wen-deuk’s life, and it gets even tighter when the cabaret closes, and his father has to turn his act into a street performance. To make life worse, his overly antagonistic homeroom teacher, Dong-ju, lives right next door. Dong-ju is irascible at the best of times, and he seems to take a particular delight in picking on Wan-deuk. But sometimes what a person needs most is some tough love; Wan-deuk just needs to figure out how to put up with is dour teacher long enough to learn the lesson’s Dong-ju is trying to teach.
The relationship between Wan-deuk and Dong-ju is brilliantly played out in this movie, as there are a lot of layers in the way they treat each other. When the movie starts, Wan-deuk is withdrawn and has no direction in life, and Dong-ju takes every opportunity he can to pick on him. To be fair, he picks on everybody, but he seems have a special place in his heart for tormenting Wan-deuk. It’s enough that Wan-deuk, in his frustration, asks God to kill Dong-ju. God, of course, doesn’t comply, but that’s just the way Wan-deuk’s life goes.
But every once in a while, Dong-ju will throw a bone to Wan-deuk. It’s never much, but little things like letting Wan-deuk take more than his share of the student aid food start to add up, and Wan-deuk starts to look at his teacher in a whole new light. He gets involved in kickboxing after school as a way to channel his aggression, something that Dong-ju sets up behind the scenes, and he begins to properly understand his father. To top it all off, Dong-ju is instrumental in bringing Wan-deuk together with his mother again, something which Wan-deuk doesn’t understand the importance of until after it happens. With all of this positive change, Wan-deuk starts to look up to his grumpy teacher, which gives Dong-ju all the more opportunity to pick on him.
I think what makes this dynamic work so well is that there are definite parallels between Wan-deuk and Dong-ju. Wan-deuk’s family life isn’t very good, and it causes him to withdraw from normal life too. His grades are non-existent, and he looks at everything that happens around him (whether good or bad) with detached disinterest. On the odd occasion he is angered, he’s quick to punch out his antagonist and then forget about it. It’s only when he realizes that Dong-ju is reaching out to help him does he start to shake off his apathy with life.
For Dong-ju, it’s similar. On the surface, Dong-ju gives off a vibe of being stand-offish and a bully, and he doesn’t’ seem to have any interest in his students. It’s a wonder how and why he ever became a teacher. But when you start to look at what he’s doing with Wan-deuk, it becomes obvious that he really does have his student’s best interests at heart, it’s just that he doesn’t really have the personality to truly express this, so his motives are hidden. When you take into account his own issues with his father, I think that Dong-ju looks at Wan-deuk and sees himself, and that spurs him on to trying to make sure Wan-deuk is given the opportunity to be a better person than Dong-ju ever was.
I’ve never read the book Punch was based on (though I’d like to now), so I can’t speak as to how well the movie matches the book, but I can say that so much of the nuance I see in their relationship comes from the great performances from Yoo Ah-in (Wan-deuk) and Kim Yun-seok (Dong-ju). They have great chemistry on screen, and bring all the right touches to each scene. To be fair, the rest of the cast is great too, as Park Su-yeong as Wan-deuk’s father, Gak-seol, brings the right mix of unbridled optimism for his work and defeatism for the rest of life, and Kim Young-jae is hilarious as the goofy, stuttering “Uncle” Min-gu. Probably my favorite performance, though, is Kim Sang-ho as Wan-deuk’s grouchy and deranged next door neighbor. It’s a brilliant character, and Kim Sang-ho’s performance is inspired.
In Summary:
Punch was a movie I knew nothing about going in, but it’s one that I’m glad I saw. I generally have a need to be doing things while I watch a movie, because I have a hard time sitting still. Punch brought me right in, and I found that all I wanted to do was focus on it. To me, if nothing else, that’s a mark of a great movie. The writing is terrific, the characters are brilliant, and the actors bring just the right touch to every scene. Highly recommended.
Features:
Korean Language, English Subtitles, Story Before the Movie, About the Characters, “Hey You, Doh Wan-deuk!,” Music Story, Deleted Scenes with Director Commentary, Poster Shoot Video, Image Gallery, Original South Korean Trailer, Director and Cast Bios, Liner Notes
Content Grade: A
Audio Grade: A
Video Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: A
Released By: 5 Points Pictures
Release Date: February 19th, 2013
MSRP: $29.99
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Video Encoding: 480i/p MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Magnavox 37MF337B 37” LCD HDTV, Sony PS3 w/HDMI Connection, Durabrand HT3916 5.1 Surround Sound System
