Korean Reviews Reviews

Film Review: Shark: The Beginning (2021) by Chae Yeo-jun

"You can't be weak now."

Over the course of the last couple of years, we have seen many movies and read many novels, dealing with the subject of bullying, with Tetsuya Nakashima's “Confessions” and Lee Su-jin's “Han Gong-ju” being two of the perhaps most prominent examples. Given the focus on the social phenomenon, its victims and the repercussions for both sides, the ability to transform yourself into someone who can fight back, physically as well as emotionally, has become a pop-cultural trope. In their 2016 webtoon “Shark” writer Woon and illustrator Kim Woo-seob took this narrative as the foundation of a story about a character going through a transformation, searching for strength and eventually finding something completely different within himself.

” is screening at Florence Korea Film Festival

Ever since he became a student, Cha Woo-sol () has been the victim of bullies, and was even forced to change schools when the attacks became too much to handle. At his new school, he opts for what he perceives as the safest way to avoid being bullied: becoming invisible and evading those students who have become the self-elected leaders of the class. Eventually though, his days of being invisible are over when Bae Seok-chan (), one of his main tormentors at the old school, is introduced as a new student, with him wasting no time to quickly fight off the old bullies and continuing Cha's torture. When his victim suddenly fights backs, attacking him with a pen, Cha manages to be victorious over his bully, but ends up in juvenile prison since the attack cost Bae's his right eye.

In prison, Cha is quickly introduced to a new kind of pecking order, with the stronger inmates controlling everyday life and leading the various fractions inside. It does not take long, and he finds himself being the target of one of the most ruthless inmates after a misunderstanding during a soccer game in the prison yard. Desperate, he begs Jung Do-hyun (), a former MMA champion sentenced for the murder of his family, to train him, to which he reluctantly agrees. While he slowly gets stronger and can stand his own in a fight, a surprise visit from Bae gives him a taste of what is to come once he is back in the outside world. Craving for revenge, he promises Cha to make his life a living hell, motivating him even more to better his skills to have at least a fighting chance against Bae.

At its core, “Shark: The Beginning” is a story of transformation. Through the dedicated performance of Kim Min-suk, we witness the physical and emotional change of a young man fed up with being at the receiving end in a fistfight and being essentially powerless. The montage-sequences, strongly reminiscent of 80s action or martial arts-movies, emphasize the progress he is making in a way which is both visually nostalgic for cinephiles, but also captivating as you become invested in the story of the protagonist. Aside from Kim, Wi Ha-jon and especially Jung Won-chang deserve some credit for their performances, even though the latter could have used a bit more room to develop his character as he evolves into something resembling a comic-book villain (which could be due to the source material).

However, apart from the drama, “Shark: The Beginning” truly thrives when it comes to the fighting scenes themselves. Kim's aforementioned performance, the progress of his character, is linked to the development of his skills in a brawl. Each one of those battles, with the one against his former bully being the obvious finale, tells a story on its own, of losing and winning, of small steps to becoming someone else until some kind of transformation is reached. In combination with the performances, the blend of editing and cinematography creates a sense of tension in each of these scenes, highlighting the impact of each blow and kick.

In conclusion, “Shark: The Beginning” is an entertaining blend of drama and action. Due to its performances and the execution of the fight scenes, director manages to tell a captivating story of a former victim of bullying becoming a new person, the titular shark who will not stop moving and is ready to fight back.

About the author

Rouven Linnarz

Ever since I watched Takeshi Kitano's "Hana-Bi" for the first time (and many times after that) I have been a cinephile. While much can be said about the technical aspects of film, coming from a small town in Germany, I cherish the notion of art showing its audience something which one does normally avoid, neglect or is unable to see for many different reasons. Often the stories told in films have helped me understand, discover and connect to something new which is a concept I would like to convey in the way I talk and write about films. Thus, I try to include some info on the background of each film as well as a short analysis (without spoilers, of course), an approach which should reflect the context of a work of art no matter what genre, director or cast. In the end, I hope to pass on my joy of watching film and talking about it.

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