The protagonist, Lee Kang-do, is a loner working as an enforcer
who collects dues for a loan shark from meek borrowers. He is incredibly
ruthless and cruel in collecting his dues and appears to have no compunction
whatsoever towards the plight of his several hapless victims who are at the
receiving end of his severe punishments when they fail to pay up.
One day, a middle-aged woman enters his life claiming to be his
mother who had abandoned him some thirty years ago. Despite several (some very
disturbing) attempts by him to shake her off, she stubbornly &
resolutely sticks around till she wins him over.
He becomes a changed man as her maternal love (which he'd yearned
for all his life) transforms his cold, cruel & ruthless persona to
someone who could be loving, sensitive and even compassionate. The rest of the
movie is the effect of this transformation on his life which I wouldn't want to
elaborate for it would providing spoilers..
Halfway through the movie, a visibly confounded Lee raises a
question "What is money ?" She replies that "It is the beginning and the end
of all things: love, honour, violence, fury, hatred, jealousy, revenge, death."
Acted competently by both the leads, this is a remarkable movie on
crime & punishment at their cruelest.. In equal measures, grim, violent
& deeply disturbing (definitely not for the faint of heart -
Compliance, may feel like The Lion King), this movie is also an effective study
of the human psyche and remains with you long after you've watched it.
Thanks Banu Prakash for
the suggestion.. Much appreciated !
