Aimless Bullet
오발탄
Aimless Bullet is Yu Hyun-mok’s most exemplary work and a key piece of Korean realist cinema. The film captures the collective anxiety of post-war Korea through clerk Cheol-ho and his family. A commercial failure upon its initial release, it was soon banned by the military government, finally receiving its due recognition when presented at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1963. Since then the film has gained legendary status in Korea as a classic awaiting rediscovery.
Cheol-ho and his family are trapped in the prison of a powerful, unyielding social structure. He is a tortured soul and often ends up wandering around the streets of Seoul late at night. We witness him singing the popular ballad Sa-ui Chanmi (Praise of Death) to himself and this epitomises the feeling of self-hatred and hopelessness that has been central to Korean society since the Japanese occupation instituted a culture of domination and exploitation. Aimless Bullet is not simply an anti-war film; rather it extends to the wider context of human existence in all its chaotic glory. (KKH)
Director: Yu Hyun-Mok
Writer: Lee Jong-Gi, Lee I-Ryeong
Producer: Kim Seong-Chun
Cast: Kim Jin-Kyu, Choi Moo-Ryong, Seo Ae-Ja, Kim Hye-Jeong
Production Company: Daehan Films CO., LTD
Rights Holder: Korean Film Archive
Drama / 1961 / 112 min / CERT. 18 / B&W / DCP / Original Format: 35mm
Selected Filmography
Rainy Days (1979)
Flame (1975)
I Want to Be Human (1969)
School Excursion (1969)
Nightmare (1968)
Descendants of Cain (1968)
The Guests of the Last Train (1967)
The Sun Rises Again (1966)
The Empty Dream (1965)
The Daughters of Kim's Pharmacy (1963)
Only for You (1962)
Even the Clouds are Drifting (1959)
Forever with You (1958)
