The Big Smoke

AKA Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom

Director Ki-duk Kim Cast Yeong-su Oh, Ki-duk Kim, Young-min Kim

Usually I really fucking hate overly visual movies. I'm not talking about action movies, or special effects movies. But, like, these movies that are really atmospheric and tell the whole stories through visuals? They usually try to be really high-culture... I dunno, they're ok, but there are too fucking many of them.

But this one rocks. For one, the visuals are genuinely good, and don't seem forced. For two, the writer/director isn't a stupid pretentious fuck. His movies before this were violent and sick, not like this. Ki Duk-Kim isn't trying to make his name as the genius of geniusdom, he's just trying to make good movies, and it shows. And damn is it good. I was glued to the screen the whole fucking way. Usually after ten minutes of this kind of film I fucking turn it off.

Word of warning to you Teen Angstheists out there. I've used StumbleUpon long enough to know there's a whole bunch of bitter psycho teenagers out there who grit their teeth at any passing reference to religion and go to Atheist Alliance and No Beliefs and blame religious people for all the problems in the universe. For example, zits and not being popular in school.

Listen, bitchy Atheists: No one cares what you don't believe. And you don't have to justify not believing in something. Plus, vocally expressing your constant disdain for every religious person on earth is the dumbfuckest way to end the intolerance that you insist religion causes.

This is a Buddhist movie through and through, and if that makes you fucking cry, don't fucking watch it. If you really want me to care about your beliefs, make a good non-preachy movie about it. That's what Ki Duk-Kim did, and I'm starting to like Buddhists a lot more than *cutcut* loudmouthed atheists.

I give this movie six stars out of five, out of spite:

/ five