The Villainess

  • 129'
  • South Korea
  • 2017

Korean filmmaker Jung Byunggil doesn’t waste time. In the first few minutes of The Villainess, his protagonist, Sookhee, does away with dozens of heavies in a kamikaze-like frenzy. It looks like a video game: we see the action through her eyes, see her hands pick up one weapon after another to carry out the bloodbath.

Sookhee is forced to join a secret team of hired killers in spite of just having given birth. In flashbacks, we see how she witnessed her father being murdered; since then, she has been out for revenge. It is the action scenes that particularly stand out in this story, thanks to dizzying camerawork and very clever editing. Fights and chase sequences never seem to be interrupted. Shots zoom through open windows, make deep plunging dives and pass beneath moving motorcycles. Marvelously intense.

  • 129'
  • South Korea
  • 2017
Director
Jung Byunggil
Country of production
South Korea
Year
2017
Festival Edition
IFFR 2018
Length
129'
Medium
DCP
Original title
Ak-nyeo
Language
Korean
Producer
Jung Byung-gil
Production Company
Apeitda
Sales
Contents Panda
Screenplay
Jung Byunggil, Jung Byeongsik
Cinematography
Park Junghun
Editor
Heo Sunmi
Production Design
Kim Heejin
Sound Design
Lee Ingyu, Sung Yoonyong
Music
Koo Jawan
Cast
Kim Okvin, Shin Hakyun, Bang Sungjun, Kim Seohyung
Local Distributor
Splendid Film
Director
Jung Byunggil
Country of production
South Korea
Year
2017
Festival Edition
IFFR 2018
Length
129'
Medium
DCP
Original title
Ak-nyeo
Language
Korean
Producer
Jung Byung-gil
Production Company
Apeitda
Sales
Contents Panda
Screenplay
Jung Byunggil, Jung Byeongsik
Cinematography
Park Junghun
Editor
Heo Sunmi
Production Design
Kim Heejin
Sound Design
Lee Ingyu, Sung Yoonyong
Music
Koo Jawan
Cast
Kim Okvin, Shin Hakyun, Bang Sungjun, Kim Seohyung
Local Distributor
Splendid Film