Confession: I've never seen the work of South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, which despite his acclaim on the international film festival circuit has seldom been screened in Milwaukee. I'm intrigued, however, after reading the critical analysis in Hye Seung Chung's compact study, <em>Kim Ki-duk</em> (published by University of Illinois Press). Unlike altogether too many academic film scholars, Hye writes lucidly and beautifully; his sentences can easily be unpacked for their meaning, which is profoundly suggestive. While Kim's films are controversial for their violence, Hye argues against consigning them to the dubious “Extreme Asian” category (a marketing label that ignores all cultural distinctions within East Asia) or dismissing them as the pornography of violence and misogyny. While Kim's films seldom carry an explicit political message, Hye believes they represent authentic lower class resentments and even the possibility of transcendence.
