Once Upon A Time In High School (DVD)

...one of the seniors. However, once he becomes friends with fellow martial arts fans 'Hamburger' and Kim Woo-sik, his school days become much more fun - to the extent that his grades begin to drop, much to the fury of his father, who has very high expectations. When the boys rescue Eun-Ju from bullies on the bus, Hyun-soo immediately falls for her and is devastated when she starts going out with Woo-sik. But Woo-sik is a bully himself and it is only ...
...Hyun-soo be able to win his girl and stay friends with Woo-sik?

This is one of those films that I came upon by accident - it was recommended to me by Tesco.com after I had rented a series of Korean horror films and I expected this to be similar. It is, however, not at all the same. Nor is it a soppy high school, boy meets girl story. It is very much the story of a young boy growing up in an incredibly militarised school system; how ... more

Hyun-soo, a shy schoolboy, is understandably dreading his first day at a new school, and his worst fears become reality when he is bullied by one of the seniors. However, once he becomes friends with fellow martial arts fans 'Hamburger' and Kim Woo-sik, his school days become much more fun - to the extent that his grades begin to drop, much to the fury of his father, who has very high expectations. When the boys rescue Eun-Ju from bullies on the bus, Hyun-soo immediately falls for her and is devastated when she starts going out with Woo-sik. But Woo-sik is a bully himself and it is only a matter of time before he breaks Eun-Ju's heart. Will Hyun-soo be able to win his girl and stay friends with Woo-sik?

This is one of those films that I came upon by accident - it was recommended to me by Tesco.com after I had rented a series of Korean horror films and I expected this to be similar. It is, however, not at all the same. Nor is it a soppy high school, boy meets girl story. It is very much the story of a young boy growing up in an incredibly militarised school system; how he copes with being bullied and undermined by his friends. It is also the story of an underdog facing up to his problems and trying to put them right and it is because of this element that I think many will enjoy this film.

Sang-woo Kwone (spelling according to imdb.com - not convinced it's right) is outstanding as Hyun-soo. Perhaps because I was shy at school and was bullied, I could really understand how Hyun-soo felt and I thought he gave a thoroughly convincing performance without being too wet. His unrequited love affair is painful to watch, because I so desperately wanted him to win Eun-Ju over, but could completely understand why he wasn't more forceful. And for the girls (and some guys), he looks absolutely gorgeous without his shirt on. Wow.

Also good were his classmates, Hamburger and Woo-sik, played by Hyo-Jun Park and Jeong-Kom Lee respectively. Hamburger is a Tucker-like character - not really good-looking, but game for a laugh at any cost. His softer side is shown when he is constantly teased by his so-called friend, Woo-sik, to the point that he snaps. Again, this is a really sensitive performance by someone who doesn't look as if he's old enough to understand sensitivity. Woo-sik is a bully, good at martial arts, and although he will do anything for his friends, he expects them to bow and scrape to him. Lee is rather scarily good in the role - he certainly convinced me that I wouldn't want to know him.

Although the film was made in 2004, it is set in South Korea in 1978, and as such, the setting is rather bland and colourless, reminding me very much of Beijing in the early 1990s. The schoolchildren are all dressed in a military-style uniform, the buses look old and rusty and walls of the school are painted half in cream and half in a hideous green colour. For the uninitiated, this may be a disadvantage - we are so used to colour in films these days - but personally, I found it a fascinating insight into a country I don't know all that much about.

There is a lot of violence in the film. Although it is not exactly a martial arts film, there is a lot of fighting shown between the boys and some of it is not nice. I have to say it looks extremely realistic and I would like to know how many of the actors were really injured. So, if violence is not your thing, stay clear.

This is a Korean film and is naturally subtitled. This doesn't put me off in the least - I love listening to the Korean language (although I don't understand it), the subtitles are really good and clear and I had no problem reading them while still being able to concentrate on what was going on. Obviously, if you really dislike subtitles, you won't like this, but I would really recommend people looking past the subtitles, because it really is worth it.

This is definitely not a mainstream film - it isn't full of Hollywood happy endings and, despite the fighting, it isn't really an action film either. I would also say that it is not particularly aimed at high school students although it is set in a high school - I think there is something in it for everyone - we all remember being in high school and the trials and tribulations that it involved and I think it is worth looking past the fact that it is not made in Hollywood and not even in English to watch it. The ending does not tie up all the ends, but I like it for this - it really is so much more realistic than most of the yucky American high school films out there.

This film surprised me - it is a lot better than I expected, and I think it is a shame that it is not better known. If you get the chance to see it, I would jump at it. Recommended.

The DVD is available from play.com for £5.99.

Classification: 15

Running time: 116 minutes 

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