Hwayi only entered in my radar because it got some awards etc. And I have only glanced at the plot not really caring for it. But purchased it anyway (as one does) and I'm very glad that I did.
First of all, this film surprised me with its story. As one ages, it is rather hard to come across a story that will interest you as if you were in your twenties. And this film did. Ok Spoilers:
Hwayi (Yeo Jin Gu) is a boy kidnapped and then raised by 5 pyschopath criminals. How did that happen? The ransom exchange went bad. And they were stuck with the kid. So they decided to raise him. And he is now a teenager (maybe high school sophomore or senior) and he is not only smart but also talented in painting (or drawing more like). And he is a thoughtful boy although well adapted to his pscyho dads' life style.
The five criminals are all interesting with the leader (Kim Yoon Seok - and he is some of my favorite S.Korean films The Chaser, The Thieves) being especially evil. There is one gun maniac and another knife maniac who was really truly scary. There is the expert driver who stutters and not socially adaptable as the rest and there is the smart one (oddly he is not the leader) whose is evil is more hidden than the rest. When the kid is kidnapped there was also a woman there with chains on her ankles.
So these guys are a gang of law breakers committing lots of various crimes, robbery, murder, kidnapping etc. They are very rich and their cover is operating a green house for various potted plants. The have a contact in the police department and get along well with other criminal gangs (whether organised crime or not). So one day the policeman brings them an offer to murder an old couple who refuse to vacate their homes and theirs is the only one left in the neighbourhood planned for redevelopment. The usual methods didn't work because not only the couple is rich, they also have influence. And the police take the threats made at them serious. So as a last resort the redeveloper (a gangster pretending to be a legit businessman) decides to hire killers who will act as a robbery gone wrong. They decide to accept the gig and include Hwayi too.
Well the couple and the reason they refuse to vacate the house is heartbreaking and Hwayi has an even tougher road ahead.
The film is not a melodrama (thought it may have been) and I didn't cry during (and I don't I meant to). Everything looks realistic and it was bloody, gory but not cartoonish.
Recommended if one is not squeamish.
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