Im punches corrupt older generation

Actress Go Joon-hee plays a role of a tow truck driver Na-mi in “Intimate Enemies” directed by Im Sang-soo. / Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Director Im Sang-soo / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Intended or not, director Im Sang-soo has been involved in controversy for directing films that shed light on social injustices in Korea.

From his directional debut film “Girls’ Night Out” in 1998, which brought sexual dialogue among women to the fore when the country was very cautious of this kind of issue, the director has made an audacious approach to social irregularities — runaway teenagers in “Tears” (2000), the dysfunctional family system in “A Good Lawyer’s Wife” (2003) and disturbing portraits of upper class people in “The Housemaid” (2010) and “The Taste of Money” (2012).

In his new film “Intimate Enemies,” the inquisitive director depicts youngsters who seek revenge on a corrupt older generation.

“The previous films I have directed were for elders. I think the younger generation feels helpless in not being able to pursue their dream, so I directed a movie for them to enjoy,” Im told reporters at a press preview of the film at a theater in Wangsimni, Wednesday.

Being produced and funded by 20th Century Fox, the film follows four youngsters who find bags full of cash at a car crash site and decide to pocket the money that is actually a slush fund of a conglomerate president. But when one of them is later caught by the corporate chief and brutally assaulted, they seek revenge.

Different his previous work, “Intimate Enemies,” starring actor Ryoo Seung-bum and actress Go Joon-hee, fills the big screen with fast-moving action scenes.

“I am a great fan of action films but I haven’t tried many action scenes in my previous movies. I don’t want this film to be called as a full action movie, but I want to say I’ve tried to concentrate on making this film more enjoyable,” Im said.

Surprisingly, Im makes the actress Go the central axis of the film, and not the veteran actor Ryoo who has taken leading roles in many films such as “Conduct Zero” (2002), “Crying Fist” (2004), “The Unjust” (2010) and “The Berlin File” (2012).

With a dangerous glint in her eye, Go is far from scrawny in the film. Playing the role of a tow truck driver Na-mi, she leads her group comprised of Ji-nu (played by Ryoo), an intern at a state-run company, an African worker called Yakubu (Sam Okyere) and his Korean wife Jung-sook (Ryu Hyun-kyung), and later plays a pivotal part when her crew decide to seek revenge.

Another difference from Im’s previous work comes with the sex scenes, which are a considerable element of his films.

Im adapted a bedroom scene between a housewife and a high school boy in “A Good Lawyer’s Wife” to deal with a decades old law banning adultery in 2003, and he has used explicit sex scenes in order to make social taboos a subject for discussion.

In "Intimate Enemies," the love scenes between Na-mi and Ji-nu are led by Na-mi.

“The relationship between them is what I intended. I wish men would be more supportive to women. When shooting the film, I talked a lot with Ryoo about this and I think we found an ideal man,” Im added.

“Intimate Enemies” will screen nationwide from June 25.