good back-story, and good acting

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I'd heard a lot about this film, so I was a little surprised by the overall tone, which I felt wasn't very realistic.The film follows a sub-commander-type gangster who starves under his immediate superior whilst he looks for the opportunity to prove the worth of himself and his men, as well as keep his actual family with a roof over their heads. That opportunity eventually arrives, but it leads to mistrust and dog learns to eat dog, which is about all I can say without ruining the plot.A lot of users here have commented on the acting being great - and it really is! The fights are excellent (even though most men would be dead if hit with a baseball bat repeatedly to their unprotected chest - NOT a spoiler), and the flow of the story comes naturally. Wow, what's not to love, right? Unfortunately, the film just cannot decide if it's a fanciful drama glamorising gangsters or a serious characterisation. The romance between the beautiful childhood friend and the lead lacks any kind of spark and it's not until the gangsters are scaring normal people out of their homes for the sake of their boss' stake in a housing development project that we realise they are actually supposed to be nasty people, which, until then, only seemed to be their opposition.Overall then, A Dirty Carnival is an enjoyable enough flick, but there are better gangster films in both the Asian and Western world and given that the director couldn't seem to decide in what light to make the film, it's impossible to rate it any higher.

If you are looking for more in a gangster film than just violence and fights then this is the film for you.This is a very well rounded film, in addition to some good scenes of violence, murder, betrayal and fights, there is a good splaterring of humour, family drama and a small bit of romance too.The film centres around a low level gangster who through hard work and various violent acts begins to rise through the ranks.One of the major messages of the film is about trust, friendship and betrayal.The acting and directing are all very good, without the need to go over the top due to the excellent pacing of the film and a very good storyline.Very highly recommended, the time to the end credits is just shy of 2H18, but it's well worth the time for the excellent twists and turns as the film goes on.

We got to see "A Dirty Carnival" at the Asian-American Film Festival here in San Francisco last week. The movie is truly amazing. The action sequences, the music, and the acting were all fantastic.I think In-Seong Jo (lead actor) will have a very long career in movies. He'd be perfect for Hollywood movies too. His performance in this role lead me to do some research on his other movies - I'll be renting/buying them soon.Hopefully, Hollywood will not try to re-make this film. It's perfect as is. American audiences are just going to have to get used to reading subtitles to see great movies.

Very realistic in tone but with the film makers perspective tacked on, this gangster flick doesn't take itself too seriously. It sure seems like it could be happening somewhere in Korea right now and that's what may be the gimmick that will hook you. Imagine a hungry, low level gangster on the rise and the murders and betrayals that go along with it. Throw in an old friend, who happens to be a scriptwriter, who picks the gangster's brain for authenticity for a script he is working on and there you go. After watching it a second time around, I was impressed by the portrayal of the Gangster Byung Doo. When he kills it kills him inside, when he fights he unleashes a fury and when he plots he is quietly cold. He is loyal to his boys to a fault; but those who stand in his way, no matter what their position or rank may be, better watch their backs. Watch the story of the gangster on the rise and then see the consequences unfold before your eyes. The clean cut killer has his day in the sun and his heart of gold is stained with blood. The backs he stabbed return to him in a "novel" way in this one, literally. "What goes around comes around," so they say. The fight scenes are chaotic and violent instead of ultra stylish. Pace is a little slow and of course there is the obligatory love interest and sad upbringing back story that tries to garner sympathy for the tragic anti-hero. "Running Wild(Ya-Soo)" is more intense a drama and "Bittersweet Life(Dalkoman Insaeng)" is better in the action department. Those two movies had me pumped throughout but this one required a bit more patience. This is more of a brooding type of film that comes at you with the unique angle of the film maker as an actual character who is pivotal to the story that unfolds.