A Dirty Carnival (2006/Genius DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Film: C+

 

 

Some of the most interesting import films of late have been coming from South Korea, but there is always the danger they will try to go Hollywood and ruin a good thing.  Yoo Ha’s A Dirty Carnival (2006) wants to be a Gangster film of some distinction, but it never works out, despite some ambition and effort.

 

For one thing, the story is everything we have seen before, with only the locations new.  Two, the lack of character development hurts this more than many films of its kind.  Three, the fight scenes are unintentional howlers, where all they do in gangs is hit each other with lead pipes, aluminum baseball bats, big wooden sticks and here and there, someone stabs someone else with a knife.  And this is every fight scene.  There is a good story to be told somewhere here, but the film drowns in its problems and the result is simply muddled.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is slightly soft, but consistent enough to enjoy despite this.  A Blu-ray comparison would be interesting.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix has a good soundfield, especially where the fighting and music are concerned, but dialogue is not always as consistent.  The only extras are a making of featurette and deleted scenes.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo