KICK THE MOON

Country: South Korea
Release Year: 2001
Genre: Comedy
Language: Korean
Runtime: 118 minutes

[Cast]
Sung-Jae Lee
Seong-Won Cha
Hye-Su Kim
Jong-Su Lee

[Director]
Sang-Jin Kim



Kim Sang-jin has got to be one of the finest Korean Directors to come along . His movies are so full of variety one cannot simply just enjoy his movies by just one sitting.

His movies just like "Attack The Gas Station", are filled with so many different and interesting characters which makes his movies itself like doorways to other dimensions, earthly dimensions that is because his characters also deals with everyday ups and downs just like everyone else in this world. Which is a good thing, because then it helps the viewers identify, and relate to the characters on screen.

The movie centers around two very different people who by chance on that one strange, and faithful night. During a simple high school gathering, was suddenly attacked by a rival high school. Gangsan High who is lead by a young Gi dong-choi, the leader of the Gangsan gang and one of the two main characters leads the charge for the honor of his school.

While a big brawl is happening, a young nerd, Young-joon and who is also the second of the two main characters, and who idolizes Gi dong-choi watches as his hero battle the rival high school of what became the legendary brawl of Gangsan High. It's also the night that will change the lives of these two teenage boys forever.

Fast forward 20 years later. an older, Gi dong-choi (played by Cha Seung-won) now a respected high shcool gym teacher who disciplines his students like an army General suddenly meets up with Young-joon (played with a suave performance by Lee Sung-jae*Attack the Gas Station) who is now a very high ranking officer of the Korean Mafia, who was sent by his superior to take over his hometown 'Gyeounju. Suddenly find themselves competing against each other for the affection of Ju-ran (played hilariously by Kim Hae-soo) a spunky, outgoing very attractive sister of one of Gi dong's students, and the owner of a local noodle house.

Enter: hilarious mix ups, madcap pranks, hilarious and painful disciplines, a variety of consequences one may get if they are caught fighting, and again, hilarious multiple back stabbings, like 'Attack the gas station, you will meet a variety of different and interesting characters, even more so than Attack the gas station, truly a delight!

As for the technicalities of the movie the acting is superb, the cast is perfect, the production values are obviously high, the setting and locale is spectacular, the costume design is marvelous, soundtrack is perfect and most importantly the plot, script, writing, is a work of art of its own. Even after multiple viewing, I still cannot find any bad points about the movie. There's just simply so many different flavors in the movie that nothing but good points can be said.

Kim Sang-jin is truly a director to watch out for. His knack for directing, and storytelling is like none-other I've ever seen, and or witnessed before by other directors. His remarkable artistry of directing different characters, mixing up different interesting situations, his awesome comedic taste for hilariousness, and his simple almost quiet touch of formula in his films that tugs at the heart of every viewer is without a doubt must be felt to be believed.

Kick The Moon, will certainly be enjoyed by everyone, by any age that's mature enough to understand the story and humor, and the emotions being acted by the many characters in the movie. Kick The Moon is a solid piece of a movie, filled with wit, hilarious attitude, masterful storytelling, and flawless execution. Another Kim Sang-jin classic.