If I Had a Heart (2013) User Reviews

Feels Like A Segment To A Feature

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 6 March 2014]

Off the top of my head I can only name one South Korean movie that I've seen and that is OLD BOY which I found painfully overrated and isn't a film I instinctively feel belongs in the top 250 list on IMDb . I need to check if it's merely coincidence or if indeed South Korea is home to the neo-noir / revenge thriller because this short film is very much in the same vein while at the same time having an identity of its own

It's very gritty and violent , so much so that it eventually ends up becoming rather depressing . The main character Sam was abandoned by his mother as a baby and now works as an underground bare knuckle fighter , an underground that is corrupt and leads to confrontation with the mob bosses ruling it . There is a very strong existentialist feel to the short as the protagonist uses his illegal career to give his life purpose while the visual style of the film ties in with the subtext in being very dark and gloomy . Where IF I HAD A HEART fails to a large extent is that it isn't self contained and feels like a pre title segment to a feature length film . I do have to confess my much prefer shorts to be stand alone self contained stories

Tense, dark & thrilling short

[jpmw13 · 9/10 · 8 October 2013]

Tense, dark & thrilling short. Great settings, sinister storyline, perfectly poetic script and an awesome score.

So glad I came across this. Really gives a good outlook of Korean film.

Shorts like this make the future of world cinema a healthy an exciting one.

Looking forward to more from this directing duo. This was obviously shot very well on a minimal budget, just think what could be done with a big budget.

Recommended!

Josh

Effectively stylish delivery of a mini-revenge film in the S. Korean style, with the focus on bleak nothingness and death

[bob the moo · 23 February 2014]

Sam Il was abandoned in a train station locker as a baby, with just a note from his mother with bleak truths about life. His life has been a void and with nothing to live for he drives forward relentlessly into the underground world of brutal bare-knuckle pit fighting.

There is a plot here but as it is a short film it is very condensed and really we spend the first half of the film setting up the character, since it is very much about him and not just what ultimately happens in the film (although the two are impossible to separate). What we get with this short is a mini-version of the violently bleak revenge movies which are a well-known part of South Korean cinema. Although this short is directed by two British brothers, they have captured the bleakness and neo-noir qualities of the films very well, although it is possible to say that they do not bring any personal baggage to the revenge and death themes but are rather spraying on a surface. This is sort of the case but the aesthetics run deep and the neon lit nilihism and bleakness is through the look, the soundtrack, the characters and the lives here and it works.

The cinematography is mostly good although it is visually very dark indeed, which is fine but sometimes the focal points could have done with more clarity – although in fairness I watched it the first time in a well-lit room, it was better when watched in a dark room. It is all about the style and on this level it works very well indeed, with a bleak character matching the tone and making for a compelling story because of just how noir and headed to nothingness it all is.