A Man’s Story - 2009 - 7/10
AKA - The Slingshot // Namja-I-Yaki // 남자이야기
K-drama squarely in the revenge genre.
Unlike Western vengeance that revels in payback and blood satisfaction, this studies the consequences of revenge.
The corrosion of the soul, and unhappiness that wounds friends and strangers.
Cha Do Woo, trying to acquire a competitor, destroys dozens of smaller companies. Collateral damage.
Kim Shin’s brother loses all. Business, money, respect, finally his life.
Kim vows to destroy the man responsible.
If that means going to prison, if that means joining with gangsters, if that means stealing … so be it.
The rich playboy, Cha Do Woo, is a marvelous villain.
A poised, polished sociopath, who regards 95% of humanity as dirt.
He has an easy time in early episodes, yet as stakes mount, ethics plummet.
Obstacles must be crushed in pursuit of his grandiose scheme.
Both opponents analyze and exploit the weakness of each other.
Very much a chess match played across boardrooms and stock exchange.
Limited weeping - hooray. Clever plotting throughout, the end stitches a few threads, leaves a few unresolved.
Yong-ha Park (Kim Shin) was on a meteoric ascent with this, his final work before his suicide.