The 2nd striking feature I have seen by maverick Korean auteur, Kim Ki-duk certainly proved no less abrasively intriguing than 'Bad Guy'. 'Real Fiction' is a fascinatingly twisted downward spiralling drama about a beleaguered street artist Na (Ju Jin-mo). A docile, morose, interior dwelling individual whose bruising altercations with violent street thugs, and mocking, abusive customers have become distressingly frequent events. After a skewed encounter with a strange, near-silent camcorder woman, the once docile artist snaps, his long-simmering humiliations fatefully boiling into incandescent rage!
Na relentlessly tracks down his oppressors, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the catalyst for his brutal catharsis has been secretly filming Na's increasingly grisly acts of bloody retribution! While gifted writer/director, Kim Ki-duk's 'Real Fiction' plays out in real-time, nervily captured with a jerky, pseudo-documentary style realism, it also maintains a surreal, deliciously off-key atmosphere. There are unsettling interludes when his desperately dismal world seems positively unreal! 'Real Fiction' exudes a palpably malign energy, not quite a fully fledged fever dream, but one observes life through a wickedly warped lens. Not the easiest of viewings, but I don't believe that's what the director intended Real Fiction to be, and I rewardingly pondered upon this singularly warped narrative long after the credits rolled. The performances were truly exemplary across the board, and I really enjoyed the intense score by, Jeon Sang-yun which, for me at least, disturbingly recalled the similarly strident soundtrack to, Jorg Buttgereit's Nekromantik!
