This was quite a moving film for me. I watched it starting at midnight lying in bed from a laptop sitting on my belly, and I was riveted throughout the 140 minutes. That's how engaging it was. It is one of those well directed realistic slice-of-life movies that depict flawed human beings and how their desires, ambitions, and inner demons combine with the forces around them to create a fateful drama that is tragic, ironic, or otherwise very moving. For me, this kind of real life stories, if done right, have so much greater impact than the fantasy movies. You are indirectly but in a very powerful way experiencing a fundamental facet of this life, while peeking into the souls of your fellow humans.
Villain deals with the concept of good and evil, love and all the intricate workings in peoples' fate it entails, and the flaws and limitations in all of us. Blown away by the film, I also read the book. My conclusion is that the movie is better than the book. Sang Il Lee created a wonderful work out of a novel that is good but not earth-shattering.
I was a bit disappointed with the final turn of events toward the end, but it's still a quiet, heavy impact story. And the final scene of the two protagonists gazing at the rising sun with tears in their eyes is one of the best scenes I've seen all my life. All in all, it's a great experience. I recommend it to anyone, especially those who love realistic, moving films.
