A bit of a goofy movie here that supposedly explores the relationship of the Korean People to G.I.'s when the Korean War was going on, but it's all a bit too melodramatic, goofy and over the top to ever take seriously. A motley of Korean lower-class decrepit people try to get by on what they have, one of them harvests dog meat, a kid is ostracized because he's half Black, another has eye problems etc. It's somewhat interesting, maybe a tad overacted, but that all is forgiven when an actor billed as Mitch Mahlum screeches everything to a halt with his performance as a GI who falls in love with the girl with eye problems. He is just SO BAD. I can understand Asian directors maybe having difficulty with American actors because of the language barriers, but Mahlum just fails in all aspects, line delivery, mannerisms, and just EVERYTHING. Just horrible. But funny bad horrible. Yay!

Disclaimer: I'm a fan of Kim Ki-duk. I liked 3-Iron, Time, The Bow, The Isle, and Spring Summer Fall Winter Spring. The Coast Guard was just okay, but I thought Bad Guy was vile and repulsive. That said, this film is hands down Kim's worst.Kim Ki-duk directs this dreadful drama which showcases a bunch of grumpy people acting stupid amidst a lunatic squad of American soldiers. The sheer artificiality of each scene in this 117-minute debacle is unparalleled by any other work I can remember experiencing. Almost every line of dialogue and every character action is handled with a silliness that needs to be seen to be believed. Thus, a large percentage of events come off as unintentionally comical. I now cite the following evidence: (1) A dude gets depressed, then kills himself by riding a scooter off of a very, very small hill, thus burying half his body in mud.(2) A group of poorly acted Americans curse angrily at each other during a pick-up basketball game. The viewer will note that the tussle begins for no apparent reason. The soldiers then overreact in the most artificial ways imaginable. In addition, the most "insightful" dialogue is nothing more than an endless series of 4-letter words.(3) The most outrageous C-rate American actor in the movie (and that's saying something!) contributes about half a dozen cameos of side-splitting idiocy throughout the film, providing the only true entertainment. The actor's name is Mitch Malum – and yes, even his name is funny. In one awful cinematic moment, Mitch slaps his Korean girlfriend in an effort to show her how he feels, then randomly confesses that he takes LSD to get away from the mountains of Korea. Unfortunately, the real reason he slapped her was because she wouldn't take a hit of LSD. So the question remains: how did he make the jump from LSD to mountains to romantic feelings? It makes no logical sense whatsoever.(4) Later on Mitch Malum (I love saying that) scares off a Korean kid, only to then mistakenly hit his head on a doorframe. Kim Ki-duk apparently didn't feel like shooting a re-take of that scene; and with good ole Mitch at the helm, could you really blame him? (5) Afterward, Mitch is training with his comrades and randomly decides to quit in the middle of a training sequence. His remarkable insightfulness contributes lines of incoherent nothingness. Picturing Mitch acting hysterically with a crooked helmet on his head just gets me.(6) Eventually, Mitch's bad temper provokes an arrow shot to his groin! His response to this (after a brief uncomfortable grunt) is to shoot his pistol in the air a few times, walk into the middle of the street, wait for a group of Korean cops and citizens to walk up to him, shoot the remaining bullets of his gun into the air, limp gingerly into the field, kneel down, act hysterically, then attempt to shoot himself with the very pistol HE JUST EMPTIED! (I literally had to stop the film for 15 minutes as I gasped for air in gut-wrenching laughter.) Now add a handful of other inadvertently humorous moments to the ones above, as well as the following stupid moments: (1) Dogs are beaten and killed constantly throughout the film (not for real, thankfully).(2) A highschool girl gets a cute little puppy, slips into a nightgown and forces it to "eat out" between her legs! Like I mentioned earlier, I like Kim Ki-duk, but he should be humiliated to be associated with such a horrible film like Address Unknown. This is truly a pathetic display of film-making that earns a special place as one of the most unintentionally riotous endeavors in motion picture history.One other reviewer's comment is entitled "Not one to watch if you want cheering up." I couldn't disagree more vehemently. This was the funniest film I've seen in years. Highly recommended as comedy. Stay far away if you're looking for drama though.

Not unlike the Oscar Wilde play from which my "One Line Summary" for this comment is co-opted the director of `Address Unknown' requires his audience to think. In all of the Kim Ki-duk films I have seen (The Isle, Address Unknown, Bad Guy) what lies on the surface differs greatly from what lies beneath it. He is working in a language of metaphor and allegory with characters that range from caricature to archetype to fodder. By fodder I mean they are impenetrable and near impossible to empathize/sympathize with for the sole reason that emotional attachment is not the director's intention. He is creating a fictional world made to comment on the world we live in.By exploring the eclectic residents of an isolated South Korean village in close proximity to an American military base Ki-duk is dealing with a number of issues such as globalization (the base, the bullies who moved to America), language (the theme of English, the comic interlude of the Playboy translation), gender (obvious), race (obvious), history (that family whose father turned out to be a traitor, the constant references to the past from the veterans), tradition (the archery), relationships (Korean girl and U.S. solider), war (obvious) and violence (obvious). The bleak, violent, at times repulsive world the film takes place in is so over-the-top that the audience can't help but think that it is just a means to an end.In films like `The Isle' and `The Bad Guy' the black humour and sarcasm are more evident. `Address Unknown' is a tad more subtle but there are more than enough hints to indicate the film should not be taken at face value. An excellent example is the constant, almost laughable violence.Kim Ki-duk is one of a handful of directors striving to create intelligent cinema that is accessible as well. The East is bursting at the seams with talent and I really hope it starts to get the recognition it deserves.

I love this movie! OK, it's horrible, it's disgusting, watching it mademe sick...and saying that I experienced physical pain is not a lie.There is no happiness in this film. Everyone is depressed andeveryone has difficult problems to deal with, and those problemsdon't get solved, but rather get worse during the film. But this iswhy I love it! A film that can give you such strong feelings, even ifthe strong feelings are depression and pain, is a GOOD film!Might be good to see this if you think YOU have problems. =)