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, un petit résumé impressions, commentaires de Darcy Paquet (koreanfilm.org)
Towards the end of June, as Koreans revelled in the unexpected success of its World Cup soccer team, a film was released which brought viewers back to another of Korea's most famous sports moments, this one far more tragic. Champion tells the true story of Kim Deuk-gu, a poor man from the countryside who took up boxing and became one of the world's elite fighters. In 1982, after winning fame in the ring and marrying his first love, Kim travelled to Las Vegas to fight Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, the reigning lightweight champion of the world. After 14 intense rounds in which Kim refused to give in, he fell into a coma from which he would never wake, changing the sport of boxing forever and throwing a nation into shock.
Champion Director Kwak Kyung-taek, the man who created Korea's best-selling movie ever Friend, was a teenager when he saw this fight on TV. Like many Koreans who lived through that era, the event left a strong impression on him, and years later he decided to make a film in memory of Kim's determination and courage. "That was during an era when Korea was trying desperately to escape the poverty of the 60s and 70s, to cast off our reputation as a third world country," Kwak says. "For Koreans who remember him, Kim represents the last image of that generation and their hunger to succeed."
Most everyone in Korea already knows this story, so the drama surrounding the film's release centered not on how it would end, but rather how it would be told. The end result surprised a lot of viewers. Much less commercial than Friend, Champion seems to go out of its way to de-emphasize the boxing elements. The match's hold on the Korean populace is also represented in only a few scenes which suggest, rather than show, the event's historical importance. More than anything, Kwak focuses on personal aspects of the story: Kim's character, the bleakness of his life before boxing, and the heartbreaking impact of that final match on his family (Kim's mother later committed suicide, though this is left out of the film).
Kim is portrayed masterfully by Yoo Oh-sung, one of Korea's top actors who last starred in the film Friend. Apart from the physical transformation required for the role, which entailed months of intense bodybuilding, Yoo gives an emotional anchor to the story's at-times conflicting moods. Newcomer Chae Min-suh is also impressive as Kim's wife, in her first-ever acting experience.
Partly due to Friend, nostalgia for the 70s and early 80s is becoming a staple of recent Korean cinema. However, the portrayal of this era that Champion gives us is a far more sobering experience. It seems ironic that such a downbeat film should premiere just when the nation is feeling so optimistic, but Champion is a poignant reminder of how much has changed in Korea since 1982.
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