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Audio Format: DD 5.1 Surround, DTS Video Format: Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) Languages: Korean Subtitles: English, Korean(3) Region Code: 3 Year Made: 2003 Running Time: 102
![](http://st17.flashecom.com/dvdasian/synopsis_img/16242.4.jpg") Kwak Kyoung-taek, a director known for brooding and melancholy tales like the box-office hit ``Friend" and last yea'?s ``Champion" returns with ``Ddonggae (Mutt Boy)" a comical story about lovable losers in a small Kyongsang Province town.
Ddonggae, a slang meaning mutt or mongrel in Korean, is what everyone calls Chol-min (Jung Woo-sung), a charming slacker of a character who sometimes doesn't seem like he's quite all there. With his sleepy eyes and wild hair, Ddonggae wanders around town like a sulky hound dog in search of his master.
He might seem a bit slow, but there's one thing Ddonggae does better than anyone around. Like a superhero who doesn??t seem quite aware of the powers he possesses, Ddonggae transforms into a lightning-quick fighter when threatened. Our hero is soon joined by other warriors/losers of the neighborhood, to form a parallel-universe Justice League.
The premise may sound like that of the run-of-the-mill gangster comedy, but the film is more complex than that. Though full of laugh-out-loud funny scenes, the humor never feels overly cardboard or slapstick. And the use of the Kyongsang Province dialect and slang, exploited for easy laughs in other comedies, feels real in the hands of Kwak, a Pusan native.
At its best, the film creatively combines a rural slice-of-life tale and an abject action adventure. There's also a genuine warmth to the film, especially in its portrayal of life in the small town, and the relationship of Ddonggae and with his family: his widowed father, the town's police chief (Kim Kab-su), and Jong-ae (Um Ji-won), a young orphan taken in by his father.
As the main character, Jung, who is considered one of the best-looking leading men in local cinema, takes a refreshing leap from his usual angst-driven roles. Learning to speak in a Kyongsang province accent for the part, Jung does an admirable job bringing the slow talking, slow thinking Ddonggae to life.
 Who would have ever imagined that hordes of Korean schoolgirls would be jumping out of their skirts with excitement at director Kwak Kyung-taek`s latest manly opus? Yet it was the wild and giggly case at an advanced screening of the new film "Mutt Boy" opening today.
The film features Korean heartthrob and television commercial fixture Jung Woo-sung in the title role, trying to seem like a real actor by not looking as good as usual. He grows his hair into a shaggy mess and contorts his face to prove that he isn`t just a Giordano-wearing model of lobotomized happiness.
Jung can still swing a mean fist though (the other characters are bound by the script to lose to him again) just like he could in "Beat" and "There Is No Sun," the Kim Sung-su directed teen flicks that burnished his rebellious image.
Now he`s more of a tall and lean Forrest Gump, confronting bullies in the gimchi-powered Korean fashion instead of running away. You can almost hear the huddles of would-be Jennies playing hooky in the audience whispering under their breaths, "Fight, mutt boy, fight!"
Once you get past all of these distractions, however, "Mutt Boy" is essentially an enjoyable frivolity for almost every demographic. Credit the agreeably mainstream touch of Kwak, who has turned himself into a Korean Steven Spielberg of sorts with a knack for producing entertainment that flits around the surface of the brain without taxing it too much.
In the film, mutt boy (Jung Woo-sung) lives contentedly with his mutt dog until a horrific prank by neighborhood thugs makes a tasty summer stew out of the latter and a high school dropout out of the former. His father (Kim Gap-su) worries about his dimwit son while nabbing criminals on the side as the local police chief. Meanwhile, the dreaded Gyeongsang-do Province accent is back with an awkward vengeance.
Kwak takes such ordinary goings-on in an ordinary town and converts them into the cinematic equivalent of a Korean Norman Rockwell painting. The charming result is not always realistic, but it is representative. Most of all, it`s simply fun to watch.
A couple of memorable scenes serve to show Kwak at his all-Korean finest. A group visit to a "massage parlor" by mutt boy and his crew (including a fat member in the venerable tradition of juvenile humor) goes haywire when a fire breaks out. The fellows reluctantly escape the den of lost virginity without a stitch and with their innocence in a state of unsatisfying limbo.
Another memorable scene displays mutt boy`s taut frame in tight whities grappling his imposing rival with jiggling man-breasts. The policemen in charge sit around to relish the jailhouse spectacle. The bloody brawl is to decide who`ll take all of the blame for a melee between competing gangs.
These are a couple of remarkable moments as only Kwak could construct - a testosterone-fueled adventure with a dash of puerile humor and a pinch of playful satire in an unmistakably Korean setting.
Only the absence of a romance prevents the film from being even more predictably polished. The sparks between mutt boy and his love interest (Uhm Ji-won) fizzle a mile short of doggie style. Kwak doesn`t quite know what to do with a female character as usual.
Nevertheless, through films like "Friend" and "Champion," Kwak has become a principal figure in defining the code of mainstream Korean cinema, at least from a masculine perspective, and "Mutt Boy" may be his finest example yet.
Disc 1
1. Feature
- Gwak Gyeong-Taek and Jeong Wu-Seong commentary
- Eom Ji-Won self camera
2. Special Features
- Making Documentary
Disc 2
1. Mutt Boy
1) Home - Background
2) Friends - Casting & Interviews
3) Music - Soundtrack Master
4) Ragebone Music Video
5) Schizzo Concert
2. Making Film
1) Action Scenes
2) Words
3) Bonus
4) Deleted Scenes & N.G cuts
5) Trailers, Music Video
3. Short Film [Yeongchang Story] by Gwak Gyeong-Taek
![](http://st17.flashecom.com/dvdasian/synopsis_img/16242.6.jpg")
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