Asian Movie Review: Lifting King Kong (킹콩을 들다,2009)

I've wanted to see this film for a while.  Since I had a chance to meet Moon Choi, one of the actresses in the film.   Well the wait is over… I finally bought it at HMV and watched it last week!

'Lifting King Kong', aka 'The Bronze Medalist' is a Korean sports film focusing specifically on the relatively esoteric sport of middle school female weightlifting….  I didn't know they had such a sport... but apparently they do in South Korea.  An '88 Olympic medalist finds a second chance as a coach.  Insert ragtag bunch of misfit outcast girls and you have the makings of a classic underdog sports movie.     The Japanese have mastered the art of underdog films (not just sports, they can do it for any after school activity….)   but as shown in "Lifting King Kong", Korea can go toe to toe with the best of them.

Aforementioned rag tag group of misfits who were born to lift weights! I often note in my reviews that Korean films rarely stay within their genre…  even the silliest of comedies can't escape having some life or death tragedy pop up in the final reel.   "Lifting King Kong" is no exception….  but I think even the most cold hearted people will have trouble keeping a dry eye when it hits the climax.

All the girls do a good job in their roles….   most of them were actually well into their 20's despite playing jr. high (and later high school) girls in the film…..   Jo Ahn plays the lead girl and Lee Beom-Soo plays the coach (you may remember him from such films as ' Wet Dreams' and ' My Wife Is a Gangster 3', 'Au Revoir UFO', etc). 

The training montage is a requisite in the sports underdog movie...  I give it a  solid 7/10 as an underdog sports movie. 

ps - For those who aren't sure which one is Moon...

She's the one that looks like a 12 year old boy turned power lifter.  ;-)