Spirit of Jeet Kune Do: Once Upon a Time in High School ( 말죽거리 잔혹사)

Another one off the pile of Korean DVDs -  its hard to describe this movie other than to say 'a coming of age story' + 'violent high school'.  In 1978 Korea,  a teenager transfers to a tough, all boys academy and quickly has to deal with the school hierarchy of gangs and bullies. The main character ultimately finds that Jeet Kun Do (or at least nunchuku) is the only thing he can depend on to improve his situation.

Apparently in this high school all the teachers disappear for extended periods of time, which allows (conveniently) for extended scenes of confrontation that often boil up into violence.    But this isn't really an action movie.  Its mostly a drama about a shy teenager who gets dragged down by those around him.   There's a love triangle aspect thrown in too,  but I won't give away where it ultimately ends up.

Also this is another one of those movies where everyone is always hitting or slapping each other...   If I were to judge all Korean culture based on what I've seen in movies... I'd never want to visit or stand within arm's distance of a Korean person (male or female) ever again.

:-P

I'll give it a very slim 6/10.  Its well made and recreates what I /think/ 1978 Korea would look like,  but ultimately it doesn't pay off in any big way.