Address Unknown, set in the 70s, tells a story about a group of people in a small South-Korean town by an American military base. It focuses on this group of teens as they try to get through life in this poor town.

WARNING: Though they claim there were no animals harmed in the making of this film, there are still some very uncomfortable and disturbing moments involving dogs. If you are very sensitive about this subject I suggest you do not watch this film.

Address Unknown is a very bleak movie. Definitely not super-happy-fun-time at all. The entire town is very poor with everyone trying so hard just to get a little money, even if it means selling their dogs to the local butcher. There doesn't seem to be any protagonist in this movie. Every character has bad characteristics, and none of them are 100% likeable, even the teens. There were times when I felt for a character and then later disliked their actions (except I always sympathized with the girl). Despite that, everyone acted very human. The entire film you feel how depressing this time was. There are not that many happy scenes, just sad scene after sad scene.

What I enjoyed most (if enjoyed is the right word) about Address Unknown is how it shows the American Military affected South Korea. They were there to help, but caused much harm. It was especially interesting seeing this from a South Korean point of view, being an American myself. You just have to ignore the terrible TERRIBLE American acting (more on that later). There was so much injustice done by the American military. You couldn't even hurt a soldier in self defense without being persecuted. The sad thing is that even though this was placed in the 70s, the same thing is still happening today. Another thing I liked is the contradiction within the inhabitants of the town. You were thought of as smarter for knowing English but at the same time you were ridiculed for speaking English instead of your native Korean tongue.

The movie felt a little disjointed at times, and the pacing was a little odd. Some transitions from scenes weren't very smooth, and sometimes it took me a second for my mind to switch from one scene to another. Also, without trying to spoil anything, there was one thing that bothered me toward the end. After a depressing climax someone died in such a bizarre way that it disturbed the sadness you're supposed to feel. I don't know, maybe that was the whole point. It just confused me so much because I knew I should feel sad, and I did, but at the same time the strangeness of it all made me laugh. My emotions were battling it out in my head, I didn't know what to do! But, it is a Ki-duk Kim movie, it was probably intentional.

Surprisingly I haven't gone on and on about Ki-duk Kim like I do in most of his movie reviews. While Address Unknown is not as beautiful as most of his later movies, it still has that Ki-duk Kim feel. Directing wise it is not his best film, but it is still well done. The score, when it was there, was very soft and sad. It took a long time before I realized there was a score, which I liked.

Most of the acting was pretty good (minus the Americans). Dong-kun Yang (Chang-guk) played the son of Joe-hyeon Jo's character and an American soldier. His character had me so confused, as I liked him a lot, but hated how he treated his mother. It made sense and I could see why he treated her so poorly sometimes, but it made me sad. I did really like Dong-kun Yang in that role. I sympathized with Min-jung Ban's (Eunok) character, who's eye was damaged as a child and has been ridiculed ever since. She was the most likable character for me. Young-min Kim (Jihum) played the socially awkward boy that gets picked on. He did it well, and looked crazy scary when he plotted revenge. He's also the Young Adult Monk in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring. Jae-hyeon Jo (Dog Eyes) was perfect for the role of the evil dog killing butcher. Maybe a little too much... he scared me.

The worst thing about this movie, and it could be the best, were the American actors. Any scene with the Americans were laughably bad. You can tell that they just grabbed any American they could find to be in this movie. The basketball scene cracks me up into tears every time. It's pretty sad that the American soldier who took a liking to Eunok was the best American actor in the movie, because he was awful. He was also superass creepy and gross.

I liked Address Unknown a lot. It's not Ki-duk Kim's best, and I think it could have been improved, but it delivered it's message. It's a very bleak film, so don't watch it if you want to feel good. There are many scenes of animal torture (though the beatings are off screen), and there are a few awkward scenes with a girl and a puppy dog that made me feel uncomfortable, but I kinda understood why it was happening. I wish it was a movie I could recommend to anyone, but there are a lot of things that would make people uncomfortable. I am glad I watched it.

What I liked: The terrible American acting; all the messages this movie had to tell; the basketball scene; "I'm just here for fucking world peace"; "Want a Coke?"; when Chang-guk chewed out the bullies in English; Eunok scaring the little kids with her eye.

What I didn't like: The terrible American acting; that American Soldier that liked Eunok; the animal cruelty; the pacing was a bit off; Oh and a woman puking doesn't always automatically mean she's pregnant, dear lord!; the awkwardly funny death; and again, that damn American soldier that liked Eunok. He creeped me the hell out.

What I've learned: If you need to test a gun out, you have to test it on something alive. You can't just shoot a tin can or something; apparently every other word that comes out of an American's mouth is Fuck; America has no mountains; first time actually seeing dogs "stuck" to each other....

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