Punch Strike (New York Premiere)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 7 PM

Tribeca Cinemas
(54 Varick Street, NYC)

Ryou Eun Jung, TV Movie, 2006, 81 minutes

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Korean directors are almost exclusively male, and PUNCH STRIKE would be notable if for no other reason that for the fact that its director, Ryou Eun-Jung, is a woman. She worked in the trenches for years before she was able to make her short film “A Smoke-Flavored Life” which won awards at film festivals around the world. She followed it up with PUNCH STRIKE, a rambunctious flick that takes on the high school power dynamic in Korea, which makes even the most dysfunctional American high school look like paradise. Hard-working character actor, Lim Won-Hie, plays “Mad Dog” a psychotic teacher who physically abuses and sexually humiliates his students. But when he slaps Mina (Park Min-Ji) in the face in front of her secret crush he’s crossed the line. She and her two friends begin a quiet revolution as they seek their revenge. As bouncy and rambunctious as a 16 year old texting while talking on the phone and updating their Facebook page, it’s a movie that fell between the cracks but that deserves wider exposure for its particular take on high school hell.

Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street, NYC)

1, A, C, E trains to Canal St.

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