Im Looks at 'Low Class Life'

Acclaimed local director Im Kwon-taek says everyone who lived from the 1950s to the 1970s will find that his newest film "Haryu Insaeng (Low Class Life)" rings true.
"It's a story about whoever lived through that era," Im said after the press screening of the film, his 99th, last week in Seoul.

The film tells the story of Tae-ung, a man who begins down the troubled path of gangster in the 1950s, slowly becoming overwhelmed and intoxicated by his increasing power.

Tae-ung also later becomes the producer of a movie, Im giving the audience a glimpse of how the film world operated back then.

"Everyone who lived through that period, whether they had power, became a gangster like Tae-ung, or were a part of the student movement, they all lived a low-class life," Im said. "In a military dictatorship, aside from the economy, what's there to be positive about?"

Im said he hoped this movie would show from where the nation had come. "Low Class Life" opens May 21.

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