Now that the Venn Diagram crossover between professional wrestling and cinema has reached an all-time high, perhaps it’s the perfect time for a re-evaluation of Kim Jee-Woon’s
Foul King. It’s completely understandable that this movie isn’t as well known as something like
The Wrestler or
The Iron Claw. Generally speaking, foreign films still have an unfair stigma attached to them when it comes to English speaking audiences. There’s a good amount of mainstream English speaking audiences that consider anything with subtitles to be “slow” or “artsy”. We see it every day on social media - An actor or filmmaker are asked to name their favorite movies during a press tour and when they list something that isn’t
Star Wars or
Pulp Fiction they’re called pretentious simply because they like movies where people have accents or something. Not every movie with subtitles is slow or hard to follow. And not every English-speaking film is easy to digest.
The Foul King is silly, goofy, sometimes explosively violent and full of heart. Another reason this movie is so niche is because it references non-American wrestling. There is one quick moment that shows a match between Steve Austin and The Undertaker, but for the most part this movie focuses on Japanese wrestling. At the time this movie was made, we were in the throws of the Monday night wars between the two biggest wrestling companies at the time (WWE & WCW). It wasn’t easy to keep up with foreign wrestling in 1999/2000 so it’s understandable that casual wrestling fans would have no idea who’s being referenced outside of crossover stars like Jushin Thunder Liger or The Great Muta. Even the most hardcore wrestling fans couldn't keep up with watching foreign wrestling on a consistent basis outside of reading newsletters & dirt sheets. Instead of Hulk Hogan, Sting and The Rock,
The Foul King references wrestlers like El Hijo Del Santo, Tiger Mask and Vader (Vader certainly had a solid career on U.S. soil but he was a mega star in Japan).
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| Vader's entrance / The Foul King |
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Tiger Mask's backstage entrance / The Foul King
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Masked wrestling plays a huge part in
Foul King. The importance and lore behind the masked wrestler, made popular by Rey Mysterio, didn’t really reach American audiences until way later. Prior to that it was more of a novelty compared to wrestling in Japan and Mexico. There’s a scene towards the end of
Foul King where our protagonist is partially unmasked in the ring which causes the audience to gasp similar to the classic Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrro Halloween Havoc match (it should be noted that while
Foul King certainly gets in to the predetermined/"worked" aspects of Pro-wrestling, all of the in-ring scenes are made to feel real).
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Halloween Havoc '97 / The Foul King
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It isn't identical, but the mask worn by our protagonist in Foul King is similar to the Great Zebra's mask...
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The Great Zebra / The Foul King
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The film even opens with archived footage of what appears to be a New Japan or All Japan wrestling match.
Wrestling aside –
Foul King pulls from the likes of The Coen Brothers and Shinya Tsukamoto. It would actually make for a great double feature with Tsukamoto’s
Tokyo Fist. Both movies have incredibly similar plots: an unmotivated office worker finds his calling inside of a ring. The only difference is
Tokyo Fist is boxing and
Foul King is wrestling. As silly as wrestling can sometimes be, it
can be a motivation for some. Teachers incorporate it in their lesson plans for elementary school kids. The physical element behind it, when done right, can improve your health. It also just provides an escape.
As far as filmmakers that I respect and like - Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers - Kim Jee Woon, Indiewire.com
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Raging Bull /
The Foul King
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Barton Fink /
The Foul King |
There are lots of little coincidental shots throughout
Foul King that are reminiscent of Scorsese. The basic premise kind of owes a little to
After Hours. Imagine if instead of going out for a night in the city, Griffin Dunne's "Paul" joins a wrestling school to cure his lack of motivation in life...
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After Hours / The Foul King
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After Hours / The Foul King
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Taxi Driver / The Foul King
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And if you have the stamina, the ultimate triple feature would
Foul King,
Tokyo Fist and
Raging Bull…
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Raging Bull /
The Foul King |
I have seen almost all Scorsese's films and I continue to be amazed. I'm astonished by his capacity to produce great films. He pushes forward the boundaries and potential of cinema - Shinya Tsukamoto, Variety
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| Raging Bull / Tokyo Fist |
Now that both international films and international wrestling is way more accessible,
Foul King could be a double gateway to new alternative lanes of cinema and professional wrestling.
