"Boys of Tomorrow"

(Uriege Naeileun Eobda) (South Korea)

A Sponge release of a Generation Blue Films production. (International sales: Film Messenger, Seoul.) Produced by Peter Kim, Shin Chang-gil. Directed, written by Noh Dong-seok.

With: Yu Ah-in, Kim Byeong-seok, Choi Jae-seong, Lee Dong-ho.

A longtime childhood friendship is put through the rinser with largely uninteresting results in "Boys of Tomorrow," the sophomore feature by writer-director Noh Dong-seok, whose 2004 black-and-white DV low-budgeter, "My Generation," drew some critical attention. Confusing, elliptical narrative, which seems to deliberately withhold info from the viewer, doesn't help a by-the-numbers story of a young guy drifting into crime and his buddy's attempts to save him. Preemed at last fall's Pusan fest, pic made no B.O. impression on local release in May.

Focus is largely on young wannabe gangster Jeong-dae (Yu Ah-in), who goes from job to job before finally signing up with a local hood, Kim (Choi Jae-seong), after causing a ruckus in his whorehouse. Jeong-dae's best friend, Ki-su (Kim Byeong-seok), who works as a part-time driver and looks after his brother's young son, tries to persuade Kim to let Jeong-dae go. Things go from bad to worse when Jeong-dae falls for a hooker in the whorehouse. Pic's style, which swings between accessible and film-school self-indulgence, is as inconsistent as the script, whose main theme is, "Never abandon your dream." Tech package is OK on a budget.

Camera (color, HD-to-35mm), Jo Sang-yun; editor, Lee Jeong-min; music, Gweon Se-yeong; art director, Kim Shi-yeong. Reviewed at Locarno Film Festival (competing), Aug. 8, 2007. Running time: 93 MIN.

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