AllMovie

A woman who has been subjected to years of violence finally turns the tables on her tormenters in this metaphoric drama from South Korea. After unwittingly witnessing a violent crime, Hae-won (Ji Sung-won) begins to emotionally unravel, so she takes a break from her job at a bank in Seoul and travels to the island village where she grew up. But Hae-won discovers fate has not been kind to her best friend Bok-nam (Seo Young-hee); she trapped in an abusive marriage, bullied by her neighbors, and forced to perform manual labor for a handful of elderly women. Hae-won tries to help Bok-nam, but there's only so much she can do, and when life throws a final grim indignity at Bok-nam, she explodes. The abused woman explodes into a violent fury, grabbing a sickle and taking bloody revenge against everyone who treated her badly. Kim-bok-nam Sal-in-sa-eui Jeon-mal (aka Bedevilled) was the first feature film from director Jang Cheol-soo.