Violence is deadly to both offender and victim, but the offender does not realize this truth. [Damn Life] is a low budget independent movie that tells us how deeply seated trauma from violenceis. When Kotani was little, he lost his brother while swimming in the river despite their mother’s warning against it. The weight of the guilt made him compulsively dutiful to everyone around him. His co-workers at a dam construction site bully him and subject him to mental abuse, not realizing that such actions are slowly transforming Kotani into a being that is truly terrifying. Ultimately, they become victims, too. Director Kitagawa Hitoshi uses the evolving relationship between Kotani and his co-workers to explore the true nature of violence. It is a scaled down version of our modern society, where only competition and the pursuit of profit is emphasized. In this society, the weak inevitably fall behind, but the strong aren’t winners either; they will eventually experience a downfall. [Damn Life] is simultaneously a psycho- and social drama. (KIM Ji-seok)