Villain and Widow ~ Hidden Treasure, Dark Comedy, and Romance

“Villain and Widow” ( aka “Villain on the Second Floor”) is a 2010 Korean movie, categorized as dark comedy, crime, mystery, and romance. It is streaming on Tubi TV, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video.

 

• Memorable Quote: “A man who is a writer moves into a house with two girls.”

SUMMARY: A struggling widow rents the second floor of her home to a man claiming to be a novelist. She has no idea that his arrival is connected to a valuable hidden treasure her late husband said was hidden in their home.

♦ Room For Rent

In “Villain and Widow”, Ham Hyun-Joo is a widowed mother struggling with financial difficulties and the challenges of raising her teenage daughter. Her decision to rent out part of her home sets the central story in motion. She has a treasure in her home, but she doesn’t know it. However, Chang-in knows. He’s a mysterious man who rents the room in the widow’s home, claiming to be a novelist. His unusual behavior and secretive activities make him a source of suspicion and comic tension. Ham Seong-Ah is the widow’s teenage daughter, a former child actress whose difficult adjustment to adolescence contributes to the household’s emotional strain.

A Mysterious Tenant, a Troubled Widow, and an Artifact From the Ming Dynasty

A room for rent turns into a complicated mystery involving a struggling mother, her troubled teenage daughter, and a tenant whose charming exterior conceals a suspicious agenda.

Ham Hyun-Joo is a widow trying to keep her household together. She is dealing with financial pressure and the everyday challenges of raising her teenage daughter, Ham Seong-Ah. Both mother and daughter are struggling to cope with the loss of a husband and father.

With money becoming an increasingly serious concern, Ham Hyun-Joo decides to rent out the second floor of her house. Her new tenant is Chang-In. He presents himself as a novelist who needs a place to stay while writing his next book. In reality, however, he was her late husband’s partner in crime. Her husband died on the night the two men were discussing the illegal purchase of a cultural artifact, an antique Chinese treasure. The police burst into the room during the transaction. Chang-In was arrested, while Ham Hyun-Joo’s husband died while trying to escape.

At first glance, the rental arrangement seems like a practical solution to a financial problem. A tenant will provide much-needed income, and Chang-In appears to be an educated, respectable man. In other words… he’s harmless.

His Behavior is Suspicious

For a man who is supposedly writing a novel, Chang-In spends an unusual amount of time searching the house. Renting the second floor does not give him unrestricted access to the first floor. Yet he seems determined to explore every corner. Although he attempts to maintain the appearance of an ordinary tenant, his actions suggest that he has an ulterior motive for moving in.

His presence turns the household into the setting for a quiet battle of wits, with suspicion and deception lurking beneath seemingly ordinary interactions.

Before his untimely death, Ham Hyun-Joo’s husband told Chang-In that the treasure was hidden somewhere in the house. Even his wife did not know where it was. Unfortunately for Chang-In, Ham Hyun-Joo is not an easy person to manipulate.

Suspicion soon spreads beyond the household. Neighbors begin to question the tenant’s identity, and a young police officer takes an interest in his activities. As more people become involved, Chang-In finds it increasingly difficult to keep his story straight.

Good grief! All Chang-In wants is that priceless, stolen Ming Dynasty teacup (or tea set) worth around two million dollars. Why does finding it have to be so complicated?

Main Characters:

• Ham Hyun-Joo (played by Kim Hye-Soo, “The Affair Was Just the Beginning”, “Signal”, “Coin Locker Girl”, “Unmasked”, “Under The Queen’s Umbrella”, “Juvenile Justice”, “Hyena”, “The Face Reader”, “The Thieves” )
• Chang-In (played by Han Seok-Kyu, “Doubt”, “Watcher”, “Dr. Romantic 1, 2, and 3”, “Secret Door”, “Tree With Deep Roots”, “Idol”, “The Royal Tailor”, “My Paparotti”, “The Berlin File”)
• Ham Seong-Ah (played by Ji-Woo, “Love Song for Illusion”, “The First Responders 1 and 2”)

Where to Watch: Tubi TV, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 6.3 out of 10 stars
• MyDramaList: 6.8 out of 10 stars
• Letterboxd: 3.3 out of 5 stars
• Amazon customers rated the film: 3.6 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as Letterboxd.

“Villain and Widow” has an interesting angle: a crime-and-treasure premise and an emphasis on character-driven dark comedy. “Han Suk-kyu plays Chang-in, a thief who is trying to get his hands on a valuable Chinese teacup that is somewhere in widower Yeon-joo (Kim Hye Soo)’s house, unbeknownst to her and her ex-child model daughter.” (Quote Source)

A villain and a widow is a pairing. But add an angry, self-centered teenager who’s always butting heads with her mom. Doesn’t it sound like fun?

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Villain and Widow (South Korea, 2010) – Review. | AsianMovieWeb

Villain and Widow (I-Cheung-Eui Ak-Dang) 2010. | Modern Korean Cinema

[HanCinema’s Film Review] ‘Villain and Widow.’ | HanCinema

Korean Movie Reviews for 2010 | Villain and Widow | KoreanFilm.org

Villain and Widow | Variety

TRAILER/TEASER:

Far East Films. “Villain and Widow (2010) 이층의 악당 – Movie Trailer – Far East Films.” YouTube, 27 May 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh9v95K8FCM.

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