189. The Villainess (2017) & La Femme Nikita (1990)

2025-09-28

This week, we discuss two films about young women forced to become assassins. The first is The Villainess (2017), directed by Jung Byung-gil, starring Kim Ok-vin. According to Jung, the movie was inspired by La Femme Nikita, which he watched at the age of 10. The second is La Femme Nikita (1990), written and directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Anne Parillaud as the title character, a criminal who is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment before being recruited as a state assassin. Timestamps What we’ve been watching (00:00:25) –...

This week, we discuss two films about young women forced to become assassins.

The first is The Villainess (2017), directed by Jung Byung-gil, starring Kim Ok-vin. According to Jung, the movie was inspired by La Femme Nikita, which he watched at the age of 10.

The second is La Femme Nikita (1990), written and directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Anne Parillaud as the title character, a criminal who is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment before being recruited as a state assassin.

Timestamps

What we’ve been watching (00:00:25) – The Long Walk, Titanic, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, My Life as a Courgette, Three Days of the Condor, Ponyo, Aladdin, Task

The Villainess (00:33:50)

La Femme Nikita (00:57:20)

Coin toss (01:33:40)

Links

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Letterboxd –

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@fat-tits mcmahon

Justwatch.com – streaming and rental links - https://www.justwatch.com