City of Violence (Korean)

I always end up with this fuzzy feeling when I am about to watch a new Korean film. Lately, I have been furiously searching for new material and there seems to be a lot available. So far I have been lucky enough to have liked all (yes all) the Korean films that I have seen. City of Violence came very close to being the worst yet, but manages to rise like the phoenix towards the end.

When one of his friends is murdered, city cop Tae-su (Doo-hong Jung), travels back his to home town to pay respect and decides to stay on and find out who killed his friend. The story of five friends that moves between the past and present, is on one end a gangster flick, but simultaneously is more about friendship and honor and to an extent about revenge.

As Tae-su goes about finding the truth, he is accompanied by Seok-hwan and they initially have a pretty awesome showdown where they fight gangs of street dancers, BMX riders, baseball players, school uniform dressed girls, and a few others.

The film does get extremely slow in-between with too much emotional baggage. On hindsight, it might have been important to break the violent streak of the film in the beginning and one that is about to come.

City of Violence really makes an impact in the last 30-40 minutes. Finally figuring out the reason and person behind the death of their friend, the last half hour is full of great fight sequences and some heavy drama. I especially loved the way the film ends (sorry can't say much as it would spoil the movie).

City of Violence has a very basic story that is portrayed rather well with some great performances and fight sequences. The last few minutes remain its strong point and bring about the entire film together with its bleak yet courageous end.

A 4 out of 5 Star Rating          

The Host (Korean)

Another day, another Korean film. The smile on my face before it even starts might lead you to believe that I am now biased towards film from this region. To be honest, you are partially right.

The Host starts off as a typical B-grade monster movie with a chemically generated gigantic fish that can stay in water and on ground attacking the public. Our unwanted hero is a bumbling immature comical food stand owner who would rather drool on the food than actually sell it. When his daughter is taken by the monster, the film takes a turn and suddenly becomes a more intense and exciting "search" film. Joining him on his quest are his father, brother, and sister, each with his/her own quirks and individualistic characteristics. This makes for the Park family that over the remainder of the film discover something about themselves and each other as they search for their youngest family member.

The Host manages to withhold itself beautifully even though it tackles a number of genres. There is high drama between the characters, with each having their own side stories. It does begin as a monster film, but slowly it becomes much more than that. There are enough intense thrilling and borderline horror moments to make the filmgoer jump on his seat. The "special effects" are pretty good and don't seem all too fake most of the time. The acting, especially by the younger cast, is commendable. 

Although the story progresses towards it main goal, which is of the father desperately searching his daughter, there are enough diversions, or hurdles for the Park family if you may, that makes the film much stronger. There are also a number of twists along the way with a couple which I believe only Korean cinema is brave enough to explore.

The Host is an emotionally fueled film with acts that will make you laugh, cringe, cheer, and eventually make you appreciate the brilliance and variety of cinema originating from Korea. A solid 3.5 star rating out of 5. 

Memories of Murder (Korean)

Every time I am about to watch a Korean film, my heart simply warms up. There is something so spectacular about the movies that have come out from this part of the world, that it amazes me why it has not yet become as mainstream as say Indian cinema. You are unlikely to find Korean films in a theater (aside from Festivals) and they have usually only gained success by word of mouth. Brash and genuinely original, Korean cinema is any cinema lovers dream come true.

Memories of Murder is a rather unorthodox serial killer film. Documenting one of Korea's still unsolved serial rape/murder case, the film follows a team of police officers as they try and nab a serial killer who is sexually assaulting and killing victims in a small village.

Initially, the movie seems farcical with the two police officers, Detective Park Doo-Man and Detective Cho Young-koo, almost comically running around the village trying to catch anyone suspicious, including a mentally disabled young man, to pin down the murders on. But, as the movie progresses, the audience realizes that the film amidst all the killings and growing mystery subtly highlights social issues such as police brutality. It also cunningly portrays the mounting frustration felt by the police officers as the serial killer goes about attacking, always a few steps ahead of them. The story does take a more serious investigative turn on arrival of the city Detective, Seo Tae-Yoon, but the desperation faced by the village detectives soon seeps into him as well with each new murder.

Memories of Murder is not for everyone. It's not gory, never really showing the murders taking place, but it is very gritty, realistic, and direct. The movie is extremely sexual in nature when it comes to the dialogues and like most Korean films Memories of Murder does not hide behind curtains. It uses a very "in your face" approach making the audience squirm every time new details about the serial killer emerge.

A borderline serial killer chase movie, an investigative journalism piece, and a fascinating study of human nature, Memories of Murder is cinema at its best.

A 5/5 Star Rating           

First Thing ... Korean Cinema

First Thing is a feature I run on my blog from time to time to interact with people in my Twitter timeline. The premise is simply to state the first thing that comes to your mind when I say _______? (The blank can be anything cinema related) The only catch is that the answer has to be in only one sentence.

Memories of Murder

So, continuing with my somewhat repeating feature I present to you the "First thing that comes to your mind when I say KOREAN CINEMA”;

@T_J_atkinson - Unsurprisingly, I think of OLDBOY

@PopcornJunkies - The Host

@ArcaneMovieTees - The Vengeance Trilogy

@FilmSamurai - Revenge Films

@DrunkonVHS - I find Korean cinema new and exciting, it's one of the few areas I haven't thoroughly explored.

@Discuss_Cinema - The Revenge trilogy of Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance.

@reviwer - Currently leading in the world of cinema. Standard of films just keeps getting better.

OldBoy

So it seems that "Revenge" films and the Vengeance Trilogy are the most common answers. I have to confess and say that I am yet to watch the entire Vengeance Trilogy (having only seen Oldboy), but I’ll be bumping the trilogy movies up in my must watch list.

Korean Cinema is something that has amazingly taken over the cinema world over the last decade. What surprises me is that it is yet not commercial in most countries. These movies have been doing the festival rounds and have gained more success by word of mouth rather than self promotion. I also find that Korean Cinema is much more gutsy and ballsy than any other cinema around. Be it gore, sex, or violence, everything is more realistic and in plenty. Credit also goes to the directors and writers that are making original cinema with striking camera work or plot lines.

The Chaser

As for me, I was totally won over by The Chaser which remains one of my all time favorites. My Sassy Girl is probably one of the most refreshing romantic comedies out there even now. I recently had the pleasure of viewing The Man From Nowhere and A Bittersweet Life which have some amazingly iconic moments and Memories of Murder which is a movie based on a real-life unsolved serial killer case.

So if you have a Korean Film that you swear by and want others to experience, feel free to mention it in the comments box below and let us support a budding and brilliant cinema industry.    

Note from the Author:

Everyone mentioned above are great film bloggers and/or tweeters and I recommend following each and every one of them (not in real, just on twitter). You can simply click on their names to go to their respective twitter timelines.

A Bittersweet Life (Korean)

Another Korean film. Another masterpiece. If I were to sum up A Bittersweet Life, I would say that it is a perfect amalgamation of different film genres. Just like its main character, Kim Sun-woo, the movie at first has the feel of a Gangster drama. Take a look deeper inside and you know that at the heart of it, it's a beautifully "unspoken" love story. Go further into the soul and you realize that it is a purely action filled revenge film.

The story isn't complex. It has its small twists, but focuses more on the characters. The film is more about human nature and how our ego, stubbornness, and sometimes the simplest of acts can be our own downfall. Taking care of his Boss' "young girlfriend", Heesoo (Shin Min-a), Kim Sun-woo (Lee Byung-hun) fails to inform his boss that she has been having an affair behind his back. This leads to his boss Kang (Kim Yeong-choel) taking out his anger on Kim by severely beating him and then slowly starts torturing him to death. This forms the premise of the film. What happens next is no surprise but still worth watching rather than me telling.

A Bittersweet Life is gruesome. There are scenes that make you cringe. There is blood, and lots of it. Still, amongst all the bloodshed there is certain harmony to everything. There are memorable scenes, one being the final talk between Kim and his boss Kang, in front of the bar called "la dolce vita". Like almost all Korean films I have seen, A Bittersweet Life is shot beautifully. Something I really liked was that even the scenes in the dark and in the rain are filmed in a way that you can see all the characters and know what is going on. I have seen time and again (especially in Indian cinema) where night scenes pretty much mean staring at a dark screen just listening to the dialogue.

So, does A Bittersweet Life strengthen my faith in Korean Cinema like its predecessors? Yes! It might not be as strong a film as The Chaser, but nevertheless it is a piece of cinema that deserves a 4/5 star rating from me.

The Man From Nowhere (Korean)

There is something fascinating about Korean cinema. For example, The Man From Nowhere at first watch seems generic to say the least, yet it manages to entertain the audience. You are bound to find similarities between the film and Leon and at times it has an Oldboy feel to it, still Ajeossi (Korean name) keeps the audience interested and at the edge of their seats.

The story is partly about revenge and mostly about the anti-hero being a savior. Certain events lead to our quiet hero Taesik (Bin Won) protecting a child Somi (Kim Sae-ron) living in his building and as a result taking on a local gang that have their fingers in pretty much everything from drugs, to organ trafficking to child kidnapping.

Just like in this movie, Korean cinema has always scored big on cinematography. The Man From Nowhere is great to look at. The POV camera shots and a number of others techniques are made use of in limited quantity, but high quality. I hope the director of my recently reviewed Hindi film Saitan would have learned something from this.

The basic premise of the story has shades of other films (predominantly Leon), but it still has enough twists along the way and is paced fast enough to keep everyone happy. Most of the characters are well defined, but hardly get enough screen time. The title character on the other hand has ample screen presence, and makes good use of it with a violent back story leading him to his present state of mind. 

I honestly cannot complain about the acting. Everyone performs well and Bin Won gets a special mention for portraying a character with many shades. Some might find that the villains are a tad over the top, but then I believe that in an action film like such, it's almost quintessential to have villains go all crazy. The blood and gore might be hard to look at, but it definitely adds to the feel of the movie.

Strengthening my liking for Korean films, The Man From Nowhere is a performance and action based gangster thriller that provides ample film watching excitement and for that it gets a 4 out of 5 star rating.     

PS: I decided to use the Korean version of the poster as the title photograph since I felt it had a much better impact than the “English” version which lacks depth.