Korea Path

[trevor826]

H (2002)

Directed by Jong-hyuk Lee

Starring Jung-ah Yum (A Tale of Two Sisters, Tell Me Something), Ji-ru Sung (Memories of Murder, Public Enemy}, Jin-hee Ji

H is one of those films that I’ve read so many poor comments about that I watched it with very low expectations. That was probably for the best because if I hadn’t had low expectations I’d probably just be carping on about how much it blatantly rips from Se7en and Silence of the Lambs. Despite the obvious connections it does have enough originality to hold it together and provide a decent serial murder mystery with some original ideas.

A series of murders are taking place in Seoul, all the victims are women and are copycats of a serial killer (Shin Hyun) who has been behind bars for several months after giving himself up. Of course the police question the interned murderer, this is where it heads into “Silence of the Lambs” territory as he appears to be in control of the inquisitors, diverting the questioning and giving off an air of enigmatic superiority (certainly no Hannibal Lecter though) and a series of cryptic clues.

As for the elements that tie it in with Se7en, each victim has been chosen carefully and with reason, each has been killed in a way that (to the killer) suits their supposed crime, the crime scenes are also quite grotesque which is also similar to Se7en.

To find the killer the police must delve deeper and deeper into the mind and crimes of Shin Hyun, he is extremely misogynistic and further into the film the police discover why. There is a twist at the end that reveals the H of the title and although it’s fairly easy to work out what it means beforehand, the finale is still quite surprising.

Although you may think the fact that all the victims being women and the misogynism of the original killer make this sound like a very masculine film you’d be wrong. The two emotionally strongest and certainly most intelligent people are women, one a police detective who’s boyfriend (also a detective) died during the search for the original killer and the psychiatrist who sees the confidentiality of her patients as more important than the murder of someone she doesn’t know.

Quite slow paced with a central character (detective) who is a little too melodramatic for his own good, this film won’t change your life and does not compare with “Memories of Murder” or “Tell Me Something” (which I feel I may have underrated) but it’s not that bad either. If you do see it, expect the worst and you will find a fairly decent film, believe me, I’ve seen far, far worse than H.

Cheers Trev

BBFC rated 18

R2 Pal dvd available from Tartan Video

[trevor826]

Crying Fist (2005) Jumeogi unda

Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan

Starring Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, Happy End), Ryu Seung-beom (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance)


Crying Fist, a boxing film very much in the same mould as “Rocky” except it delivers a double blow. The film follows the paths of two down and outs, Gang Tae-shik, (Choi Min-sik) early forties, former Asian games silver medallist, down on his luck, heavily in debt and on the brink of divorce. He makes a pittance by promoting himself as a human punchbag for anyone who happens to be stressed or in a bad mood.

Yoo Sang-hwan (Ryu Seung-beom) is only twenty but already in trouble with the police for his violent behaviour, he ends up in prison after an assault and it’s here that his aggression is brought under control by joining the boxing team. After the sudden death of his father he determines to make something better of his life.

Although they run concurrently flipping from one to the other, the two fighters stories never intersect until the final match, both have hit lows in very different ways and both manage to drag themselves out of the gutter whether as a matter of pride or redemption.

It's unusual to have two underdogs as central characters but it works well, the film depends on you caring for both although the age difference plus their backgrounds are likely to make you plump for one over the other depending on which you can relate to the most. It's also very unusual in a film of this type to wonder what happens to the loser but then when you are only used to having one heroic underdog, it doesn’t matter what becomes of their opponent.

Good editing, grainy camerawork, convincing boxing and acting (could Choi Min-sik have had such a great career in Hollywood? With his looks and stature, I don't think so!) and a mainstream plot albeit one that is well executed, Crying Fist is an entertaining film that's certainly worth a rental especially if you're into boxing and/or character based films.

One thing that I found very different especially from Hollywood films of a similar nature (Rocky being the prime example) was the soundtrack, which was at times bizarre but at least, thankfully didn't contain any banal rock anthems like "Eye of the Tiger".

Cheers Trev.

BBFC rated 15.

R2 Pal dvd available from Premier Asia.

[trevor826]

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) Chinjeolhan geumjassi

Directed by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, JSA)

Starring Lee Yeong-ae (JSA) Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, Crying Fist)

The third and obviously final instalment in Park Chan-wook’s revenge trilogy feels like a weak pastiche of the first two plus, for me there also appeared to be a strong Tarantino/ Kill Bill influence.

The basic plot revolves around a 19 year old girl, Lee Geum-ja (Lee Yeong-ae) being wrongly convicted and imprisoned (due to her confession) for the kidnapping and murder of a five year old boy. Giving the impression of being a model prisoner she bides her time till her release when she can take revenge on the real abductor and killer.

After a beautiful intro sequence with baroque music, we are treated to bits and pieces of the story as we jump back and forth in time. Each time a new relevant character is introduced we are treated to a flashback as to how they first met, (usually in prison) and find out what their part in the act of revenge will be.

Choi Min-sik plays the real killer (Mr Baek) who used Geum-ja’s baby daughter as collateral threatening to kill the child if she does not confess to the crimes. After finding evidence of even more crimes, Geum-ja and her former arresting officer confine Mr Baek in an old barracks and take part along with others in exacting their revenge.

The first 90 minutes cover Geum-ja’s release with continuous flashbacks to her arrest and time in prison, the tone is light, like a cross between Oldboy and Kill Bill but with very little violence and a much lighter sense of humour, (the long imprisonment also attaches it to Oldboy).

During the last 20 minutes or so there is a dramatic mood change, the story which started with a bungled kidnapping of a child (as with Sympathy for Mr Vengeance) leads into far deeper darker territory as the act of revenge takes place in an extremely brutal manner.

The film is a mash of styles, incohesive and disparate in tone, a case of style over substance leading to a very unbalanced story. Definitely the weakest of the trilogy, it is well worth seeing if you enjoyed the previous two but it doesn't have the strong albeit bleak storyline of the first or the outrageous set pieces and black humour of the second.

I really believe Park Chan-wook wants to become the Korean Tarantino, apart from the use of flashbacks in a very similar way to Kill Bill he's obviously plundered the pulp B Movie stylings of "Female Prison" dramas and "snuff movies".

Loved the music, the sly digs at organised religion and the central performances, disliked the sudden change of intensity and atmosphere (just as I didn’t with Ab-normal Beauty). Thinking about it, the mood changes happened with the discovery of snuff style videotapes in both Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and Ab-normal Beauty, talk about plagiarism.
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Cheers Trev

BBFC rated 18

Region 3 ntsc dvd’s available from several suppliers. R2 Pal dvd will be released by Tartan later this year.

[trevor826]

Into the Mirror (2003) Geoul sokeuro

Directed by Seong-ho Kim

Starring Yu Ji-tae (Ditto), Kim Myeong-min

Original concept, adequate cast, high production values, “yawn” absolutely soulless, uninspiring, bland and boring.

I saw this two years ago and thought it was pretty weak, since I wanted to cover a batch of Asian horror films (and because it was very cheap) I thought I’d refresh my memory and rented the dvd. It wasn’t as bad as I remembered, it was worse! Very slack pacing, terrible script and hackneyed performances don’t exactly add up to a winner and it drags on and on and on, it may have been bearable at 90 minutes but it literally crawls towards the 2 hour mark.

The basics: Strange deaths are occurring in a new shopping centre that has replaced one which was destroyed by fire. The security chief is an ex cop who left the force after causing the death of his partner; he teams up with the police to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragic losses. Could they be suicides? Is there a serial killer? Perhaps it has something to do with the ghost that people have mentioned seeing late at night? I wonder if you’ll care by the end of the film, I didn’t.

The shopping centre makes for a marvellous setting, mirrors everywhere and even where there are no mirrors you get reflections from puddles or windows, there is some clever camera work so at times you’re unsure as to whether what you are seeing is real or a mirror image/reflection or illusion. I think a lot of the problems with the film boil down to the director coming up with a great idea but forgetting to make it interesting, engaging or well structured.

After all the hoo-ha it’s just another hackneyed female ghost seeking retribution against those that lead to her death. It doesn’t finish there though, a final attempt is made to provide an original twist, unfortunately this only helps to make it feel like a story from “Tales of the Unexpected”, definitely too little too late.

If mirrors scare you then who knows, this film may work for you. Personally, the scariest thing I’ve seen in a mirror is my own reflection, especially first thing in the morning.

So in my opinion it’s one to avoid, despite the original concepts, it is a snore-fest, the plot is too drawn out and the characters are instantly forgettable (not good for what is, essentially a character driven movie).

Not poor enough to be listed on the "Bad Korea Choice" thread but a bad result considering the effort put into it.

Something that is strange for such a mediocre film, the dvd is outstanding in terms of extras, apart from a commentary you also have the whole film in storyboards and countless other extras, in fact well over 5 hours worth. A great example of what can be done with dvd’s, just a shame the film doesn’t really benefit from or deserve it.

Cheers Trev

BBFC rated 15

R2 dvd available from Tartan Video. R3 ntsc dvd available from several suppliers.

[trevor826]

Ring Virus (1999) Ring

Directed by Dong-bin Kim

Starring Eun-Kyung Shin (Uzumaki, My Wife Is a Gangster), Bae Du-na (Take Care of My Cat, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance)

A Korean adaptation of Ringu, if you’ve seen that or the U.S. remake you’ll know this is a modern “Urban legend” concerning a video that brings death a week after it’s been viewed. The story follows the same well-trodden path as the original and is apparently more faithful to the source novel, despite this it does feel lacking in comparison.

With Ringu you get a real sense of danger and urgency, trails are followed and clues uncovered in a way that feels right, you know why the reporter and her ex husband go to the Island or visit a particular location. These points and the fact that the actors give strong performances make Ringu stand tall in the mire of recent Asian horror films.

Unfortunately none of these are attributable to Ring Virus, why they go where they do or their actions when they get there, the sense of any real urgency, these are missing along with convincing performances and a real tangible sense of dread and danger. I have no problem with films that are slow paced but it doesn’t really fit within this story, everyone seems laid back and there’s no real spark between the reporter and her ex or even between mother and child.

I was expecting a pretty bad adaptation but it was better than expected and without the original may have appeared to be a reasonably good and thoughtful film, unfortunately (at least in my opinion) it feels second rate or even amateurish compared to Ringu despite or maybe because it stayed truer to its source. The musical score for Ring Virus was interesting, probably the best feature of the film but the camerawork, acting and editing were very average.

A further negative point is the dvd, Tai-seng again with a very poor transfer both visually and aurally, they really need to improve their standards to stay in the game, especially since they’re competing with companies like Tartan and Optimum, both of whom have produced stunning transfers and extras even if the films have been fairly average.

Only recommended for a variation on a theme, one for the “Ring” nut or completist.

Cheers Trev

BBFC rated 15

R2 Pal dvd available from Tai-seng. R1 ntsc dvd also available from Tai-seng but appears to be an improvement over the R2 release.