Blu-ray debut for Park Chan-wook's early South Korean hit, JSA--JOINT SECURITY AREA

What a treasure is this movie from 2000 -- a huge success in its home country of South Korea but not even seen in the USA until June of 2005 (in a very limited number of art houses, followed by a DVD release the next month). 

I first caught up with it on DVD maybe 15 years ago, when my knowledge of South Korea and its cinema was a great deal more limited. Seeing it again now is even further eye-, mind- and heart-opening. JSA--JOINT SECURITY AREA is certainly one of the most moving South Korean films so far, especially for anyone who cares about Korea's heritage as a single and probably-should-never-have-been-divided nation.

Directed and co-written (based on the novel DMZ by Park Sang-yeon) by noted Korean director Park Chan-wook (shown at left), the film takes off from an incident -- bullets whiz, bodies fall -- that happens in a North Korean military house located in that titular JSA, a kind of demilitarized zone that marks the border between the Koreas of the north and south. 

Exactly what happened, and more importantly why, form the meat of the movie, which takes us back in time to a point at which the main characters -- a couple of soldiers from North Korea meet one (Lee Byung-hun, below, left) and then two of their military "brothers" from the south.

In order to somehow "play fair" toward both north and south, special investigators -- one of whom is a Swiss woman born of a Korean father (Lee Yeong-ae, above, right) are called in to determine what happened, and this beautifully crafted (as are all of Mr. Park's films that TrustMovies has seen) piece of filmmaking then toggles between the current investigation and back to, piece by piece, what actually occurred in that bullet-ridden house. 

It is little wonder that the film took South Korea by storm, since for decades the north and the south had been considering each other as practically alien life forms. The bond that forms between these four soldiers, along with how this happens, is so believable and moving, filled with detail that both Koreans and outsiders can appreciate, that JSA takes its place among the great anti-war (and anti-division) films without even including any actual "war," save the one single shooting incident and its immediate aftermath.

Both Ms Lee and Mr. Lee (not related) are first-rate, but the third important actor in the film is also one of the best in the world right now: the great Song Kang-ho (shown center, above, and atop the poster image at the start of this post), who at this point in his career had yet to appear in Memories of Murder, The Host, Secret Sunshine, Snowpiercer and last year's Oscar champ, Parasite. Mr Song so nails his conflicted-but-caring character that he, as usual, walks away with the movie without even trying.

Among the Bonus Features is a splendid 35-minute assessment by writer/critic Jasper Sharp of JSA and the career of Mr. Park (which has these days been eclipsed by that of Bong Joon-ho's), while the Blu-ray transfer of this beautiful -- in so many ways -- film is quite good. If you have never seen JSA, now's your chance. After 21 years, it already has stood (and I believe it will continue to stand) the test of time quite well. Maybe even until the two Koreas are again united -- if the world lasts long enough.

From Arrow Video (distributed here in the USA via MVD Entertainment Group), in Korean and some English, with English subtitles, and running 109 minutes, JSA--Joint Security Area became available last week on Blu-ray -- for purchase and I hope also somewhere for rental, too. Click here for more information.

"Parasite"-lite from South Korea: Kim Yong-Hoon's BEASTS CLAWING AT STRAWS

Most of the characters in the new South Korean movie BEASTS CLAWING AT STRAWS are not just greedy-as-hell but dumb-as-they-come. The couple of lone smart ones are also nasty and vicious enough that you won't at all mind their appropriate comeuppance, while the also lone pair of decent folk, by virtue of that rare decency (this is South Korea, after all), rise above mere descriptions such as dumb or smart.

To call this film "Parasite"-lite, as does my headline, is not meant as a negative. (Few filmmakers reach the Bong Joon-Ho level.) Its director and adaptor (from Japanese writer Keisuke Sone's novel), Kim Yong-Hoon (below), offers us an ensemble thriller about the effects of 

greed on a populace made up of mostly have-nots who've been preyed upon by the sort of low-end haves who are nowhere near the corporate or political level. They're simply better than the have-nots at being evil. 

As usual with South Korean films these days, the ensemble roles are uniformly well-planned and -played. with each actor nailing his/her key characteristic, while remaining believable and human (if not humane).

TrustMovies is proving to be increasingly poor at recalling character names and then matching them to actors' faces (particularly in ensemble-cast Asian movies), so forgiveness is asked for the actors in the photos below not being properly identified. 

Mr. Bong begins his film with the sight (see poster image at top) of what looks like something awfully close to that famous designer travel bag (surely the ugliest symbol of the "elite" ever created; little wonder it was immediately snapped up and knocked off by the equally taste-free lower classes), which one character (above, center) stores in a locker at the local bathhouse/sauna. 

When a bathhouse worker (above) later discovers the bag, along with its contents (which you can easily imagine), and then steals it (slowly, in degrees, which adds to the irony, suspense and humor of the film), we are quickly introduced to a bevy of characters, one more greedy, needy and nasty than the next.  

Soon we've met a brothel madam (above), along with one of her sex workers (below, right) and one of her clients (below, left),

plus a small-time criminal kingpin and his love-to-murder underling (shown on either side of the original depositor of that bagful of loot, four photos above), the worked-to-death wife (below) and increasingly demented mother (two photos below) of the bathhouse worker who steals the bag, along with other sundry and assorted lesser "lights."

Who these people are and how they're connected to each and that mystery bag are eventually revealed as this sometimes obvious, other times surprising, and often grisly, dark and funny film unfurls. Beasts Clawing at Straws will recall countless other movies, better and worse, yet it manages to hold its own (and your interest) amid all the sometimes derivative twists and turns.

Coincidence and convenience abound, as they often do in tales of this genre. Yet time and again we come back for more. Do we love so love to see ourselves, along with the worst aspects of us, up there on the big screen (or, these days, big TV)? Maybe so, and if so, this one's for you, dear reader.

From Artsploitation Films, in Korean with English subtitles and running 108 minutes, Beasts Clawing at Straws hits streaming venues this coming Tuesday, December 15 -- for purchase or rental. Click here for more information.

South Korean mystery FORGOTTEN proves a twisty, fascinating and moving "must-see"

Got to hand it to Netflix, which keeps coming up with terrific movies (along with plenty of duds), some of which you will have never heard. A good friend of mine recommended FORGOTTEN, a what-the fuck-is-going-on-here? thriller from 2017 that packs, at last, an almost unbearable sadness regarding family and loss, along with the socio-economic relevance of Parasite. It's from South Korea, of course, slipping into view almost completely under the critical radar.

Written and directed by Hang-jun Jang (aka Hang-jun Zhang), the movie is a veritable model of smart plotting and pacing, featuring a "mystery" that, as it unravels, keeps us absolutely hooked. Best of all, the explanation, rather than disappoint as so many mystery/thrillers do (the problem is always so much more interesting and fun than the solution), simply explodes here into something that hooks the heart as much as the mind, and results in as damning an indictment of dog-eat-dog Capitalism as you'll have seen.

It helps to know something of South Korean history and its financial crisis that left so much of the population in a horrible state. Forgotten never underscores anything too heavily and so glides easily along on its genre credentials alone. All the rest is gravy -- incredibly tasty and nourishing gravy, at that.

A young man (lovely actor Ha-Neul Kang, shown on poster, top, and above) and his family move into a house that, to him, looks oddly familiar. Strange things begin happening and we question for a bit if these are real, hallucinations or supernatural. Quickly, all this changes into something quite other, then changes again and again, as we race along with the thriller conventions to keep up as, all the while, Forgotten grows ever stranger and darker.

Performances are as expert as usual in South Korean cinema, while the technical aspects of the film are also first-rate. Dark as it is -- literally and metaphorically -- Forgotten is always a pleasure to view. And the final scene, which arrives just after the end credit title is shown, is maybe as glowingly beautiful as anything I've seen in a long while. This finale posits the question, What is it that defines our character? The film does not provide the answer, but the manner in which it does the asking is exemplary. 

This one's a keeper.

Streaming now via Netflix, the film runs 108 minutes, relatively short by South Korean standards, every one of which pleases (those minutes and those standards).

South Korean comedy, action & fried chicken: Byeong-heon Lee's genre-mash, EXTREME JOB

Of all movie genres, so they say, comedy has the most difficult time crossing cultures. TrustMovies thought about this old saw while viewing the new genre-jumper, EXTREME JOB from South Korea, which turns out to be a pretty odd mix of comedy and violent action.

As directed by Byeong-heon Lee (no writing credit is translated via English subtitles, nor does any writing credit appear on the film's IMDB site), the movie's first half is mostly comedy, while the second part is pretty much violent action scenes. Interestingly enough, the comedic portion works best, with the humor alternately broad and somewhat more subtle, abetted in both cases by noteworthy comedic performances.

Director Lee (shown at right) keeps the comedic action flowing smartly and amusingly, as our team of barely-heroes and a single heroine (above and below) foul up one maneuver after another, much to the dismay of their lawman boss.

There are competing cop teams here, with ours clearly the underdog, and fairly soon the boys and girl have set up shop watching the bad-guy drug-runners from the bizarre home base of a low-end, take-out, fried-chicken establishment.

Via the usual coincidental-if-manipulative plot machinations, the team ends up buying the restaurant and coming up with such a fabulous fried-chicken recipe that the place becomes a record-breaking crowd pleaser.

The five leading performers here are each good/funny enough to often surmount the silliness on view and make the movie at least watchable. But even their good work isn't quite enough to compensate for some really ridiculous plot devices that crop up during the second half.

By the time it is revealed -- with literally nothing to back this up -- that each member of our dumb-ass team is a crack martial arts fighter of one sort or another, you'll be scratching your head and murmuring, Huh?, even as they are taking out what amounts to a small army of villains. Ah, well, it's the movies, right?

Extreme Job goes on too long, too. By the time we reach the final fighting match between the hero and his nemesis, you'll be hoping someone cries "uncle" as soon as at all possible. Still, for those willing to suspend disbelief, logic and pretty much all else, the movie may just pass muster.

From CJ Entertainment and running 111 minutes, Extreme Job opened this past Friday in Los Angeles and Buena Park and will hit major cities all across the US and Canada this Friday, February 1. To locate a theater near you, click here, and then click on Find a Theater, then keep clicking on View More until you locate something near you.

Kim Byung-Woo's TAKE POINT: action, betrayal and international naughtiness via South Korea

Don't get involved if you want to stay alive -- the moral of this new film would seem to be -- with either mercenaries nor the governments of the USA, China, North Korea or South Korea. That's what happens to the two heroes of TAKE POINT, written and directed by Kim Byung-Woo, an ever-so-lightly-political action/adventure thriller in which betrayal is epidemic.

It doesn't matter whose side you imagine you may be on, you're still as good as dead.

Our heroes here (one of them takes a rather long time revealing himself) are a South Korean mercenary, now-residing in America with his pregnant wife, nicknamed Ahab (played by Ha Jung-woo, above and on poster, top), and a North Korean doctor (played by Lee Sun-kyun, below) whose job is to tend to the well-being of North Korea's premier, known here as "King."

The two men refer to each other as "Northie" and "Southie"(or so the English subtitles would have it) and eventually, if slowly, begin to bond and grow to respect their opponent for very good reasons. Mr. Lee played the lead role in that crackerjack South Korean crime thriller A Hard Day, and he is every bit as good (with much less to do) in this new film. Mr. Ha -- a staple of more first-rate South Korean films than you can shake a stick at -- is hugely impressive all over again. (That's Jennifer Ehle, below, right, who plays Ahab's American operative.)

The movie itself is manufactured to within an inch of its life, and yet it moves fast enough and is so filled with exciting twists and turns that it should more than keep fans of action, assassination, politics, explosions, and mistrust more than satisfied. The plot has to do with the mercenaries' need to kidnap and keep alive the North Korean head-of-state, and much of the action is seen via visual monitors located all over the place (including different countries) that show only one side of the action. Consequently, it is rare for more than than even a few cast members to share the screen in any particular scene.

So much is always happening simultaneously -- our Southie has to save the life of the North Korean President via everything from CPR to a blood transfusion at the same time as he is directing his team of mercenaries how to get out of ever more dangerous situations -- that the viewer barely has a chance to draw a breath. This makes the movie move like gangbusters. On the down side, however, is the heavily accented English spoken by both our heroes, which is difficult enough to understand that you may wish for the English subtitles to translate, not just the Korean dialog, but the English portion, too.

Yes, the movie is in many ways beyond ridiculous, with the events we see requiring super-human strength, skill and smarts from (and luck for) our two heroes. But if you can so easily accept the sanitized silliness of the latest Mission Impossible nonsense (which, clearly, most of the world did), then Take Point should prove a cakewalk of unusually piquant delight for most action fans. And if the film's finale offers up a nice nod toward a possible united Korea, it's too bad the filmmaker could not have allowed the emphasis to remain on the two men at the closing moment, rather than only on our heroic "Southie."

The film opened this past Friday in California in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, and will expand eastward across the country in the days to come. To find the theaters nearest you, click here and then click on Find a Theater and then just keep clicking on View More until you've exhausted either the list or yourself.

Same sleaze, different decade: Choi Kook-hee's riveting, provocative DEFAULT is like a South Korean Big Short -- and very nearly as good!

According the DEFAULT -- the rip-snortingly good financial thriller than opens theatrically this coming week -- during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, South Korea was about to go bankrupt due (as usual) to the rotten and/or incompetent men in charge of both the banks and the government and the near-complete lack of (or merely the ignoring of) regulations.

As directed by Choi Kook-hee (shown at right) and written by Eom Seong-min, the movie is not nearly as detailed nor full of so many different characters as was The Big Short, yet the two films have much in common -- from the kind of sleaze and stupidity on view to the character in Default (played to a fare-thee-well by Yoo Ah-in, shown above, center right, and below) who is able to predict quite well the coming collapse and also knows how to profit from it, with barely a thought given to the havoc this will bring to his homeland. (This is similar the character in The Big Short played by Christian Bale.)

Yet even he pales in comparison to the movie's real villain, the vice-minister of finance (played by Jo Woo-jin (center left on poster at top, and at left, below). Against that vice-minister (against the whole rotten legion of avarice and incompetence) is a lone woman, Ms Han, the monetary policy manager at the Bank of Korea (Kim Hye-soo, at right on poster, top) and her helpful team. Ms Han is smart and steadfast, but the power arrayed against her is formidable indeed. And the filmmakers allow us to see how that power makes itself felt in so many ways, subtle and not so.

Choi and Eom also elect to tell the tale via a quartet of of people, who together give us a well-chosen array that makes this whole financial melt-down both understandable and moving. In addition to the protagonist, Ms Han; her nemesis, the vice-minister; and the young upstart who will reaps million in profit, we also see the typical "little person" -- in the form of ceramic producer and family man Gap-su (Huh Joon-ho, below), who in order to make a major sale to a large department store, agrees to accept a promissory note rather than the usual cash payment.

How all this plays out proves fast-paced and very smartly done. Though Ms Kim makes a fine feminist heroine, and the movie is a model of important progressive ideas and actions, things nonetheless grow progressively worse for the good guys, as the bad ones bring in the IMF and its "negotiating" power (in the form of French actor supreme, Vincent Cassel, below, right) to bully its way to what is best for both government and corporate power, leaving the general populace to suffer the consequences (and pick up the tab). It is particularly good to see the IMF pilloried for its former actions. Has it, together with The World Bank really changed so much, as both organization tell us? TrustMovies hopes so, but perhaps he can be forgiven for having some doubts.

As usual with so many new South Korean films, the production values are as classy and impressive as the casting, plotting and all else. Default, in just under two hours, tells its cautionary tale about as well as seems possible. It will leave you angry and ever-mindful of why government, the banks and financial sector, as well as the uber-wealthy, must be kept in check by regulations and vigilant watchdogs. The movie ends with a surprise relationship reveal that, while maybe moving, seemed unnecessary to me. Much better is the epilogue that leaves us with a smattering of hope for the future, as it simultaneously takes us 20 years forward to 2017 and brings us back to the film's beginnings. Default is a must-see for anyone who appreciates films about politics, finance, economics and chicanery on a national level.

From CJ Entertainment and running 114 minutes, the film opens this Thursday, November 29 at CGV Cinemas Los Angeles and Buena Park, and in many other cities across the U.S. on November 30 and in then in Canada on December 7. To see all U.S. playdates, cities and theaters, simply click here, and then click on Theaters on the second line of the task bar atop the screen.

Lee Jong-suk’s debut film, THE NEGOTIATION, makes its home video debut this Tuesday

If TrustMovies goes too long without seeing a new film from South Korea, he begins to get a bit antsy for the smart pacing, classy look, action, suspense and envelope-pushing plot twists so many South Korean movies provide. If one of that country's films manages to makes its way over here, chances are it'll be worth a look, and so it is with THE NEGOTIATION, which marks the directorial debut of Lee Jong-Suk. This is a hostage/conspiracy/ corruption/betrayal thriller that, though packing in its share of silliness, also offers maybe ten times that in sheer fun.

Mr. Lee (shown at left), his writer Choi Sung-hyun and crew give us a very fast-moving tale that begins with a police officer (Son Ye-jin, at right below), who is just beginning her vacation, being called back into service due to a sudden hostage crisis. That one goes quickly south, but wait.

The higher-ups now request her services on a new and very different case -- one that keeps expanding and changing the more our heroine probes and learns.

The fact that we're talking about uber-dirty dealings involving the very highest reaches of government, military, police and (or course) the business community should come as no big surprise.

Yet how the filmmaking team puts it all together, unveiling one small surprise at a time, proves exemplary fun. And casting two of Korea's currently most popular performers in the leading roles is smart, too. As the chief villain facing off against our negotiating heroine, that very rangy, handsome actor Hyun Bin (below) is knock-your-socks-off sexy. His character is clever and funny, too, so the pas de deux that goes on between the two is generally quite delightful.

If the movie starts well enough, it grows even better as it continues, until we see a bunch of lying, devious and very powerful men aligned against one quiet but smart negotiator and another perhaps even smarter young man. If we've seen this sort of thing before (and, oh, have we!), the pacing, plotting and very classy filmmaking makes it seem new enough to pass muster as first-rate entertainment.

And if you find yourself asking, But how, against such huge odds, will justice ever triumph?, the movie has an oddball ace up that sleeve, too. No spoilers here, but I think the ending is just different enough that, though you might wish for something more, you'll be willing to buy into the if-only scenario that you're given.

Welcome comic relief is provided by Kim Sang-ho (above, left), while the rest of the cast is, as usual in Korean cinema, certainly up to snuff. But it is Ms Son and Mr. Hyun who carry the film, bringing with them surprising weight and not a little emotion, as the sweet/sour finale approaches.

From CJ Entertainment and running 113 minutes, The Negotiation makes its digital home video debut this coming Tuesday, November 13, on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play -- for both purchase and/or rental.

Korean action par excellence in Jung Byung-gil's eye-popping, mind-blowing VILLAINESS

TrustMovies suspects that you might have to go back as far as Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita to find an apt comparison to the new South Korean action flick THE VILLAINESS. What an opening sequence this movie has! This is eight minutes or more of pre-title action and mayhem so violent, funny and enthralling that it barely gives you time to catch your breath. And then the movie gets even better: richer, stranger, funnier and more exciting.

As directed and co-written by Jung Byung-gil (shown below), the film offers up a heroine named Sook-hee who is so daunting in her fury and commitment to revenge and justice that she'll have you rooting for her in no time flat.

As with so many of these action/mayhem movies, especially the Korean variety, the themes includes love, trust, betrayal, and parent-child relations, among other things. And, being Korean, yes, the movie is very dark. This one, in fact, may be among the darkest I've seen. (Don't let that smile on the director's face fool you. He has surprises and disappointments in store here that you would never find in an American action movie.) As for the action itself, it's A-1 and often pretty damned original, too. In the first half, we get a samurai sword-fight while on motorcycles, and the finale finds our heroine chasing a bus while driving atop the hood of her car and then proceeds into full-out, gasp-inducing chaos.

Behind it all is the Korean state/government, and while this movie may take place in South Korea, we still get a good strong whiff of a police state. Why not, given this little country's long and fraught history?

Sook-hee, played quite well by Kim Ok-bin (above, of The Front Line and Thirst) makes a strong and genuinely laudable heroine, and by the time we and she have reached the final frame of the film, the smile that appears on her bloody-but-unbowed face makes the movie's title radiate with appropriate anger, irony and sadness.

The men around Sook-hee are hardly her match, though they do try -- especially the sweet, smitten State-employed handler (Sung Jun) who falls in love with her, as well as the blast-from-the-past who suddenly reappears in her life, as a surprise "target" on her second wedding day (the latter is played by the notable Shin Ha-kyun, above).

Three of the women with whom our heroine works in the "agency" also register strongly: the sweet new recruit who becomes Sook-hee's friend, the older agency diva who is soon her nemesis, and especially the ice-queen agency head (Kim Seo-hyeong, above) for whom trust is a dirty word.

At 124 minutes, the movie does ran a tad too long (though this is relatively short for a Korean film, where audiences demand their money's worth, in quantity as well as quality). The filmmaker also packs his tale with flash-backs that fill in some of the blanks in our understanding of Sook-hee's life.

Even if you're not a fan of this kind of film, The Villainess may well win you over (or at least wear you down into "uncle"-crying submission). If you are a fan, better stick it on your "must-see" list now.

From WELL GO USA Entertainment, the movie opens this Friday, August 25, in New York City at the IFC Center, and in Los Angeles at AMC's Dine-In Sunset 5. A limited national release will follow in September. Click here and scroll down to see all currently scheduled cities and theaters.