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83 Review by Dean Crawford Korean dvd corner tHe small screen Action / Thriller 88 minutes Who’s That Knocking at My Door (저수지에서 건진 치타) Directed by Yang Hae-hoon This month, I decided to go back a ways in an attempt to look at some Korean movies that may have been overlooked by most foreigners. This led me to Yang Hae-hoon’s 2007 drama “Who’s That Knocking at My Door.” The film follows the lives of several strangers: Je-hwi (Im Ji-gyu), a lonely recluse who was bullied at school; Pyo (Pyo Sang-woo), a thuggish bully who still thinks he’s living out his high school days; Pyo’s girlfriend Ro-mi (Im Ji-yeon); the hypochondriac Byeong-cheol (Jo Seong-ha), who is positive he is dying; and Jang-hee (Yun Chae-yeong), who takes a liking to Je-hwi. As we watch these relatable characters go on with their daily lives, we see a chance meet- ing between Je-hwi and Pyo who reminds pro- tagonist, Je-hwi, of the constant torment he endured at the hands of Pyo as a child. When Je-hwi begins to confide in Byeong- cheol, what starts out as a seemingly childish plan to take revenge on someone who was a source of such misery soon gets out of hand and takes a terrible turn for the worse. I’ve seen a lot of films recently in which many of the actors and scenes felt easily in- terchangeable. The standard cycle of emotions often covers rage, goofball slapstick or a sea of tears, with most movies seeming to follow a generic path. But “Who’s That Knocking” is the total an- tithesis of those tropes. Between its slow build and understated acting, I would liken it to a Kim Ki-duk film, not in terms of content, but definitely in terms of style: Single camera set- ups, naturalistic lighting and restrained perfor- mances from the actors make it reminiscent of the British kitchen-sink dramas of old. The film was subtle and realistic, yet still managed to create tension as the plot unfolded and headed into thriller territory. If you have the time and care for a film that challenges you more than the average release, I’d definitely consider giving this little-known gem a chance. Rated R hwayi: A Monster boy (화이: 괴물을 삼킨 아이) Directed by Jang Joon-hwan Much like Yoo Ha’s 2012 film “Howling,” Jang Joon-hwan’s “Hwayi: A Monster Boy” (2013) is a film that sits firmly in one genre, but subverts audience expectations by dab- bling in the conventions of another. “Howling,” for example, used horror film iconography to lead viewers to believe that something su- pernatural was afoot, adding an extra layer of mystery to an otherwise generic crime thriller. A similar thing happens in “Hwayi,” with the opening scene showing a terrified child being stalked by some kind of large-toothed beast. The audience can’t help but question the reality of the scene — whether it’s real, or whether it’s a foreshadowing of something greater to come. Fast-forward 12 years and that same child, Hwa-yi (Yeo Jin-gu), is now part of a crime ring run by five of the men who kidnapped him as a preteen. Having never received any ransom money in exchange for his life, the five captors, rather than kill him, begin calling themselves his father and raise him as one of their own to be the perfect criminal. But in an even more sinister twist, there is something not quite right with Hwa-yi. Does it have anything to do with the beast that appears to be following him? After a job goes wrong, Hwa-yi is forced to make his first kill. This sets off a chain of events that leads Hwa-yi to use the skills his fathers have taught him in a bid to get revenge and kill all of the members of his dysfunctional family. Once the film finally arrives at its main char- acter arc, it picks up the pace and becomes a pretty decent, if not generic, Korean crime thriller. By that, I mean violent and brutal with a tense, dramatic finish, lots of tears and buck- ets of blood. The real draw, however, is Kim Yun-seok (“The Chaser,” 2008), who stars as the gang’s vicious leader, Seok-tae. A lesson in subdued characterization, he conveys more in one stare than most actors can say in a monologue. He is vicious and cold, yet somehow complicated in his feelings toward Hwa-yi. Kim’s Seok-tae is the embodiment of evil and his performance alone makes the film worth watching. Action / Thriller 126 minutes Rated R
83page
83page