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81 Review by Dean Crawford koreaN DvD corNer the Small ScreeN Directed by Won Shin-yeon PG-13 When “The Suspect” (2013) opens, we learn of a recent power handover in North Korea where any agents not fully trusted by the new regime are cast aside. Dong-cheol (Gong Yoo) is one such unlucky candidate — attacked and left to die while his family is killed. But the re- gime underestimates Dong-cheol’s abilities, and he manages to survive and make his way to the South. Once there, he finds a day job working as a chauffeur for Chairman Park, a high-ranking official with links to North Korea. At night, however, Dong-cheol spends his time hunting down the man responsible for murder- ing his family. After the chairman is killed by Northern spies over nothing more than a pair of glasses, Dong-cheol is forced to flee when the National Intelligence Service frames him for the crime. He is all alone, except for documentarian Choi Gyeong-hee (Yoo Da-in), who is the only per- son who believes he is innocent. The NIS brings in the tenacious Min Sae-hoon (Park Hee- soon), an agent with whom Dong-cheol shares a complicated past, to lead the case. Whereas “The Berlin File” (2012) mixed fre- netic action with interesting character develop- ment, particularly in the complicated love story between its two main characters, “The Suspect” sticks with straight action and maintains a fast pace for the entire film — a welcome change. While the editing and effects in the movie’s cli- mactic scenes aren’t groundbreaking, they’re good enough to keep you more than enter- tained. The movie reminds me of one thing I’ve no- ticed about the South’s portrayal of North Koreans: They all appear to be superhuman badassses. Forget being scrawny and malnour- ished; these guys all know several martial arts and can handle a multitude of weapons. If these depictions are in any way based on reality, I feel for the country should the North actually decide to attack! With an interesting twist on the revenge movie and a strong performance from lead actor Gong Yoo, “The Suspect” is a welcome addition from director Won Shin-yeon. Action / Drama 137 minutes the Suspect 용의자 Directed by Jeong Byeong-gil R This 2012 thriller’s frenzied opening scene sees cop Choi Hyeong-gu (Jeong Jae-yeong) chasing an assailant over the rooftops of Seoul. Choi has a murky past with this man, so the fact that his target manages to escape causes our lead character a great deal of pain. But any pity we feel for him vanishes when another man takes his own life by jumping off a roof — only to be hit by a passing bus. After such a crazy opening, “Confession of Murder” jumps forward two years and shows Choi reduced to a common drunk with a temper, shattered by losing the serial killer who mur- dered his fiancée. But then, out of nowhere, a man named Lee decides to finally confess to the murders, at this point committed 17 years prior, as the statute of limitations has finally ex- pired. Lee says he wants to atone for his crimes, so he releases a book describing the murders in great detail, which makes him something of a celebrity. Choi, however, has his suspicions. Why would Lee confess after all this time? The situation is muddled even further when another man simply known as “J” (Jeong Hae-gyun) also confesses to the murders. But with Lee’s book detailing the crimes in such a way that it’s impossible to not take him seriously, Choi must find out which of these psychos is telling the truth: the pretty-boy celebrity or the mysterious “J.” As is typical of a lot of Korean movies, the first hour of this drama is at times unintentionally co- medic. For example, there’s a car chase that feels more in line with the Keystone Cops than a Korean revenge film. Things don’t get down to the nitty-gritty until the second hour, as the secrets begin to unravel and we try to work out the truth behind the mystery. Then, as you may well have guessed, the film ends with a lot of screaming, a lot of crying and a decent amount of blood. “Confession of Murder” is the debut feature film from director Jeong Byeong-gil and, de- spite the unintentional comedy, is a strong effort that is worth your time. Action / Thriller 119 minutes confession of murder 내가 살인범이다
81page
81page