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103 Review by Dean Crawford korean dvd corner the small screen Directed by Kim han-min PG-13 Every so often a movie bulldozes its way into popular culture and becomes both a critical and financial phenomenon. One such film is Kim Han-min’s “The Admiral: Roaring Currents,” starring Choi Min-sik as Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Set during the famous battle of Myeongnyang, the film tells the story of how 12 Korean ships over- took a Japanese fleet of more than 300 in the 16th century. Just 18 days after its release, the movie be- came an unprecedented success. It overtook “Avatar” (2009) to become the most-watched movie of all time in Korea, and broke several other records in the process. At the time of this writing, the film had topped 17 million admis- sions. Given that Korea is a country of 50 mil- lion people, that is a staggering achievement. I did wonder whether these records had more to with the nationalistic subject matter than the quality of the finished film. However, I’m pleased to say that the film is solid, mainly due to the direction from Han and the performance of Choi. The veteran actor plays Yi as a stoic, troubled hero plagued by spirits, rather than as a god-like character on a pedestal. As the plot develops, Yi has to continually deal with doubts from his men, who feel his plan is near suicide. They revolt and even try to assas- sinate him. But he is not afraid to kill his men or set fire to his town to prove his point and rile his troops. Even his son asks him why he con- tinues to fight, to which Yi simply replies, “Loy- alty.” That is the essence of Choi’s character on screen; it’s a multifaceted portrayal of one of Korea’s greatest heroes. The final battle is huge, with one sequence being a single, uninterrupted take that pans around a large ship while hundreds of extras fight below. Despite knowing the outcome of the skirmish, I still managed to lose myself in the spectacle. Though I still prefer Han’s “War of the Arrows” (2011), there is no doubting that “Roaring Cur- rents” is an impressive film. And much like the boats in Yi’s armada, the film shows no signs of slowing down. Drama 128 minutes roaring currents 명량 With “Roaring Currents” becoming the most successful film in Korean history, I wanted a good companion piece for this month’s review section. The film I’ve been saving for the occa- sion is Bong Joon-ho’s instant classic, “Snow- piercer” (2013). Set aboard a self-sustaining, never-ending train that holds what’s left of the Earth’s pop- ulation after a global warming experiment gone wrong, those at the front of the train live in lux- ury while those in the back live in squalor. Curtis (Chris Evans) leads a rebellion to demand better conditions from the train’s mysterious creator, Wilfred. “Snowpiercer” isn’t just one of the best Korean films I saw last year, but one of the best films I saw, period. What makes it so special is that, despite the premise, it feels so real, with so- cial disparity being in the news more than ever, along with uprisings and police brutality. Wheth- er we realize it or not, looking at “Snowpiercer” is like looking at ourselves, and that’s the skill that Bong Joon-ho possesses as a master director. “Snowpiercer” also contains one of the best ac- tion sequences I’ve seen in a long time. The bat- tle for the water tank is tense, violent and brutal, yet humorous at the same time. It would have been so easy to over- or underplay the scene, but the balance is perfect. The most surprising aspect about the film was the performance by Chris Evans. He is fantastic as Curtis and the depth of emotion he manages to display in what could easily have been written off as a simple action film is impressive. Those who don’t rate him highly as an actor need to take a look at one of the monologues he delivers to his costar; framed in a close-up that leaves Evans with nowhere to hide, it’s emotional and compelling stuff. With “Snowpiercer” finally getting a full North American release, I certainly hope it gains trac - tion with audiences abroad and is a reminder to anyone who hasn’t seen the film to please go out and do so. Directed by Bong Joon-ho PG-13 Sci-f / Action 125 minutes snowpiercer 설국열차
103page
103page