How about a Korean movie for your viewing pleasure?

 

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis will use the month of May to explore some classic movies and movies his oddly-tuned mind finds well-crafted and worth encouraging you to broaden your cinematic horizons.

review by Peter Lewis

Thank god for the Koreans. Not only are they putting out some of the more reliable automobile and electronic products on the market, they continue to make some of the finer films as well.

While Japanese cinema (much like the aforementioned industries) garners most of the international attention, directors like Park Chan-wook (The Vengeance Trilogy, Thirst), Bong Joon-ho (The Host), and So Yong Kim (Treeless Mountain) have ushered in a new age of Korean cinema. These filmmakers are unafraid to test the boundaries of narrative, unbound by sentimentality, and unwavering in their dedication to the cinematic art.

One of the brightest directorial lights in Korean cinema is Kim Ji-woon. Unlike many directors, Kim is fearless in the face of diversity. He has tackled projects across all genres to wide acclaim. His most recent effort, “The Good, The Bad, The Weird,” is an inspired take on the classic spaghetti western. The film, set in the expanses of Manchuria (northeast China), is innovative, exciting, and above all else, thought provoking (if the name doesn’t give it away, the film was inspired by Sergio Leone’s classic film, “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”).

Kim’s film debuted at Cannes almost two years ago, but is just now beginning to see a cinematic release in America. Yet, even though it has been released to theaters, there is no guarantee that it will be available in the area. The fact of the matter is that there are certain movies that do not get the wide screen release that they deserve. It’s just the unfortunate reality. What I’m slowly winding towards is that I opted to review this film out of an even mix of optimism — that the film finds release in the River Valley soon — and an arrogant unwillingness to subject myself to either Furry Vengeance or the latest Nightmare on Elm Street.

With that lengthy expatiation out of the way, Kim’s flashy take on the western genre is a thrilling ride. While the general basis of the film is easily recognizable, there are a few things to remember about the time period in which the film takes place. First and foremost, Japan was in the middle of a quest to conquer Asia. They held the Korean peninsula, most all of Manchuria, and large swathes of China. Occupation has led to a dearth of opportunity on the Korean peninsula and led to a large exodus to the “wild west” of Manchuria. Though there was no occupier, the situation is quite akin to that of the American west, i.e. settlers heading west hoping to find a chance to better their situation in any capacity possible.

The premise is simple. A rich Korean sells an important map and then hires a bandit to steal the same map back. As with all seemingly simple plans, a hitch occurs and soon sets the three title characters against each other in a dog chases tail set piece while the Japanese army and a variety of other bandits are also tossed in the mix for good measure.

It’s a refreshing film with spectacular acting. Song Kang-ho, as The Weird, once again illustrates why he is not only one of the best Korean actors around, but one of the best actors the world over. Lee Byung-hun is electric as The Bad. Somehow he embodies an almost pure form of evil while also embodying a hip, James Dean’esque Rebel Without a Cause persona.

Most of the viewing experience is stylized pop and keen aesthetics. The gun battles themselves are an inspiring sight that serve as a reminder of the cinematic possibilities of inherently violent plot mechanisms. Yet, even with this glossy veneer, the characters are more than just the usual run of the mill caricatures. There is real depth and conflict within each of the title characters. And through their voices Kim is able to explore more existential matters that aren’t always possible in gun slinging pictures. In particular, there is a scene where the bounty-hunter, Park Do-won/The Good (Jung Woo-Sung), is talking to The Weird/Yun Tae-Goo (Song Kang-ho) and expounds on the nature of desire and the destructive cycle inherent in it: when you chase after something, something in turn will chase after you.

If you need something to chase, you could do worse than this film. So, keep your fingers crossed that it comes to big screen in the River Valley soon. There’s only so much furry nightmares a moviegoer can stomach.

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