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Reviews
Gwoemul (2006)
Formidable Monster and Humanity of Ordinary People
A movie focused on a monstrous creature is essentially just for fun time. Viewers do not expect much logical or scientific clarification, which CSI viewers seek. They just want to be psychologically exposed to all the horror, consternation, distress, and panic a monster in the film creates. All they need is some kind of catharsis. Viewers of Godzilla do not ask how the atomic explosion could produce such a monster. Nor do the viewers of Tremors press for Q&A on the 'advent' of that giant underground-leech. The same goes with the leviathan being in Aligator. For them, 'somehow' is just about enough for an answer.
Gwaemul, literally, 'monster' in Korean, is said to have been born, following the discard of a large amount of liquid formaldehyde(HCHO) into Han River by 'malignantly' negligent manager of a morgue. The Giant Fish with stupendous fins or legs appears on the riverside and hurts, grabs, and kills people.
Kangho Song(plays Kangdu), owner of a vending booth at the riverside, is a lazy guy in the low income bracket. Good-natured father of his(Hiebong) usually tends the booth. Many people frequent this side of the river, including bums and hobos. Kangho lost his daughter to the fish-monster. What could or should he and his family do in that desperate situation? Awesome scenes and fear-inducing camera tricks, and sticky family bond before the overwhelming power of this creature....all these were well expressed in the hand of Joonho Bong, director. Hiebong Byeon's play was impressive.
It may not be the best monster-movie I've ever seen but is definitely one of the best.
Tae-poong (2005)
Tragedy and Action Packed
Many of the tearjerkers and romantic dramas by Korean film-makers have definitely been appealing to many Asian movie fans. Winter Sonata, Autumn Fairy Tale, Lovers in Paris, First Kiss, just to name a few. Koran actors and actresses appeared in those movies have enthusiastically been accepted in Japan, Hongkong, China, Singapore and in other Asian countries. Jiwoo Choi, Yongjun Bae, Hyegyo Song, Bin Won, Jeongeun Kim, Shinyang Park, Jaewook Ahn, Byunghun Lee are such celebrities, or rather, idols in those countries.
Bun it's quite a different story in the U.S., where 'a man carrying a big stick' is respected. They don't go much for some ticklish romantic episodes played by Asian performers.
Typhoon is an answer to this situation. It has daring hoopla, alertness, conspiracy, betrayal, red-blooded revenge and heartbreaking family tragedy stemming from the tragedy of divided two Koreas. For Dongkun Jang, a North Korean escapee as a child, politics has no meaning at all. His parents were killed when his family were escaping from North Korea to South Korea seeking freedom, by way of China. He and his sister survived the massacre by the North Koreans, but separated---separated for 20 years. All he wants is to find his sister and save her from the hand of North Korean and Chinese 'bandits'. Any means justifies the end for him. He would gladly steal secret weapon from South Korea and the U.S. to trade his sister with it.
His wrath and fury was well and timely expressed in his retort to his opponent: "Comrade, have you ever eaten human flesh?" Jungjae Lee, South Korean navy officer, has a mission to stop him and retrieve the weapon from his hand. Inevitably, the two has the fate to tackle with each other. But Jungjae Lee feels for him and says: "Tonight we will fight to the death, but in another life I would have liked to have been his friend." All the emotions and feelings are melted down to the electrifying scene when Dongkun Jang finally meets his sister and shouts: "(20 years ago) Didn't I tell you to just stay where you were!" Tight and tighter embraces follow.
Fast change of sequences, realistic plot, almost zero-defect photography, compact movements of actors, especially those by Dongkun Jang and Jungjae Lee. Hey, you both are great, Jang and Lee! Not many goofs could be found in this film.
Bus, jeong ryu-jang (2002)
Their Frame of Mind, Understandable
He, Jaesup(Taewoo Kim), about 30, doesn't like to associate with people, shutting himself up in the dreadful shell of his little world of psychological confinement. He bitterly turns his face off, or rather ignores any invitation to any social meeting, gathering, or to any party whatsoever. The only person he regularly visits with is a 'working girl' at a whore house. He feels peaceful with her. There are no fakes, lies, pretenses between the two. Is he a queer? No. He may be a deviant in a sense, but never a pervert, nor weirdo, nor degenerate.
He teaches at a private school, a cramming school for high school students after their regular school hours. He is very good and proficient at that.
Sohee(Minjung Kim) is a high school girl, cute and pretty,. She attends Taewoo's lecture after school. She, somehow, happens to find him living in a similar world of hers. Gloomy and dreary daily routine, in a world full of cheat, sham, and phony. She have been meeting a middle-aged man as a way of escape from the stress coming from her mother's endless preaches at home. But now, she declares an end to this dirty bastard and befriends Taewoo. The two meet almost every evening after his lecture at a bus stop and feel so comfortable with each other, in a very a 'decent' way. But, alas, what does their future hold in store?
There are no hustle-bustle activities involved in this film, but busy flow of their psychological conflict would stimulate viewers curiosity in an interesting way.