His Name is Ahn Jung-geun: Harbin (2024) Review

Director: Woo Min-ho

Notable Cast: Hyun Bin, Park Jeong-min, Jeon Yeo-been, Jo Woo-jin, Lee Dong-wook

History is an infinite source of inspiration to the culture at large, shaping civilizations into what they are today; the influence of the past is something that shapes current-day mindsets the world over. South Korea has had a very tumultuous and challenging past like many other nations, and so it is no surprise that various mediums would look back to inspire their own telling of stories from yesteryear. Film is a massive avenue for retelling slices of history, and of course, just like the figureheads explored in these works or the very events being depicted within them, there always comes talks of propaganda or skewing facts to fit personal or political narratives. 

To say that a film, such as Harbin, is subject to finding itself outside of historians or politically fueled conversations from being had would be foolish, but to say that a film with a subject matter like this cannot be entertaining would also be to discredit a film as such. I went into this one with certain expectations, given that I am a huge fan of director Woo Min-ho and his previous works. In fact, his work prior to this, The Man Standing Next, also takes a piece of political history, albeit more modern than the events that unfolded in Harbin station that fateful day; suffice to say, director Woo has really become one who has a knack for telling these stories through cinema. So, how does this stack up to Woo Min-ho's previous works? Honestly, I think it fairs quite well, and of course, with these types of movies in general, I think the mileage will vary from person to person.

Directors in Focus: Yoon Jong-bin | The Spy Gone North (2018) Review

Director: Yoon Jong-bin

Notable Cast: Hwang Jung-bin, Lee Sung-min, Cho Jin-woong, Ju Ji-hoon, Jung So-ri, Kim Hong-pa, Gi Ju-bong

Set in the year 1993, a man named Heuk Geum-seong is sort of pulled against his will into becoming a spy for South Korea. He goes by the codename Black Venus and is posing as a businessman selling Chinese products in Beijing, snowballing into linking up with the North Korean government in hopes of acquiring intel on North Korea, Kim Jong-il, and digging into the state of their nuclear weapons and seeing just how powerful the hidden country may be. This is based on a true story, and of course, with any film of this nature, there will always be details altered for dramatization purposes, but with this end result in the form of The Spy Gone North, what we have is a powerfully told story of espionage that doesn't find itself stuck in the genre trapping of most spy films. There are no guns fired and no real action set pieces. Instead, the intensity, which is almost unbearable at times, comes from the real-life threat of the situation, which unfortunately remains true to this day, and the looming threat of war breaking out at any moment. This is right up there with the very best work from Yoon.

A Bromantic Ride: Ransomed (2023) Review

Director: Kim Seong-hun

Notable Cast: Ha Jung-woo, Ju Ji-hoon, Lim Hyung-kook, Kim Eung-soo, Kim Jong-soo, Park Hyeok-kwon, Fehd Benchemsi, Burn Gorman

This is a much better Point Men. South Korea has been on a kick with patriotic diplomats rescuing fellow Koreans in a foreign country that is at war films. It's become a relatively popular genre in the last handful of years, and I've watched most of, if not all of them. For me, what makes Ransomed work so well, and what helps to set it apart from the norm, is the blooming bromance between Lee Min-jun (Ha Jung-woo) and Kim Pan-su (Ju Ji-hoon). Their characters feel typical of the genre, but they both give admirable performances and their chemistry is electrifying, which really help this 2hr and 15min journey feel well alive and constantly moving forward. Ransomed is one of the better offerings in this genre, and I think it is worth seeking out, even if you haven't been the biggest fan of these types of works.

Lee Min-jun is a budding diplomat who is trying his hardest to be someone. When everyone and everything seems to be working against him and his desires, one day, he receives a life-changing call. A fellow Korean diplomat is being held hostage in Beirut, Lebanon, from the war that had broken out two years prior in 1986. Seizing the opportunity to finally get his big break, Lee heads deep into the country on a highly intense mission with a large bag of ransom money. When he arrives, things go as wrong as one could imagine and he is thrust deep into a large-scale shootout and ultimately a run for his life; Lee happens upon a man in a taxi named Kim Pan-su, coincidentally a man of Korean heritage, and one with deep ties to Lebanon. The two meet by fate and find themselves on an action-packed journey to rescue a hostage who has since been forgotten about. Soon, news breaks, and the entire country has its eyes on them.

The Mayor (2017)

Director: Park In-je
Notable Cast: Choi Min-sik, Kwak Do-won, Sim Eun-kyeong, Ra Mi-ran, Moon So-ri

Choi Min-sik is an actor whom I can always follow no matter the choices he makes as whether the film he is in is good or not and he always delivers. In The Mayor, Choi not only lives up to his wonderful reputation, but he gives one of the finest performances of his career yet.

The Mayor is a political thriller loaded with twists and turns at every corner. Choi Min-sik plays Byun Jong-go, the mayor of Seoul, who is running for a third term, and if elected he will be the first in the history of South Korea to do so. In his opposition is Yang Jin-joo, played effectively by Ra Mi-ran, a rough contender in the race to the top in what folds out in a total war.