One thing Yellow Sea taught me was that I definitely should check the runtime of a film first before I buy a ticket. Let down by the previous film, I decided to to go for Yellow Sea, which started at half past ten. Only when sitting in the theater and realizing that I had not eaten in hours, was very tired and that the film ran for two and a half hours I realized I might have made a slight mistake. Turns out it wasn't, as Yellow Sea was wildly entertaining, very well made and one of the most suspenseful and emotionally involving asian thrillers of recent years.Taxi Driver Goo-Nam's wife left one year ago for Korea to find a job to support the family. To support his wife, Goo-Nam himself borrowed money from the triads, who now seem eager to re-collect their debts - shame that the protagonists wife has not called back ever since she moved away from mainland China. As Goo-Nam can't repay the money, the triad boss hires him as a contract killer to finish off a job in Korea, so that our unlucky hero can both pay his debt as well as find his wife and get her back to China.
Of course things don't work out properly and the plot spirals out of control as various syndicates target Goo-Nam who's also got the police on his heels and is busy finding his wife.
There are two reasons why Yellow Sea works so well. One is that the script, while filled with twists, never seems unrealistic. One plot point builds on another and they all weave an intricate web of deceive and interests. Director Hon-Jin Na is obviously interested in the point-of-view dynamics of crime, where the police seemingly has no clue of the bigger picture, while syndicates slowly try to unravel the reasons behind a murder plot and the conceived murderer himself is almost completely innocent of the going ons. Best compared to Infernal Affairs (and its US remake The Departed), the script allows the audience to puzzle the pieces together before all is revealed, keeping the viewer constantly at the edge of their seats when the bigger picture slowly creeps up on them.
The other reason is that this may be the best choreographed and directed gangster film in a long time. I have seen few films that succeeded as well in depicting crashing cars both realistically and as a piece of art, as the chase sequence here go on for what seems almost like half an hour, constantly coming up with new ideas and shock moments. The fights of the gangsters themselves reek of realism and could easily make audience members not used to this level of violence walk out. One action scene in particular, which sees one man up against dozens of other gangsters, is particularly grim and shocking, but the effect of suspense is always achieved (even though I wonder why nobody seemed to be fond of using guns, which would have made some of it a lot easier).
The cinematography almost seems documentary at times, jumping from HD to DV, making for a slightly nauseous but grim and dark look that heightens the illusion of realism.
The film is a far cry from being the next Oldboy or Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance as it never ventures into the field of brilliance, but as far as dark, shocking, realist gangster dramas with suspense, action and characterization go, this is a film definitely worth the money to see it on the big screen. It's not for the faint of heart and ultimately comes up with a rather nihilistic message though, but if you are into these sort of things, there is little competition right now.
Rating - 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment