... ing [Mov] [Kr]

Written by Bridget Au

"Quietly engaging, unbelievably honest, and heartbreaking to the core, this affecting movie manages to be both funny and tragic."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

About the title
Couldn't find the Korean or Chinese title. I agree with those who believe that the odd title refers to the present continuous tense of the English language, as in "eat-ing", "liv-ing", "danc-ing", etc. and refers to living life day by day and life in its continuous nature

Year
2003

Director
Lee Eon-hee

Cast
Im Soo-jung as Kang Min-ah
Kim Rae Won as Young-jae
Lee Mi-sook as Mi-suk (Min-ah's mother)
Kim Ji-yeong
Lee Yoo-jeong

Review
Once in awhile a movie takes you by surprise. ...ing is one of those movies. Quietly engaging, unbelievably honest, and heartbreaking to the core, this affecting movie manages to be both funny and tragic.

Pretty young teen Min-ah is shy, quiet, and introverted, suffering from both a deformed hand and a terminal illness. She spent most of her childhood in the hospital, but her mother has ditched obsessive parental concern in favour of encouraging her daughter to live day by day like any normal teen by taking her out of hospital care and letting her go to school, accompany her grocery shopping, etc. In addition, her mother allows Min-ah to call her by her first name (unheard of in traditional, family-oriented Korea), virtually becoming her 'best friend' due to her daughter's lack of similarly-aged friends. This gives their relationship a heartfelt, humane aspect that becomes a pillar of the film.

Mother and daughter go about their lives until the arrival of Young-jae, an outgoing, charming, but somewhat juvenile photographer who moves into the apartment downstairs. Predictably, he falls in love with Min-ah, and after much prodding from her mother and the immature antics of Young-jae's persistence, the latter begins a quiet, sweet relationship with the young man. Min-ah's days are numbered, but the movie effortlessly showcases the everyday aspects of the two main relationships (romantic and mother-daughter) in their mundane beauty. This is what sets this movie apart from other tearjerker melodramas: there is only one very brief hospital scene, no deathbed hospital scene, no "Why didn't you tell me you had cancer?!" laments from the significant other, no emotional outbursts (until the very end, and justifiably so), just quietly affecting scenes (that range from hilarious to woeful to sentimental) that rely heavily on the three principal actors and characters.

Im Soo-jung carries the film beautifully as Min-ah, giving the film's protagonist great depth but also effectively conveying her timidness and understanding of her own plight. Lee Mi-sook is wonderful as her mother, balancing comedy and light-heartedness with drama. Kim Rae Won is equally important and surprises the audience with his sobbing scene at the end, a true 180-degree turn from the charming, sunny personality he gives Young-jae throughout most of the movie. Those of you who have read my reviews know that Kim Rae Won is my absolute favourite Korean actor. This guy knows how to choose his roles, knows his characters, and brings something different to the table every time, and this role adds to his already-versatile acting repertoire.

The most surprising thing about how good this movie is that it is Lee Eon-hee's directorial debut. She is confident enough to give her actors a lot of freedom and paces the movie extremely well, carefully balancing the funny parts with the inevitably tragic denouement. The journey is as beautiful, if not more so, than the sincerely poignant destination. A lovely movie that is highly recommended, especially for those who have damned melodramas in the past. A note to all Asian screenwriters: if you're going to use terminal illness as part of your series/movie, do it this way.

Rating

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The Guy Was Cool [Mov] [Kr]

Written by Bridget Au 

"Song Seung Heon is basically unrecognizable here. From Endless Love fame, here he manages the impossible: convince the audience that he is a high-school student"

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Korean Title
"Geunomeun Meoshitseotda" (translates to the guy was cool)

Alternate English Titles
"He Was Cool", "The Guy was Gorgeous"

Chinese Titles
"Na Siu Jee Jun Si"/"Na Xiao Zhi Zhen Shuai" (Cantonese/Mandarin, translates to that guy is so good-looking), "Cool Lam Kwa Lui"/"Cool Nan Gwa Nu" (Cantonese/Mandarin, translates to the cool guy and the lonely girl; a play on the title of the popular Hong Kong movie Needing You, starring Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng, whose Chinese title is "Ku Lam Kwa Lui", which translates to the lonely guy and girl)

Year
2004

Genre
Romantic comedy

Director
Yi Hwan-kyung

Producer
Gwak Jeong-Hwan

Based on
Internet novel by Lee Yoon-sei

Cast
Song Seung Heon as Ji Eun Song
Jung Da Bin as Han Ye-Won
Lee Ki-Woo as Kim Han Sung
Kim Ji-Hye as Kim Hyo Bin

Plotline
The story revolves around two typical romantic comedy leads: our heroine, the poor, petite, plain, clumsy, but warm-hearted Ye-Won, and our hero, the rich, tall, good-looking, rude, and demanding Eun Song. Both are high school students (attending different schools) with very different lifestyles. Ye-Won is constantly teased for her lackluster looks while Eun Song is idolized by younger girls for his good looks and 'cool' demeanor. Their paths cross when Ye-Won accidentally kisses Eun Song. The latter, horrified, demands that Ye-Won claim responsibility for his first kiss and forces her to become his girlfriend.

Through numerous events, the two end up falling for each other (duh), but their road to happiness is rocky, as Eun Song has a traumatic story and past. His father died of AIDS and he is possibly infected as well. His mother, unable to deal with the grief, moved to the United States, leaving Eun Song alone with his less-than-friendly aunt and uncle. As a child, he was endlessly teased and rejected due to his father's and his own possible illness, and has grown up to become rebellious and rude, although in reality he longs for love and companionship. In addition, he is still furious with his ex-best friend Han Sung, with whom he used to be very close until the accidental death of their other best friend Han Bin. Eun Song blames Han Sung for Han Bin's death, although the former keeps trying to make amends and repair their friendship. The rift in their friendship is further exacerbated by the fact that Han Sung is Hyo Bin's older brother (who adores and used to date Eun Song until the arrival of Ye-Won) and that Han Sung is in love with... yep, Ye-Won.

The whole thing comes to blows in classic Asian TV style, where Eun Song leaves for America for a year to visit his mom and returns and gets back together with Ye-Won. Cue happy ending.

Review
First of all, why can't Korean series and movies stick with one title and one title only?! I run Google searches and constantly find Korean series and movies under 3, 4, even 5 English and Chinese titles. It's confusing and unnecessary. Anyways, back to the review.

The Koreans have a way of transforming unoriginal, traditional, done-to-death plots and characters into entertaining experiences. And nothing (that I've seen at least) has turned out to be a complete disaster. So what is the secret? My explanation would be this. The Koreans enjoy a pool of acting talent. Many of the popular actors in Korea come from film school, or at the very least, do not cross over from singing careers (with a few minor exceptions) or beauty pageants. This is where TVB fails miserably, as it insists on promoting horrific actresses for the sole reason that they've won or runnered-up Miss Hong Kong. How great TVB would be if Winnie Yeung, Halina Tam, Anne Heung, Sonija Kwok, Shirley Yeung, etc. did not exist. Anyways, that's on a tangent.

I'm not saying that all Korean actors can act well. What I am saying is that they are good character actors. Meaning they're mostly far away from the calibre of TVB's Paul Chun or the like, but they are good actors in the sense that they really know how to embody the personality of their characters. For example, minor body gestures, facial expressions, little mannerisms in how they walk... they give their characters life and make them believable. This is especially the case for Korean romantic comedies. Again, there are exceptions, but this is the closest explanation I have about how Korean actors have made Korean series/movies popular. As well, Koreans generally do very well in terms of casting. Meaning, they usually cast good actors that 'match' the characters they are playing. You really can't imagine anyone else except the casting director's choices to play the characters. This is not the case for TVB, which has made many a horrific casting choice.

Secondly, some may talk about the unoriginality and lameness of Korean plots and characters. But there is a reason these plots and characters are done to death... and that's because of the demand. People still fall in love with these stories, with these characters because they have some kind of "draw-in" factor about them. And Korean series/movies have managed to put their own little twist on these stories - the heartwrenching music, faces with a lot of character, familiar character archetypes (good girl/bad boy, poor girl/rich boy, etc.), shtick humour - these all contribute to a kind of heart-on-sleeve character of Korean entertainment. There's a lot of heart and humanity in Korean entertainment, and I think that also explains why Korean series/movies are so popular compared to TVB or ATV or China series.

Back to the review of this actual movie. The two leads are two well-known Korean actors and evidence of my argument that Koreans are generally good character actors. Song Seung Heon is basically unrecognizable here. From Endless Love fame (I hated the series but I liked him in it), here he manages the impossible: convince the audience that he is a high-school student. He does very well in the dramatic scenes, but surprisingly is also an effective comic lead. His facial expressions are hilarious, yet he also conveys the rebellious nature of his character very well. Wonderful performance. And he is truly gorgeous in this movie, albeit a little thin. A good-looking, supercool, high school bad boy - yep, I'd fall in love with him. If I was still 16, that is.

Jung Da Bin entered the Korean entertainment business with her debut in the super-popular series Attic Cat, and to me stands out in the crowd of flawless-skin, flawless-hair, flawless-everything Korean actresses. Why? Because she's ugly. I don't mean to be cruel but she's just ugly. And in here they dress her like a granny. But despite her lack of good looks, she gives her characters a kind of extra zest. I said this in my review of Attic Cat - she's not the best dramatic actress (she tends to overact), but she has a kind of odd, impish charm that makes her performances genuine. And because of her less-than-perfect looks, she is a heroine we can root for because she's not flawless like other Korean actresses (who of course have gone through 20 surgeries to look that way, but whatever) - she is thus believable, and more importantly, just like us. She does well here, and has improved since Attic Cat, where she screeched too much. Here she is more quiet but still loveable and funny. I was cracking up during the scene where she's running away from Eun Song with paper in her hair - the expression on her face was hilarious. She is a terrific comedic lead.
What is really strange is that both Jung Da Bin and Song Seung Heon are great choices for their respective characters, and yet they are the last two Korean actors I'd imagine as an onscreen couple. It's somehow so wrong that it works in a right way. And they do have chemistry. Weird.

Kim Ji-Hye is downright creepy, and she's not supposed to be. She's supposed to be the mandatory gorgeous, perfect, b_tchy girlfriend-in-status-only and yet....she reminds me of Gogo from Kill Bill and I'm terrified everytime she appears because I suddenly think that this romantic comedy will. turn into one of those Japanese horror movies. It does not help that her hair is super long, super straight, and framed by cut-straight-across bangs. She belongs in a horror movie, not a romantic comedy. With that said, her performance is only mediocre as I can't see through her creepy appearance, although she nailed the many glares she throws towards Ye-Won.

Who was the actress who played Hyo Bin's friend? She was really good.

The actor who played Han Sung was pretty good as well.

To Watch or Not to Watch, That is the Question
A very entertaining movie, recommended. Just ignore the really fake CGI they use for the dream/fantasy sequences. A definite must-watch for Song Seung Heon fans.

Rating

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Old Boy [Mov][Kr]

Written by Funn Lim 

"Yes, whilst my main objection is towards the theme of the movie, the plot itself whilst at first intriguing at the end descended into mediocrity and at last pure trash. "

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Title Deciphered
I think Old Boy refers to the name given to the students in the school which the main characters attended during their teenage years.

Did You Know
This is the second in the 3 movies with revenge as the theme by famed Korean director, Park Choon Wok? The first was Sympathy For Mr Vengeance which I did not watch and the third was Sympathy For Lady Vengeance starring Lee Young-ae who won best actress in the recent Blue Dragon awards. I saw the 3rd movie. All 3 movies are similar in the sense of the theme being revenge and violence being the main staple diet. All 3 were of course once criticised for senseless violence.

Released In
2003

Cast-Character
Surname is listed second to given name, a bad habit by the westerners. Too lazy to change them.
Min-sik Choi .... Dae-su Oh
Ji-tae Yu .... Woo-jin Lee
Hye-jeong Kang .... Mi-do
Dae-han Ji .... No Joo-hwan
Dal-su Oh .... Park Cheol-woong
Byeong-ok Kim .... Mr. Han
Seung-Shin Lee .... Yoo Hyung-ja
Jin-seo Yun .... Soo-ah Lee
Dae-yeon Lee .... Beggar
Kwang-rok Oh .... Suicidal Man
Tae-kyung Oh .... Young Dae-su
Yeon-suk Ahn .... Young Woo-jin
Il-han Oo .... Young Joo-hwan

Plot
An average man, Oh Dae-su is kidnapped and imprisoned in a room with a TV as his only companion for 15 years without explanation. During those years he found out his wife was murdered and he was the suspect whilst his only baby daughter was adopted by a Swiss couple, thinking her father has run away to avoid arrest. He is then released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, he soon finds out that his kidnapper, Lee Woo-jin an affluent man offers to kill himself if Oh Dae-su finds out the why in the imprisonment in 5 days. With the help of a young pretty Sushi chef Mi-do, Oh Dae-su began to unravel some unsettling truths behind the imprisonment and finally had to confront his kidnapper who has something else planned as a big finale which will prove to be Oh Dae-su's biggest nightmare come true.

Comments
I was excited to watch this movie since I specially ordered it from yesasia.com which caused me around RM50-00. I knew I had to watch this movie alone since it is probably laden with sex and violence. The latter is true, the former not quite true since there is probably only 2 of such scenes, one not so obvious, one very obvious. The sex scene was nothing much until you finished watching the movie, then in retrospect that very scene made me feel sick to the core.

In fact this entire movie makes me sick. Is the violence senseless? No. It serves a purpose and understandable although some scenes were way too long winded that the effect wears off after a while. There is only so much of violence that can excite me, after that everything else is just plain repetition. The sex scenes were ok but in restrospect only was that scene sickening. The ending muddled and I suspect not a happy ending and in a way a sickening ending. What is sick though is why Oh Dae-su was imprisoned in the first place. The story makes no sense and gives no purpose. If there is a moral to the story, it is lost to me. It is to me a lame justification on the part of Lee Woo-jin to avenge for the untimely death of his beloved sister, Lee Soo-ah, a death which could be prevented if Lee Woo-jin had made an effort not to unzip his pants.

Yes, crudely written perhaps but the entire premise is about unzipping his pants. You see although the theme of this movie is about revenge, the real main theme is very disturbing. But to not make you suffer and watch this sickening movie, I must perhaps reveal why he was suddenly kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. So please ladies and gentlemen, FULL SPOILERS AHEAD.

Oh Dae-su was drunk one night and suddenly he was kidnapped and imprisoned for specifically 15 years. The reason was because he spread a rumour that Lee Soo-ah, a pretty young girl attending the same school was a slut. This girl in turn because of this rumour apparently committed suicide by jumping into a dam. Lee Woo-jin is her younger brother. The truth was Oh Dae-su met this girl and chatted with her on the playground at the school. He then saw her running into a classrom with a boy chasing after her and so he followed her. Inside the room, Oh saw the boy with the camera basically you know, removing her clothes and kissing her breasts and the girl was very much into it. They saw someone out there and Oh ran away. Oh was due to transfer from the school the next day I think. Before he went away, out of curiosity he asked his best friend, Joo-hwan whether he knew that particular girl. Apparently the girl had a reputation as someone virginal. Of course Oh told Joo-hwan what he saw but he didn't quite know who was the boy. After he left, rumours about her being a slut circulated. What people didn't know was the boy was Woo-jin, her younger brother. They were having full incestous affair culminated in her being pregnant. When Oh found out about the truth as he had simply forgotten the whole classroom seduction scene, he thought Woo-jin pushed his sister so as to cover the truth. The truth was the sister killed herself so as not to bring trouble to her brother and herself and Woo-jin saw his sister and his lover jumped to her death. Woo-jin blamed Oh for spreading lies without first thinking of the consequences. He said Oh "talked too much". Oh wondered too if he talked too much. But that's not the end. When Oh found out the truth, Woo-jin should have killed himself but Woo-jin's final act of revenge was the clincher. He gave Oh a package and in it contained pictures of his baby daughter with her adopted parents and the girl grew up to be Mi-do, the girl who became infatuated with him when he found her at a Sushi bar and the one whom he had sex with earlier. Oh was sickened to the bone and called Mi-do who herself received a package. Oh begged her not to open it and the he went down on his knees and even cut off his own tongue to beg Woo-jin not to reveal to Mi-do the truth. Woo-jin agreed. Why 15 years was because to give Mi-do sufficient time grow up. All along her expenses were financed by Woo-jin. Why Mi-do fell for Oh was because she and Oh was hypnotised and when they see each other, their unconcious mind tells them they're to be in love and Mi-do did all she could to help him whilst he lusted after her. In the end Woo-jin did kill himself, Oh aged many years and wrote to the hypnosis expert to make him forget the awful truth. Whether he actually forgotten the truth or not is debatable as he hugged Mi-do and began crying. Woo-jin last words to Oh was "I knew she was my sister and despite that fact we fell in love and we continue with our relationship. Now that you know Mi-do is you daughter, can you do the same?".

And the moral of the story is? True love reigns despite the incestous stuff? Don't ask questions when seeing a couple doing it in an empty classroom? Don't make assumptions even when the assumptions may not be entirely inaccurate? You get payback a million times fold for making an innocent assumption? Really, what is the point in here?

I can't help but feel disgusted with the story at the end of the day. Disgusted because of the contents, disgusted that an innocent assumption could result in all these tragedy and that Lee Woo-jin thought what he did was right, to ruin the lives of a father and his daughter for such trivial reason. His sister killed herself simply because he unzipped his own pants. Pure and simple. What this BS about true love despite the nature of the relationship is rather idiotic. Morality is out of the window. There are many movies dealing with incestous stuff, but to really justify it the way this movie did is simply well..simply ... sickening.

Technicality wise, remember Oh was framed for the murder of his wife? Later Woo-jin said his case was dismissed. How? Why? There were the glass with his prints, stuff with his prints, although all planted at the scene of the crime but still to the law enforcers these were strong evidence. So how was the case dismissed? Why in the first place put in the plot that he was framed for the crime if the end results is so confusing?

The ending itself was confusing. Oh pleading with the hypnosis expert to help him, the very same hypnosis expert who got paid by Woo-jin to ruin his life. Oh should have stabbed her to death, not plead for help. The real ending itself is also as confusing. It is up to interpretation if the hypnosis worked. I for one would think it didn't work and he lived with the knowledge he slept with his daughter who will never know he was her father, that he loved her as his daughter and as his lover and the way he cried and hugged her, I believe he would follow Woo-jin's advice and that is just so out of the point. Revenge theme? Nahhhh...more like incest theme.

Why do the Koreans love to make movies like this? They do make brilliant movies but when they make controversial movies, the movies are always extremely controversial. Even lighthearted stuff like young teenage brides and their quest for true love is in the very core quite a disgusting theme. Morality seems to be blurred to make way for storytelling but good storytelling? Maybe some yes but for this movie, no is my answer.

Coming back to this movie, the performances itself were in part faultless, in other parts a miscast.

Choi Min-shik was simply brilliant in his performance. He looked so old, so haggard and full of anger and in the end regrets. Every line, every wrinkle, every white strand of hair lend credibility to the suffering his character went through.

Kang Hye-Jeong is pretty. She is supposed to play an 18 year old since Mi-do was 3 when her father disappeared. Anyway a good performance as she embodies the innocence of Mi-do.

The miscast was Yu Ji-tae. If I am not mistaken he is supposed to be same age as Oh. Even if Oh looks haggard for his age, Yu Ji-tae looks way too young to be Woo-jin. And his performance consisted of psychotic type of cold smiles and tears. No middle ground and I would say miscast and poor performance. I can't see the agenda of his character. The movie seems to condone the reasons why he punished Oh which is pure crap.

The rest are forgettable or underused or just walk on roles.

Verdict
I watched Sympathy For Lady Vengeance first and was impressed with the story and the direction. Old Boy was disappointingly controversial of the nonsensical kind. The story leaves me feeling disgusted for having bought it and watched it. The plot is convulated, the story confusing and the ending whilst up to your interpretation is potentially sickening. The only word I can use is sickening. Disgusting may be suitable also but sickening is the right word. This movie attracted strong criticisms when there was one scene where Oh ate an average size octopus Sushi style and in whole (as in using his teeth to chew). That thing was still alive. Apparently 3 were consumed during the filming. Frankly I have no problem with that. It was the other contents of this movie that made me wonder is this movie smartly controversial or simply dumb controversial.

Watch Sympathy For Lady Vengeance and avoid watching this unless you want to watch a movie with a convulated plot. Yes, whilst my main objection is towards the theme of the movie, the plot itself whilst at first intriguing at the end descended into mediocrity and at last pure trash.

Avoid.

At.

All.

Cost.

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JSA - Joint Security Area [Kr]

Written by Funn Lim

"A must watch and definitely a must buy. The amazing thing about this movie is the storytelling ... This movie also received universal approval and praises and you can add my name to that list."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Also Known As
Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA or simply the International title, Joint Security Area.

Released In
2000

Origin
South Korea

Directed by
Park Chan-wook

Writing credits
Jeong Seong-san & Kim Hyeon-seok

The Language and the DVD Special Edition
I wonder what is so special about the DVD special edition when nowadays everybody would expect every DVD to come with another DVD with the Making of and a whole lot of other stuff. I mean the price of that DVD box set would merit for more stuff. Anyway the box is nothing special except for a rather beautiful and smart looking poster. The box itself comes with a cover, which closed the faces but showed only the eyes of the 3 main stars. The idea of a cover to cover the cover screams STYLE. The DVD movie itself looks great, the menu simple and easy to navigate. The one I watched had English subtitles and the English subtitles are good because no errors. I can't vouch for the standard of translation though but I find it made more sense than Friend. The 2nd DVD made my life hell. Like in Friend, a lot of info was squeezed into the 2nd DVD which also had documentaries. I was curious how the movie's concept was formed and why the history like that and all and also on the cast's bios and guess what? Oh yes, apart from the menu which is in English, the contents, MOST IMPORTANT STUFF are all in Korean. Again I ask this question; why bother with an international release when everybody else does not know Korean and everything is in Korean? I was very very disappointed, more disappointed than with Friend's 2nd DVD because there are info in this 2nd DVD which I wanted to know. The interactive menus is stylish though, featuring some 3D graphics but I ask again, what's the point? Is it too late for me to learn to read Korean?

Anyway I bought it from yesasia.com who did not reveal the flaw of the 2nd DVD.

Cast-Character
Lee Yeong-ae .... Maj. Sophie E. Jean
Lee Byung-hun .... Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeok
Song Kang-ho .... Sgt. Oh Kyeong-pil
Kim Tae-woo .... Nam Sung-shik
Shin Ha-kyun .... Jeong Woo-jin
Christoph Hofrichter .... Maj. Gen. Bruno Botta
Herbert Ulrich .... Swedish soldier

Summary
Taken from imdb.com

In the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been brutally shot and killed, supposedly by one South Korean soldier. But the 11 bullets found in the bodies, together with the 5 remaining bullets in the assassin's magazine clip, amount to 16 bullets for a gun that should normally hold 15 bullets. The investigating Swiss/Swedish team from the neutral countries overseeing the DMZ suspects that another, unknown party was involved - all of which points to some sort of cover up. The truth is much simpler and much more tragic.

The Story
Excellently summarised by imdb.com so really not much for me to summarise at all but to fill in the plot holes which basically is the whole story so don't read the following if you do not wish to read spoilers.

One night gunshots were heard over at the North Korean site at the DMZ (which is that thin stretch of land separating the North and the South Korea) and one South Korean soldier hobbled to safety amidst shooting by both sides alarmed by the gunshots. The South Korean soldier, a young soldier soon to be released from duty named Lee Soo hyeok was too traumatised to explain what happened. An investigator from the neutral nations, the Swiss in this case led by a Korean swiss Maj. Sophie E. Jean who was given the task to find out what happened. But as she dig deeper and the silence from both sides were becoming defeaning, she realised her job was merely to rubber stamp the events as told by each side. She refused to believe the inconsistencies and her desire to find the truth led to the failed suicide of another young South Korean soldier, Nam Sung-shik who was on duty with Soo hyeok on that fateful night. Sophie believed he was the missing link as she found more bullets than could be accounted to 4 men, 2 North Korean shot dead, 1 other North Korean Oh Kyeong-pil, an experienced veteran who was injured in the shooting and Soo hyeok himself who was shot on the leg but otherwise was unharmed. The North Korean said Soo hyeok just appeared one night in the shack over at the North Korean border and started shooting on sight. The South Korean said Soo hyeok was kidnapped by the North Korean for the purpose of forcing him to defect. Soo hyeok had a reputation amongst his men for disappearing, for having a gung ho attitude and a reckless behaviour. Sophie was sure a bigger controversy was being covered but the movie then showed in flashback the relationships between the dead and those who survived and the truth was far simpler.

One night Soo hyeok was on patrol with his men when he had an urgent nature's call. When he stepped away, his men realised they went over the North Korean border without realising it and quickly retreated. So when Soo hyeok returned he was abandoned. As he found his way out, he stepped on a mine and could not move, if not he would be blown up. At the same time two North Korean soldiers appeared, the serious Kyeong-pil and the funny guy Woo-jin who was looking for his dog. Soo hyeok had no choice but to beg for help tearfully and Kyeong pil, amused at his predicament helped him. From that moment on a strange friendship developed between the older Kyeong pil and Soo hyeok who respected him. Soo hyeok was the one who initiated the friendship by writing to Kyeong pil to thank him and back and forth the letters went until one night Woo jin, curious over the strange letters wrote a false letter to Soo hyeok which must have said Kyeong pil was sick or something as the movie did not show. Soo hyeok was so concerned he went over the other side but that became a nightly routine as 3 men became fast friends. Sung-shik, who is Soo hyeok's friend and partner during the nightly watch was persuaded to go over and although apprehensive at first, they 4 of them became fast friends and every night enjoyed their card games and chit chats. There was doubt on Sung shik's mind that perhaps the other 2 friends may be trying to persuade them to defect but Soo hyeok quickly dismissed it. When Soo hyeok good naturedly asked Kyeong pil why he didn't defect to South Korea since he likes to many modernthings that Soo hyeok showed to him including food, Kyeong pil became very serious and Soo hyeok knew they should leave politics at the front door as each party is loyal to their own country.

This went on for many nights until one final night Soo hyeok decided to stop the visits as the tension between the North and South were rising. But that night he and Sung-shik made one final fateful trip to say goodbye and to celebrate Woo Jin's birthday. Soo hyeok was about to leave tearfully when in came a commanding officer from the North and immediately guns were pulled. Tension was rising and so was fear and at that moment their fates were sealed. Soo hyeok told Sophie that Sung shik panicked and shot the commanding officer, Woo jin pulled his gun and Sung shik shot Woo jin many times. Kyeong pil managed to persuade Sung shik to lay down the gun and instead of reporting them, he told them to leave and to tell the story that they were kidnapped. Kyeong pil shot the officer in the head and then asked them to shoot him. He then threw away all the evidence into the river nearby. Sung Shik managed to run back whilst Soo hyeok who was shot in the leg hobbled to safety amidst shooting from both sides in a fierce gun battle as he laid stunned at what just happened.

Sophie by then was removed as the officer as her past was discovered; that her father was a general for the North who chose not to return to either North or South after the Korean war and decided to migrate to Switzerland after he married a Swiss woman. This Sophie didn't know and the North and the South used this against her.

But she continued on and Sophie finally found the answer she sought and she confirmed this with Kyeong pil who did not blame Soo hyeok for what happened. However there was on inconsistency which Sophie asked Soo Hyeok. Kyeong pil said it was Soo hyeok who shot Woo jin but Soo hyeok was silenced when asked. Sophie found her final answer when she saw Soo hyeok leaving the hospital and then he shot himself in the head.

Comments
This movie was universally applauded for remaining neutral to both sides' political agendas and yet presenting with a story that mirrors the sentiments of most ordinary Koreans. The message in this movie is simple; both North and South are divided only by politics but not their blood. Soo hyeok represents the nation's desire for a united front whilst Kyeong pil represents the tolerance or perhaps the sensibilitties of the North that can be reasonable and just. I find the starting scene of this movie, where the shootting occured very intriguing and immediately many questions were formed in my head; that perhaps there was some political sabotage, that perhaps something more sinister. But the great thing about this movie is the possibilities are sinister but in the end the truth was moving and poignant. In the end it is a very simple story made complicated by the actual politics that many see as the stumbling block to ther ordinary folks' desire to see their loved ones over at the other side, be they the North or the South.

After watching 2009 : Lost Memories, I got a bit of understanding about the uprising and Korea's independence. Then I saw Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War which showed to some extent the Korean war that divided the country but not the people. And now this, JSA which kinda completed the trilogy for a study on the history of Korea by showing there may be a DMZ and a border between both nations but in the end they're one people. When Soo hyeok called Kyeong pil "Brother" and when Kyeong pil did all he could to not just protect himself but to protect Soo hyeok and each country's ideologies by not telling the truth, it showed to some extent the difficulties both characters are placed in. Kyeong pil could not find it in his heart to blame Soo hyeok for what happened whilst Soo hyeok was feeling so guilty he did what he did in the end. What Soo hyeok did that resulted in the tragic death of 2 people was also understandable; tension and mostly fear made him pulled the trigger. Wanting to save his own skin made him lie and in the end guilt that he killed his good friend and caused his other good friend to commit suicide drove him to end his own life. It is just so sad simply because before that commanding officer discovered their secret meetings, all 4 of them were great friends and worry free. One good scene had Sung shik telling Soo hyeok that he was afraid that their nightly meetings may be discovered by others. But Soo hyeok naively reasoned that "What can they do? Do we know any military secrets?" and Sung shik said "We are not told any secrets any all" and Soo hyeok confidently said "Exactly!" so to Soo hyeok those nightly visits were nothing damaging. Kyeong pil knew to some extent what they were doing was dangerous but he never discouraged the nightly visits because he was lonely and in Sung Shik and Soo hyeok he found friends that he could talk to. Even Woo jin enjoyed the visits and drew Sung Shik's girlfriend's portrait, which was how Sophie found out they were friends instead of enemies.

Basically the entire premise of this movie is simple and yet deep in its implications. I didn't come from a divided nation but I know how it must feel that you have a relative over there you wanted to visit but you can't because of politics and yet you all share the same culture, same names, same costumes even to some the same blood. It is better to be South Korean though because like this movie implies with Kyeong pil so very fascinated with the stuff Soo hyeok gave him, the North may be having a miserable time unless you're the big guns over there.

This movie does not preach communism or democracy and which is better and which is not. Like Taegukgi, this movie simply tells the story of the people and their sentiments not in the political sense but in the emotional sense, of brotherhood pure and simple.

And this is what makes this movie such a great watch.

The story is simple and yet fascinating, the cinematography excellent as the colours and the camera angles reflected the mood of the movie. There are not many characters in here so you will get to know them on an intimate as in close level and the story may take its time to reveal itself as to what happened but you kinda suspect but really you never know until the last minute as to what actually happened. I find the chemistry between a 4 actors very good and the pacing excellent. Nothing bad to say about this movie except for one thing; the performances by some major actors are not really up to par with the excellent story.

For one, Lee Young Ae, looking very young, very stylish in her uniform, exceedingly pretty with this hairstyle of hers and looking rather short amongst the taller men gave an inadequate performance short of awful performance. Her English was awful but then she played a Swiss and even the Swiss actor's English was of that level so I can't complain much. I find it frustrating though that the Korean dialogue was translated but the English was not and yet the English was really really hard to understand. Maybe due to her lack of grasp of the English language that I find Lee Young Ae's performance awful. But then her acting was stone faced at most and frankly I didn't find her that great an actress as to deserve the acolades given to her. She was ok in Dae Jang Geum until the series went on and on and her sulky frozen looks made me realise she isn't that great. I must watch her other series and movies to see more but thus far, in this movie she was quite simply beautiful BUT awful. Her character in here had little to do though but it was interesting to make the investigating officer a woman in a largely male dominated movie.

Lee Byung-hun which I have heard of whom I am told is very famous in South Korea gave an inadequate performance which was not as awful as Lee Young Ae but still something was missing. I find him unconvincing as the sincere and naive Soo hyeok who was later overcame by fear and doubts. When he suddenly called Kyeong pil "Hyeong" (brother in Korean) I was quite taken aback because he didn't seem that sincere. He was mostly stony faced but his character should be in shock. The only scene he did well was when he came face to face with the character Kyeong pil with Sophie in the middle asking all the questions; the way his eyes welled up as he couldn't contain his guilt over what happened and the fact that Sung Shik threw himself out of the building and the character Kyeong pil knew he was going to say what happened and he quickly did something rather dramatic to divert attention. But other than that, I would think a better actor would have given this character more depth.

Be that as it may, I find this movie excellent because of a few good performances, for one Shin Ha-kyun was cute as the funny guy and happy go lucky Woo Jin. Kim Tae-woo who plays Sung Shik was passable. But the one actor who amazed me with his performance was the older Song Kang-ho who played Oh Kyeong pil. He made this character looked burdened but enlightened by the friendship, friendly but don't talk to him about politics though and wise and yet fascinated by many aspects of the South and the western world. The scene where he was shown the tape where Sung Shik threw himself out of the building and then sensing Soo Hyeok was going to reveal the truth was classic; his eyes spoke volumes and I find this one performance more than made up for the 2 lousy ones.

The truth is the two lousy ones aren't that bad but considering the fact that this movie boasts a very intelligent script, great pace and excellent cinematography, I would have hoped the acting from everybody who matters would be as great and consistent so I was disappointed when it wasn't.

But really the worst actor had to be the Swiss, and I assume he is a Swiss, Christoph Hofrichter who played Sophie's superior and he sounded like he's from India with his funny accent and non happening expressions (by the way his real name is such a tongue twister). Granted his role was miniscule sized as in very very small but his appearance made a big impact on me quite simply because I didn't understand a single word he was saying and he looked like a human sized card board trying to act. Maybe he is not a professional actor.

Overall, other performances are quite alright.

Verdict
A must watch and definitely a must buy. The amazing thing about this movie is the storytelling. You can't find a better movie that balances the sensitivities of even now still very tensed nations, not since Kingdom of Heaven actually but this movie was made way back in 2000. This movie also received universal approval and praises and you can add my name to that list.

Get this one.

Interesting Fact
Biggest box office hit back in the year it was released BUT interestingly Friend aka Chingoo broke all records by selling more tickets in a week than this movie did in well, maybe a few weeks. Still a big hit.

As you know Lee Young Ae then had I think a slide in her career for a few years until Dae Jang Geum revived her career and now she is super cool, super hot and super famous again. I am sure you must have watched Dae Jang Geum though, it is like an essential viewing for all who are interested in K-dramas apart from the other few essentials, All About Eve and Winter Sonata.

Interesting Similarities
The 4 characters in here played a game of balancing 5 stones or tiny pouches filled with either rice or sand in this movie. I played that too when in primary school. In fact I was very good at it and could play for hours non stop. I didn't know South Korea/Morth Korea had that too. I wondered what it is called there? In Malaysia we call it batu simbang but then I may have been wrong since all my life I called it batu simbang which literally means balancing the stones.

Read More

Chingoo aka Friend [Kr]

Written by Funn Lim

"The movie failed to live up to my expectation because I expected so much more but I did end up having a better understanding of the Korean cinema as this movie introduced me to some wonderfully gifted actors and sealed my adulation for Jang Dong Gun whom now I believe to be one of the finest actors I have ever seen."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Title Deciphered
Chingoo or maybe the spelling is Chingu, in Korean means Friend which is also the international title.

Released In
2001

Language
I got the DVD version with one DVD for the movie and the other DVD for the Making of and interviews. The movie is in Korean but in its local dialect I think with English subtitles. How accurate is the English subtitles I do not know but I believe some words may have been inappropriately translated since some sentences do not make sense. However overall the subtitles are of very high quality for the fact that there are no grammatical errors that I have often seen in the Malaysian version of other series and movies. The other DVD did not have any translation so I could only guess what they're were all saying about the movie. It is funny that the DVD has Korean for Korean, Korean for children and Korean for foreigner and yet one standard English for all others.

Directed & Written by
Kwak Kyung-Taek

Cast - Character
Yoo Oh-seong .... Joon-suk
Jang Dong-Gun .... Dong-su
Seo Tae-hwa .... Sang-taek
Jeong Un-taek .... Jeong-ho
Kim Bo-kyeong .... Jin-seok

Summary
Taken from IMDB.com

In 5 days, 1 million people have flocked into theatres all over Korea to watch the blockbusting hit "Friend", making it the fastest movie ever in Korea to hit that mark. The previous record holder, "JSA", took three times as long to attract 1 million audiences into the theatres.

Starring Jang Dong-Gun, the heir-apparent of multi-award-winning actor Han Seok-Gyu, "Friend" is a story about 4 childhood friends, whose friendships turned sour as life forces them to go their own separate ways.

In the story of "Friend," despite their different family backgrounds, four friends grew up together in the wearisome years of the 70s. But as time goes by, each of them takes different life paths. After enrolling in college, Sang-taek and Joong-ho return to visit Dong-su (Jang Dong-gun) and Joon-suk (Yoo Oh-seong), only to find one of them in jail and the other on drugs. Slowly life take difficult turns where friends become rivals in the crime world...

The Story
The summary taken from IMDB.com is a bit misleading. In fact the summary printed at the back of the DVD is also misleading because in essence it is a story about 4 good friends growing up in an crime prone area filled with drugs, gangsters and really morbid looking places. But that's where the accuracy stops. 2 friends became enemies due to opposite allegiance to respective gangs or rather mob bosses whilst 1 escaped the tragedy by being the best student in the school and another a practical joker. Not all became rivals in crime world and even the so called rivals aren't really rivals. Maybe the story must be told from my point of view.

This movie is basically about the 4 phases of these 4 boys' lives, or to be more accurate 3 boys' lives, 13, 18, 21 and 27 years old since the 4th boy is merely the fill in friend to make up the number 4.

4 childhood friends with different personalities grew up during the 70s. The story starts in 1976.

Joon Suk was the son of a local powerful mobster or gangster and was destined for a life of violence as he himself was the best fighter in school. He was seen as the protector or big brother.

Dong Su was the 2nd in command who became Joon Suk's friend after Joon Suk saved him from some bullies. He was the son of a mortician but he was ashamed of his father's occupation and his lack of wealth.

Sang taek was the closest to Joon suk and is essentially a nice boy who studied very hard to ensure a bright future. He would seem out of place being friends with Joon Suk and Dong Su but he was. Quiet in personality and an introvert, he was often protected by the big brother like Joon Suk.

Jeong ho was the funny guy in the group. His mother was always out working and so he often spent time alone in the house. Also the one who was most curious about girls and was the life wire of the group.

Of all 4, Dong Su seems the least closest to everybody.

Skip to a few years later and we see them as rebellious 18 year olds on the merge of being a man with very violent teachers. Anyway Joon suk became the most feared gangster in the school whilst Dong su became his right hand man, the 2nd most feared. Sang taek was well on his way to gaining an entry in university whilst Jeong ho is as playful and as curious about women as ever. But Dong su became very disattisfied with Joon Suk when he found out Joon Suk gave his woman, a young girl who part times as a singer in her group, Rainbow called Jin seok to Sang Taek as a gesture of friendship. Sang taek didn't do much with her since he was very shy but he did kissed her. Dong su began to question Joon Suks friendship with him. Anyhow during one time after being badly beaten by a rather violent teacher for not doing their homework, Joon suk walked out of school together with Dong su. Whilst out watching a movie with Sang taek, Sang taek was ambushed by a bunch of wannabe gangster because he once protected the honour of Jin Seok at some skating ring, and subsequently Joon Suk and Dong su helped beat them off. But at the cinema nobody helped Sang taek, and Dong Su and Joon Suk realised how much they're hated when the entire school ganged up to beat them. Back in school, Dong su became very angry that he went to school destroying the windows and threatening bodily harm to anyone who is going to cross his path again whilst Sang taek feeling guilty that he was the cause of the whole mess offered to Joon Suk to run away to Seoul but Joon Suk talked some sense into him and advised Sang taek to pursue his studies and let Joon suk go his own path which he knew will be a path of crime.

Zoom to several years later and this time they were all 21 years old. Sang taek returns to his hometown as a university student. There he met again Jeong ho who now is still the joker but had distanced himself somewhat from his other two good friends. To Sang taek's disappointment, he found out Joon Suk married Jin Seok, worked for a violent and despicable gangster and became a drug addict whilst Dong Su trying to prove to the gangster world that he can be a gangster was spending his time in jail for an unspecified crime. Joon Suk asked Sang taek to promise him that if he ever fails Sang taek will be there for him and Sang taek promised him. It was due to Sang taek't return that Joon suk decided to break away from the current despicable mobster and went to work for his father's former right hand man.

Dong su by then was out of prison and he met again with Joon suk when Joon suk's father died and Dong Su's father was the one who cleaned his father's body. Joon suk was grateful to Dong su and that was perhaps their last friendly banter where Dong su had some heart to heart talk with Joon suk and that Dong su was going to work for Joon suk's former boss. Joon suk knew they would be rivals one day and Dong su walked away as Joon suk saw the back of his good friend for one last time until several years later when all are in their early 30s from my calculation.

Zoom to present time, all of them have already grown up and all in early 20s. Sang taek returns and is doing his PhD. He meets again with Jeong ho who is getting married and he finds Joon suk now his boss' right hand man and free of drugs. But Dong su's boss is gaining power and Dong su is doing all his dirty work. Dong su now is not the former Dong su; he is scary, menacing and he refuses to see Sang taek. One time he was attacked and Dong Su thought it was on Joon suk's order. So Dong su went all the way out to kill most of the rival members of Jin suk's gang. Jin suk remembering how Dong su was his friend and how his father helped with his father's funeral tried to give Dong su one last chance to leave the country but Dong su flatly and arrogantly refused. When Joon suk left, Dong su began to remember Sang taek and his old childhood friends and so he was on his way out to see Sang taek at the airport when he was brutally stabbed to death on Joon Suk's order. Joon suk fled the country and met up with Jin Seok again.

Then zoom to them all being 27 years old. During those years of exile Joon suk was ridden with guilt over the fact that he killed his good friend despite the fact that Dong su might kill him one day if he didn't act earlier and so Joon suk returned to Korea and was arrested. Dong su's father refused to believe Joon suk had anything to do with Dong su's death whilst Sang taek and Jeong ho, although saddened by Dong su's death tried their best to protect Joon Suk. But Joon suk confessed to his crime and when asked by Sang taek why he confessed, Joon suk's answer was confusing to me because I suspect the translation may not be accurate but anyway he said "Dong su didn't like to be humiliated and I don't like to be humiliated either". Perhaps living in exile is a humiliation but I suspect he confessed because he couldn't live with his decision to kill his good friend.

And then Joon suk walked back to his cell, gloomy as ever and the last scene was the 4 friends when in their childhood talking about useless facts whilst swimming in the sea. The carefree days were gone and is anything but a distant memory.

Comments
I really wanted to watch this critically acclaimed and commercially successful movie after becoming Jang Dong Gun's die hard fan. Any die hard fan of Jang Dong Gun will either have watched this movie or is trying to get hold of the VCD or DVD which is almost impossible unless you order through yesasia.com.

I got it from yesasia.com, the special edition which in an attractive tin box etched with the Korean title and English title and inside it the dvd in yet another nice cover together with a very attractive booklet filled with info all in Korean. Kinda defeat the purpose of an international release when everything is in Korean. Why bother one wonders? But it is nice to look at. The DVD box itself is a revelation and I wonder why our local DVD boxes are not like that. One DVD is not staked on top of the other but staggered stacking which makes it look just great. I love the whole packaging. The cover at the front and back is interesting in that Jang Dong Gun's face is the largest and the one at the front, Yoo Oh seong is the second largest and at the back of Jang Dong Gun (and he is actually the lead), the narrator and the 2nd lead of this story Seo Tae Hwa was at the back in 3rd line and the last was Jeong Un taek. It is interesting because Jang Dong Gun had the 3rd least screen time compared to the other two leads and his total screen time is probably about 30 min or maybe a bit more. And yet his face is everywhere in the cover.

Anyway, attractive interactive menus in English with mostly standard DVD features but the interface looks cool. The 2nd DVD was even more attractive looking but alas, all in Korean. Why bother to translate the menus when the contents are in Korean?

Anyway, for more info on the box and the contents therein, go to dvddebate.com which gave an excellent review on the movie as well as the DVD itself.

The I watched the movie and I thank my lucky stars the custom officers in Malaysia did not open the packaging. The very early scene in this movie had the 4 boys watching porn and discussing about female anatomy. It was not an easy watch for me.

For Jang Dong Gun fans who has yet to watch this movie. Bad news first; Jang Dong Gun dies in this movie, which I am sure everybody knows. Great news is he died in such a dramatic way I am sure it is as memorable it is today as it was when this movie was first released. More on that later. This movie however is not just Jang Dong Gun alone.

Anyway, watched the entire 2 and a half hours long movie and my sentiments towards the end of the movie is not the same as I was purchasing this DVD. You could say I was disappointed with all the hype about how great this movie is and since I can't relate to the Koreans and their old school uniforms and violent teachers as well as local dialects, I couldn't relate much to the characters. But the story itself is universal enough, as 4 childhood friends drifted apart and ended up on opposite ends of the pole. But to me the story itself is the failure of this movie.

A good story can only be a great story when told by a great storyteller who discards away with the unnecessary and leaves us the viewers with only the necessary facts. For a movie of such a length, the story was badly told probably because it was badly written.

For one, we are supposed to connect with the 4 friends so that when Dong su died and everybody did what they did, we are supposed to feel "Aww what a shame this happened!". But that emotional link between the 4 friends are unconvincing and not close enough therefore as a viewer I felt rather unimpressed with their closeness which is not apparent. For one the movie didn't tell us how they met, that they just know each other. Their bonding sessions as a child seems to cover only chasing after a car, swimming and talking nonsense and discussing about female genitilia over a porn movie. I find all these probably what boys will do during bonding sessions and yet I find them all utterly juvenile and just scratching the surface. I can name at least 3 other movies which showed to a very successful level the bonding sessions of childhood friends; Stand By Me, Dreamcatcher and I Not Stupid. Chingoo failed in this aspect and everything else thereafter was unconvincing and therefore not effective. I find the children's segment too short, too simple and too pretentious. I am made to assume they're best of friends and when I was getting used to the idea of the 4 boys, the movie zooms forward to the adult actors who are frankly all too old for their 18 year old roles.

And even as 18 year olds, we are told that they drifted apart for awhile and then became great friends again. But I am still not convinced because the so called loyal friendship between Sang taek and Joon Suk seemed forced whilst Dong Su and Joon suk seemed more like to reap profits for oneself (especially from the point of view of Dong su) and everybody else with everybody else seems non existent. The good scenes are those of rage and questioning of loyalty, both from Dong su and the scene where Rainbow singing on the stage which is a nice song. The infatuation between Sang taek and the lead singer of Rainbow that is Jin Seok was more like touch and go. I didn't even know the relationship fizzled before it started until zoom again a few years to the future. Another memorable scene was the entire rival school joining hands in beating the crap out of Sang taek and friends. It shows their loyalty, that they fight together but alas, the scene was too shortlived and to me quite sudden. I always question their loyalty to one another when at this point their loyalty and friendship should not be questioned at all; this will of course form the basis of Dong Su and Joon Suk's actions in future that is tragic in Greek proportion. But because of this lack of connection from childhood to the end of their idyllic lives as teenager and they're to embrace adulthood, the missing link is then fast forwarded some more to the future causing more mayhem to the already woobly script.

Then came their early adulthood and we see everything from Sang taek's point of view and yet Sang taek is such a non happening character. He is such a bore to watch and his expressions mostly wooden. Interestingly we see Joon Suk as a drug addict married to Jin Seok. Again we are to assume something horrible happened in between, that Joon Suk whose life was immersed in crime became addicted to drugs and therefore dependant on his cruel mob boss. Dong su we are told is doing time in prison like a passage or a proof of manhood in the gangster hierarchy, something Joon Suk did before, again we are told and not shown. Even until the end I do not know what did Dong su do to earn a place in prison; did he steal? Then he was pretty petty criminal. Did he hurt someone? Then it would form a strong basis to his tendency to violence, the way he embraced it so openly towards the end. Did the translation miss out something? I do not know and I will never know. We see some bonding time between Sang taek and Joon Suk, but I find that lacking in emotion because by this time I do not see the connection between the two. Jin Seok was simply a character that walked in and out of the boys' lives whilst Jeong ho was simply a bystander, the joker that always laughs but knows what is going on but does not participate. The really good scene here is the relationship between Dong su and his father. He loves his father but he hates and feels ashamed of his father's job, which was why he joined Joon Suk's former boss. Another interesting scene was how Joon Suk left his former boss and joined his current boss. That one scene on how he left his former boss was telling enough what sort of boss Dong Su will be working for and how violent he will learn to be whilst Joon Suk followed a more milder version. But the connection between Joon Suk wanting to be better and find a better boss to Sang taek's reappearance is not so clear, when I suspect the writer actually wanted the connection to be ultra clear; that Sang taek was Joon Suk's conscience, his lifeline and his best pal. I can't see all that.

And again zoom past to their mid 20s and they have reached perhaps the pinnacle of their career in crime. I still do not know what Sang taek's job is, I just know he is very studious. Jeong ho remained pretty useless, his character never fully utilised when if it had been utilised fully, he could be the character that knows a lot of stuff but prefers not to meddle in them. By this point the story shifted to the rivalry between Dong su and Joon suk. One very telling scene was when they were teenagers and Dong su did question Joon suk's influence in his life and that he does not want to be second fiddle to him anymore. This can be seen during the time the 4 of them playfully tried to outrun one another and the only two in competition were Dong su and Joon suk and Joon suk didn't want to be in competition. Very early on we see Joon suk as someone placing friendship above all else whilst Dong su is very ambitious and dissatisfied. The rivalry is seen fully almost towards the end of the movie. We see how dangerous Dong su became, how Joon suk is somewhat a better man but how he succumbded to killing his good friend. We are supposed to assume Dong su is more than just good friend since Dong su's father's confrontation with Joon suk in jail later on is telling enough; that they were best of pals. But again that connection was missing.

The most spectacular scene in this movie is perhaps the death of Dong su. You know he's gonna die because the soundtrack's title said so. The director it seems paid special attention, in fact to almost obsessive level on planning and executing Dong su's death, that it became simply and overwhelmingly the best scene in this movie and so far the most memorable death scene in any movie apart from The Godfather when Sonny died. But the motive may be different. We are supposed to feel pain as in how come Dong su died and how can his friend do this to him. But at that point, I really thought if Dong su wasn't killed first, Joon suk will be killed. It's either one of them. The scene did not make me cry because I know so little of Dong su, quite simply it was like watching a stranger die. I do feel pain simply because it was Jang Dong Gun being stabbed there and because the way he died was extremely painful and violent. 30 stab wounds, front back, side, up and down and as he laid dying the young gang member continued to stab and stab and stab until Dong Su about to die uttered probably in my opinion one of the top 5 most memorable movie line ever, "You've done your job...go now" and then he slumped over and died. It's sad because it was extremely violent and I felt painful. But it wasn't because I know this character. It is so unlike the scene in 2009 : Lost Memories when the Japanese counterpart, I think called Saiko died. I cried because I knew him, and the story made me know him. This story I am sorry to say missed that connection from scene 1. Anyway I suspect he must have said "Enough" or "Stop" before he uttered that famous line but that was not translated. This is really my most favourite scene in this movie, apart from the confrontation between Dong Su and Joon Suk in a room, very tense and yet poignant.

And then zoom again a few years later and again Sang taek is the one telling the story and we are told Joon suk has returned. By zooming it so soon, we are deprived of that one great scene that could have given this movie something to talk about apart from the 30 stab wounds on Jang Dong Gun's body; Joon Suk's expression when he found out Dong su died. Did he attend Dong Su's funeral? If yes how did he faced Dong su's father? Where was Sang taek? As Joon suk confessed and I assume because he was ridden with guilt, Sang taek asked him tearfully, "Why did you do it?".

Now when he asked that, I was thinking IT referring to why Joon Suk ordered the death of Dong su. But then he said "Why did you confess?" and I was like shocked at how little concern Sang Taek had for Dong su. Even Jeong ho couldn't care less for Dong su's death. I would love to see a scene where all 3 of them attended Dong su's funeral, some emotion as they recognised that dead man as their childhood friend, no matter how different they were in adulthood. But none of those and I find Sang taek and Jeong ho too cold, too heartless. Surely Dong su merit a mention, a tear, a concern? Wasn't he a friend? A chingoo too?

The ending explanation why Joon suk did what he did I believe was badly translated because I was like HUH? But I do get it. It was guilt. Joon suk succumded to the lure of power, and violence like Dong su was. He had a conscience, which is unfortunate for a gangster actually.

And all these while, as Dong su and Joon suk was killing one another, I was thinking what about their respective bosses? They enter and then mentioned and then gone just like that. Not one mention thereafter. I find the holes in the plot far too many.

It is the lack of connection, the lack of coherent storyline and missing links that made this movie NOT a dud, BUT a movie on the edge of greatness. I would have wished that the writer concentrated on perhaps 3 friends at the most but if he is clever in utilising the time in the story, even 10 friends would create a carefully and intelligently scripted movie. A lot of time is wasted in this movie for reasons I do not know. Perhaps the story should have just centred on Dong su and Sang taek as I find these 2 characters so colourful, so interesting and their in fighting very intriguing. But the writer wanted to create a multi faceted friendship from many perspectives and therefore failed to concentrate on a proper perspective. Rather he did concentrate on one and that was Sang taek but Sang taek was such a bore and badly developed character.

Of all 4 characters and the amount of time took to develop the character, Dong su was perhaps the most intriguing and this is not because of Jang Dong Gun. In part maybe, but any credible actor would have gained fame through this character because he is so interestingly violent and angry that you can't help but notice him. But Jang Dong Gun was an unexpected choice but an ingenious casting simply because if there is one scene that he excels in, it would be those quiet moments of deep contemplation before he was about to do something; either whether he would travel back in time to change history or pursue the woman he loves or in this case, kill off almost everybody in Joon Suk's gang. His eyes, and the depths he shown by simply smoking and thinking was perfect in my opinion. There is no doubt his Dong su is one ugly character. Even his handsome feature is contorted into this "Really? If you dare come kill me" kinda bored but tough looking gangster. The fact that his voice was almost unrecognisable, always a whisper, like he can't shout (he kinda lost his voice and it was deliberate) was very threatening and quite scary. Everytime his character spoke chills went down my spine because you wouldn't know what he'll do and he might just plunge that knife into your face. It was an unexpected casting decision but due to his great acting, he made full use of whatever little screen time he had and made this character truly memorable. And yes, his death scene was spectacularly acted and shot and that line he uttered was simply classic.

The second best character is Joon suk by Yoo Oh seong and it is interesting to note that I have read that this actor was usually in comedies? Hard to believe he could be such a capable dramatic actor whom I read won best actor for this movie. Deservedly so eventhough his character was badly developed. Many things happened to this character in fast forward motion and if it was slowed down a bit, it would have been a goldmine of a character to play. I find this actor very convincing as the gangster whose downfall was his high regard for friendship. Although when Dong su appears and Dong su eats the whole screen, when Joon suk was alone or with Sang taek, this actor's peformance must be seen to be appreciated. This actor is given a character that has many blanks but he managed to give this character a life of its own and I was very impressed. Of course Jang Dong Gun was more impressive and scarier but Yoo Oh seong definitely deserve the award. Eventhough the actor didn't quite look soft like Jang Dong Gun, and yet there is a sense of integrity and honour in his character, in the way he carried himself. It is funny though that Jang Dong Gun, a beautiful and somewhat gentlemanly looking man played the violent one whilst Yoo Oh Seong, who to me looks like a typical gangster played the one who has values although he threw it all away when he ordered for the death of his friend.

A good actor that I must mention is Jeong Un taek who plays Jeong ho. Not much of a character, one dimensional at most but this actor is very funny and very expressive. I love to hear him speak his line as it was so fast and like a total smart aleck. He played his role very well but the problem is actually the lack of characterisation and development. A pity actually. You can say his character is basically the 4th friend, and nothing beyond that.

The worst actor and the most underdeveloped character is Sang taek played by Seo Tae-hwa. He was clearly too old to play the 18 year old Sang taek and throughout his character had the personality of a bland chopped wood. And yet his character is supposed to be the bridge between Dong Su and Joon Suk since he is like the middle man, involved but not so involved. His character is pivotal as his appearance and reappearance often spurred Joon Suk to strive to be a better person, and a better friend. Dong Su was even persuaded to see him off at the airport if not for his death since he was on his way to see Sang taek go to US. But yet his character is like appearing for appearing sake. Sometimes I wonder why his character is given such a pivotal role in this movie as he narrated it and yet he never went beyond just listening to updates as to what happened to his friends, always as told by Jeong Ho, the quittesential newsman of this movie? The actor's performance was something akin to the character. Mostly either bored, blank or bland, the scenes his did well are those towards the end that required him to look more than bored. I had to view this movie a 2nd time to fully appreciate his so not there type of acting but I still believe his character failed him. Generally the actor is quite a capable actor.

The rest of the actors are quite ok, although the young ones are horribly annoying to watch whilst the other actors we do not see enough. The actress who plays Jin Seok, Kim Bo-kyeong was stylish in her first appearance as she was miming horribly out of synch to the music (which was not intended since she was supposed to be singing that song herself) and later on her performance was marred by the fact that her character stopped developing after she left the stage. I find her appearance and re appearance of no significance at all and I wonder why bother with her character? Many various characters are definitely under developed due to a majority of screen time given to mainly Joon Suk and Dong Su but yet these 2 characters are also underdeveloped. If you want my honest opinion, I find all characters, major, minor, significant and insignificant to be underdeveloped for reasons I could not explain since there are so few people in this movie and the length is pretty long.

The child actors were horrible though. None of them looked like their adult counterparts and the way they talked irritated me. It was typical child type of acting with not much substance. Again their childhood perspective were not developed fully and I am left with like flashing moments of their childhood and zoom off then to adulthood.

Overall, the entire movie is really not that bad a movie. The cinematography is excellent, and the colours that one sees changing from each phase of these boys' lives make this movie into such a beautifully shot movie. The songs are great and frankly speaking, the performances from those who matters ranges from good to excellent. I find the performances by the main actors to be beyond my expectation whilst the girl..well her character didn't matter anyway. Maybe she did but undervelopment of her character gave me an impression she didn't quite matter. The main problem is definitely the inadequate transition from one phase to the other. And I have this impression that the director placed too much emphasis on Dong Su's death scene, so much so the entire movie is dominated by that one most violent scene in this movie and the most painful for me to watchwhich turned out to be the movie's most memorable scene. Make that any movie's most memorable scene.

Like my review for The Coast Guard, I did not quite like the movie, where for The Coast Guard, I didn't understand it. For Chingoo, it was slightly different. I was carried away by the hype and so I expected more. But throw away your expectation this movie has its major flaws in characterisation and the way the story was told. But looking at the other aspects like the music for each segment, the performances and the cinematography, I would say these factors more than made up for the major flaws. The dialect is also very interesting and I believe the translation was much too polite to translate the swearing because they sounded like swearing.

This movie at the end of the day may not change your life nor does it resemble anything close to a good storytelling, but as far as entertainment goes and the element of one truly memorable character, this movie has its moments and it offers TWO truly memorable characters.

Verdict
The tin box set is a must buy simply because it is very simple and yet beautiful. This movie has to be seen so that you judge it for youself. It's not a bad movie, really. I didn't regret buying the movie because Jang Dong Gun alone is worth the price as he didn't disappoint me. The movie failed to live up to my expectation because I expected so much more but I did end up having a better understanding of the Korean cinema as this movie introduced me to some wonderfully gifted actors and sealed my adulation for Jang Dong Gun whom now I believe to be one of the finest actors I have ever seen. My respect for him is now moving from admiring his looks and his ability to act to perhaps admiring the fact that he can blend into any character and give a performance that is worth mentioning and remembering. However this performance is not his best because I know his best has yet to come.

Interesting Question
One major question though; why are the teachers so violent in South Korea? This teacher in this movie not just slap, he grab you by the cheek, slam his entire palm dead on to your cheeks and you fall back. If he is not happy, he will take a file and start slamming your head with it again and again and again. This is not the first time I have seen such a scene and it is quite shocking.

Interesting Downloads
Check out my downloads page (TV /Movies) for some great downloads taken from this movie.

Some Screencaps
The same ones you will see in the Downloads page where these still images accompanied the themesong in the Music Video you can download. All are clickable thumbnails and feel free to post them at your forums or website.

Interesting Scans
The following are the scans of the booklet I mentioned above. All are clickable thumbnails and feel free to post them at your forums or website.

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