Revenge has never been sweeter, well you’d think so right?
So, it’s been a while since I plugged a movie and this week, I decided to go Korean again. I know, I know subtitles aren’t for everyone, but this movie is again truly worth it. Those who had the might to watch my last recommendation from Korea (Oldboy) gave me good reactions to it. So, if you haven’t seen that, check it out. And if it’s disappointing, you can hold it against me forever. But I doubt it will come to that.
So, this time, I’ll be talking about a film called “I Saw The Devil". It is directed by Kim Jee-Woon, who actually has an interesting filmography if I’m being honest. The plot revolves around a serial killer who kills a secret agent’s wife. The agent then goes on to hunt him, catching him very early in the movie. He then he goes on to torture the Serial killer for the rest of the movie, resulting in a film filled with emotions from both sides, testing ones moral compass. And brings the question of if revenge is worth it. And obviously since it’s a movie I’m recommending, the end isn’t as straight forward as you would expect.
It stars Choi Min-Sik who actually was the main character in Oldboy, in that movie giving us a beautiful tragic hero, but this time, delivers what I believe is away better performance as the chilling Kyung- Chul. A serial killer and rapist. His performance is well controlled and balanced. The spectacle in his performance is not over top but you still get the feeling the character is arrogant and sure of himself. He delivers the kind of villain performance that sadly overshadows our protagonist’s performance. Lee Byung-hun (Red 2) gives a well reserved and emotional performance, that does do a good job in portraying the main characters grief, but damn. Choi Min-Sik takes this one with a very memorable performance.
The other thing I enjoyed was the directing. One thing I sometimes struggle with in Korean movies is the pacing. And this time I never really felt that. I never felt a disconnect with the movie. It might be that I recognized some of the directing style used here as it was a bit more western than I’ve seen in other Korean films, but I really enjoyed it. Especially some of the shots. The one-shot takes and the ability to build anticipation with these shots. I loved it, and it was one of the biggest things I noticed as I was watching this movie.
It’s a movie I would recommend to anyone who enjoys revenge thrillers and does mind the gory side of life.