Plot
The story of a cab driver in Yanji City, a region between North Korea, China and Russia. His wife goes to Korea to earn money...
Release Year: 2010
Rating: 7.4/10 (2,061 voted)
Critic's Score: 78/100
Director:
Hong-jin Na
Stars: Jung-woo Ha, Yun-seok Kim, Seong-Ha Cho
Storyline The story of a cab driver in Yanji City, a region between North Korea, China and Russia. His wife goes to Korea to earn money, but he doesn't hear from her since in 6 months. He plays mah-jong to make some extra cash, but this only makes hif life worse; but then he meets a hitman who proposes to turn his life around by repaying his debt and reuniting with his wife, just for one hit.
Cast: Jung-woo Ha
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Yun-seok Kim
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Seong-Ha Cho
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Chul-Min Lee
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Some historical background about this movie and more
Rating: 9/10
During World War II, lots of Koreans are forced to leave their home
land to avoid the brutal oppression of Japanese military empire. Some
are drifted to Soviet Union, and some are moved to far eastern border
between China and Korea. Named after their former nations name,
Cho-Sun, the people who settled in China is called Cho-Sun-Jok (Cho-Sun
tribes). As you know, after liberation from Japanese military empire at
the end of World War II, north and south Korea begins terrible war and
still sporadic battle is going on at their border. North Koreans build
their own frantic communist-religious nation and south Koreans build a
nation based on capitalism. By the geological and political
environment, these Cho-Sun-Jok have close relation with north Korea but
the booming economy of south Korea lures them. Also south Korean
economy needs these cheap labor, today many Cho-Sun-Jok are
re-immigrated to south Korea. But the huge social and economical
difference between south Korea and Cho- Sun-Jok bring out many problems
like organized crime, drug and prostitution.
The movie tells the story about three major characters. Gu-Nam, a
desperate Cho-Sun-Jok taxi driver whose wife is moved to Korea for work
and now missing, Myun-Ga (Mr. Myun), a Cho-Sun-Jok organized crime
tycoon who sent Gu-Nam to Seoul to hit a wealthy south Korean with
one-way ticket. And Mr. Kim who ordered hit to Myun-Ga. Abandoned and
betrayed, Gu-Nam runs for life to find a way to go back to China and to
his daughter, all of these is melted, surmised and finally run to a
catastrophic ending.
Director Na successfully build a reputation as a director with his
first mega-hit move "Chaser". In this film his cinematic power is more
escalated to a new level. Actors who played lead roles in "Chaser" also
did the role again. Especially the character Myun-Ga, played by
Yun-Seok, Kim is the most brutal villain in the movie I've ever seen.
I think what current Korean movies differ from other nations, cultures
is the depiction of blur between good and evil. In Korean movies, the
really really bad guy have his own reason for his action, and good and
innocent victim shows more insanity that can ruin himself and others.
Really worthy for your two hours of golden weekend. Two thumbs up.
P.S. The title "Hwanghea" means yellow(Hwang), sea(Hae). It is a strait
between eastern China and western Korea peninsula.
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