After his excellent debut, The Chaser, director Hong-jin Na is back with The Yellow Sea. Is this movie just as good as his first movie or was that a lucky shot?
When Japan invaded Korea a lot of Koreans fled to China. A big part of them stayed there and quite a lot of them seem to be living in worse conditions compared to South Korea.
A lot of these people are trying to go back to make a better life for themselves. The wife of cab driver Ku-Nam (Ha Jung-woo), has already made the journey to start working in South Korea. The plan is for her to send him money regularly, allowing him to join her at a later stage.
After a while he has not heard anything from her, which worries him. Has something happened to her? Has she met another man? Because of his worries, his debts (he gambles a lot) and loss of his job he meets crime boss Myung-Ga (Kim Yun-Seok). He offers him a chance to go to South Korea and make a lot of money. The thing is though, he has to assassinate someone. Ku-Nam decides, despite the fact that he doesn’t have any experience in killing someone, to take this opportunity to make the boat trip to Korea.
Once he arrives he only has a couple of days to do the hit and he uses his time effectively to see what his target is doing. He also tries to find his wife. Unfortunately not everyone goes according to his plan and he misses the boat back. As he can’t go anywhere he’s now stuck in South Korea with both the police and the Chines mafia trying to find him.
The Yellow Sea manages to slowly build up the tension. Because of his inexperience Ku-Nam has to quickly think of solutions to his problems and because he is an “every day man” it’s someone you will relate to and root for. You’ll be treated to lot of action and some spectacular moments. With The Yellow Sea Hong-jin proves that he’s able to deliver consistent quality and I’m looking forward to his next movie, whatever it may be.
Score: 9
I didn’t find it as thrilling as The Chaser, and the one man wrecking crew fight scenes were a bit far fetched, but it was an enjoyable picture overall.
They are different type of movies and this is more action oriented. It does make you feel the weight on his shoulders that Ku-Nam experiences.
I’ve been dreading for a another good Korean movies. It seems worth to watch. Thanks!
There’s so many great ones out there. The thing I love about Korean cinema is that it manages to surprise me every time. You never know what will happen next in a movie, which makes them feel fresh.
I haven’t seen this one or The Chaser. They both sound right up my street!! I think I need to find them and get them watched!!
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