The Chaser
Originaltitel: Chugyeokja
Produktionsland: Südkorea
Regisseur: Na Hong-jin
Kinostart: 14. Februar 2008
Darsteller: Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Young-hee
Synopsis
Ex-cop pimp Jung-ho is irritated because his girls keep disappearing without clearing their debts. One night, he gets a call from a customer and sends Mi-jin. Jung-ho realizes the phone number of the customer matches that of the calls the missing girls got last. As something smells fishy, he searches for her. During his search, Jung-ho dents a car in the alley. When Jung-ho spots blood splattered on the driver’s shirt, he senses the man, Young-min, is the suspect. After an intense chase, Jung-ho catches Young-min. But because of Jung-ho’s pretense as a cop, they are both taken to the police station. At the station, the man bluntly confesses he has killed the missing women, and the last girl, Mi-jin, may still be alive. As the whole police force is obsessed with a random search for corpses, Jung-ho is the only one who believes Mi-jin is still alive. With only 12 hours left to detain the serial killer without a warrant, Jung-ho’s hunt begins, searching for Mi-jin entrapped in a place nobody knows. (koreanfilm)
The Chaser ist der derzeit erfolgreichste koreanische Film des Jahres. Der Film von Debutant Na Hong-jin kam wie aus dem Nichts und fuhr nahezu allein ein, was man einfahren kann. Er lief satte 16 Wochen in den koreanischen Kinos und brachte 5,1 Millionen Zuschauer vor die Leinwände. Bei den "Baeksang Art Awards" im April heimste er drei Preise ein: Bester Film, Bester Regisseur und Bester Film. Anschliessend wurde er nach Cannes zu den berühmten Filmfestspielen eingeladen und machte im Midnight Screening den gesamten Saal mit 3000 Plätzen voll. Nach dem Film gab es 10 Minuten Standing Ovations der Zuschauer. Heute sahnte er wiederum bei den "Grand Bell Awards" ab und ging als erfolgreichster Film des Abends nach Hause: Bester Film, Bester Produktion, Bester Regisseur, Bester Hauptdarsteller und Beste Kamera.
Es ist mein derzeit heisserwartester Film und Hollywood hat sich bereits die Remakerechte gesichert. Die Reviews und Meinungen von Fans wie auch den Kritikern überschlagen sich und lassen auf einen hochspannenden, düsteren und rasanten Thriller hoffen. Nach dem genialen "Seven Days" (wird ebenfalls von Hollywood neuverfilmt) könnte das der nächste knackige Thriller aus Korea werden. Die DVD hierzu erscheint am 18. Juli und kann bei Yesasia vorbestellt werden. Ihr solltet euch auch unbedingt den überaus gelungenen Trailer ansehen. Ich habe meine DVD bereits vorbestellt. Jetzt heisst es die letzten grausamen Wochen überstehen!!
- DVD bei Yesasia bestellen
- Trailer bei Youtube (mäßige Qualität)
- Weiteres Material und Infos
`Chaser’ Offers Heart-Thumping Thrills
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Not another serial killer story ― and for St. Valentine's Day? You've got to be kidding. But ``The Chaser,'' coming to theaters Feb. 14, is no joke. It's a film noir with a serious message, but is entertaining despite being ridden with social criticism from beginning to end.
While giving the much-exploited genre a novel edge, it's a classic edge-of-the-seat experience with pulsating action, cynical comic relief and elusively gripping characters. Two hours fly by in no time.
``The Chaser'' marks director Na Hong-jin's feature film debut. He made a name for himself in the international scene for shorts like ``A Perfect Red Snapper Dish,'' and presents an original story that was three years in the making.
Here, the cat-and-mouse game is not between the police and criminal: In American parlance, a less-than-average Joe tracks down a serial murderer, while the corrupt police and public prosecutors prove to be rather useless.
Kim Yun-seok, the award-winning supporting actor from ``Tazza: The High Rollers'' and the familiar face from ``The Happy Life,'' nails down his first lead role. Jung-ho is an antihero who gives a bad first impression. He's a former cop who got fired for bribery, and now runs a so-called door-to-door masseuse service, which is really a sordid call girl business.
Jung-ho is in a sour mood as one call girl vanishes after another. When Mi-jin (Seo Yeong-hi) disappears he notices that they've gone missing after getting a call from the same client, or cell phone number.
He suspects human trafficking and sets out to catch the culprit, grumbling how much money he had paid for the girls. ``4885 ― that's you, right? If I catch you, you're dead,'' he says. Jung-ho does track him down, but it's far from heroic. He accidentally crashes into the guy while driving recklessly.
``I didn't traffic them… I killed them. But that woman (Mi-jin) is probably alive,'' killer Ji Myeong-min (Ha Jung-woo) ``casually'' mentions to the police. What's more, he can't seem to remember the exact number of his victims ― was it 10 or 12?
The police have hit the jackpot, as Myeong-min claims to be responsible for a bunch of unsolved serial murders. They try to put a case together in a desperate attempt to save face after a notorious incident that had literally dung-slapped the Seoul mayor.
While the cops are busy poking around in all the wrong places to retrieve evidence, Jung-ho, convinced that Mi-jin is still alive, embarks on his own investigation. It's because she is a valuable asset for business, not a sense of social responsibility.
But corrupt politics among the police and prosecutors, media play and other mishaps set the killer free. A breathtaking chase ensues.
Ha Jung-woo (``Never Forever''), whom renowned director Martin Scorsese had praised as having ``as much potential as Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon,'' brazenly displays an animalistic instinct for acting. He is both passively aggressive and ``aggressively passive'' as the enigmatic murderer.
Is he sexually frustrated? A failed artist? A psychopath? The film does not attempt to deconstruct the mind of the murderer nor does it provide flashbacks of traumatized childhood or such. It simply lays out the senselessly brutal act as it is. A hammer, chisel and a full swing.
The average viewer, despite having been conditioned to movie conventions that offer a solid who, what, when, where and why, have no time to demand reason. Apart from being overwhelmed by the harrowing bloodshed, one is swiftly led from one heart-pounding scene to another.
The script, while a bit rough around the edges, is smart and stylish as it paints a grimacing portrait of contemporary society with all its muck and grit.
We see ugly modern man indulge in instant gratification and easily satisfy sexual urges with one phone call. His anonymity is guaranteed, of course, for names and personal identity have degenerated into numerical digits. Corrupt authorities that are blinded by personal gain overlook his sins.
``Yes, it is,'' Na said bluntly when asked if the movie was a social criticism. ``Fury prompted me to write the story,'' he told reporters following the film's press preview in Seoul. ``Intentions for murder cannot and should not be justified,'' he said.
hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr
Originaltitel: Chugyeokja
Produktionsland: Südkorea
Regisseur: Na Hong-jin
Kinostart: 14. Februar 2008
Darsteller: Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Young-hee
Synopsis
Ex-cop pimp Jung-ho is irritated because his girls keep disappearing without clearing their debts. One night, he gets a call from a customer and sends Mi-jin. Jung-ho realizes the phone number of the customer matches that of the calls the missing girls got last. As something smells fishy, he searches for her. During his search, Jung-ho dents a car in the alley. When Jung-ho spots blood splattered on the driver’s shirt, he senses the man, Young-min, is the suspect. After an intense chase, Jung-ho catches Young-min. But because of Jung-ho’s pretense as a cop, they are both taken to the police station. At the station, the man bluntly confesses he has killed the missing women, and the last girl, Mi-jin, may still be alive. As the whole police force is obsessed with a random search for corpses, Jung-ho is the only one who believes Mi-jin is still alive. With only 12 hours left to detain the serial killer without a warrant, Jung-ho’s hunt begins, searching for Mi-jin entrapped in a place nobody knows. (koreanfilm)
The Chaser ist der derzeit erfolgreichste koreanische Film des Jahres. Der Film von Debutant Na Hong-jin kam wie aus dem Nichts und fuhr nahezu allein ein, was man einfahren kann. Er lief satte 16 Wochen in den koreanischen Kinos und brachte 5,1 Millionen Zuschauer vor die Leinwände. Bei den "Baeksang Art Awards" im April heimste er drei Preise ein: Bester Film, Bester Regisseur und Bester Film. Anschliessend wurde er nach Cannes zu den berühmten Filmfestspielen eingeladen und machte im Midnight Screening den gesamten Saal mit 3000 Plätzen voll. Nach dem Film gab es 10 Minuten Standing Ovations der Zuschauer. Heute sahnte er wiederum bei den "Grand Bell Awards" ab und ging als erfolgreichster Film des Abends nach Hause: Bester Film, Bester Produktion, Bester Regisseur, Bester Hauptdarsteller und Beste Kamera.
Es ist mein derzeit heisserwartester Film und Hollywood hat sich bereits die Remakerechte gesichert. Die Reviews und Meinungen von Fans wie auch den Kritikern überschlagen sich und lassen auf einen hochspannenden, düsteren und rasanten Thriller hoffen. Nach dem genialen "Seven Days" (wird ebenfalls von Hollywood neuverfilmt) könnte das der nächste knackige Thriller aus Korea werden. Die DVD hierzu erscheint am 18. Juli und kann bei Yesasia vorbestellt werden. Ihr solltet euch auch unbedingt den überaus gelungenen Trailer ansehen. Ich habe meine DVD bereits vorbestellt. Jetzt heisst es die letzten grausamen Wochen überstehen!!
- DVD bei Yesasia bestellen
- Trailer bei Youtube (mäßige Qualität)
- Weiteres Material und Infos
`Chaser’ Offers Heart-Thumping Thrills
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Not another serial killer story ― and for St. Valentine's Day? You've got to be kidding. But ``The Chaser,'' coming to theaters Feb. 14, is no joke. It's a film noir with a serious message, but is entertaining despite being ridden with social criticism from beginning to end.
While giving the much-exploited genre a novel edge, it's a classic edge-of-the-seat experience with pulsating action, cynical comic relief and elusively gripping characters. Two hours fly by in no time.
``The Chaser'' marks director Na Hong-jin's feature film debut. He made a name for himself in the international scene for shorts like ``A Perfect Red Snapper Dish,'' and presents an original story that was three years in the making.
Here, the cat-and-mouse game is not between the police and criminal: In American parlance, a less-than-average Joe tracks down a serial murderer, while the corrupt police and public prosecutors prove to be rather useless.
Kim Yun-seok, the award-winning supporting actor from ``Tazza: The High Rollers'' and the familiar face from ``The Happy Life,'' nails down his first lead role. Jung-ho is an antihero who gives a bad first impression. He's a former cop who got fired for bribery, and now runs a so-called door-to-door masseuse service, which is really a sordid call girl business.
Jung-ho is in a sour mood as one call girl vanishes after another. When Mi-jin (Seo Yeong-hi) disappears he notices that they've gone missing after getting a call from the same client, or cell phone number.
He suspects human trafficking and sets out to catch the culprit, grumbling how much money he had paid for the girls. ``4885 ― that's you, right? If I catch you, you're dead,'' he says. Jung-ho does track him down, but it's far from heroic. He accidentally crashes into the guy while driving recklessly.
``I didn't traffic them… I killed them. But that woman (Mi-jin) is probably alive,'' killer Ji Myeong-min (Ha Jung-woo) ``casually'' mentions to the police. What's more, he can't seem to remember the exact number of his victims ― was it 10 or 12?
The police have hit the jackpot, as Myeong-min claims to be responsible for a bunch of unsolved serial murders. They try to put a case together in a desperate attempt to save face after a notorious incident that had literally dung-slapped the Seoul mayor.
While the cops are busy poking around in all the wrong places to retrieve evidence, Jung-ho, convinced that Mi-jin is still alive, embarks on his own investigation. It's because she is a valuable asset for business, not a sense of social responsibility.
But corrupt politics among the police and prosecutors, media play and other mishaps set the killer free. A breathtaking chase ensues.
Ha Jung-woo (``Never Forever''), whom renowned director Martin Scorsese had praised as having ``as much potential as Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon,'' brazenly displays an animalistic instinct for acting. He is both passively aggressive and ``aggressively passive'' as the enigmatic murderer.
Is he sexually frustrated? A failed artist? A psychopath? The film does not attempt to deconstruct the mind of the murderer nor does it provide flashbacks of traumatized childhood or such. It simply lays out the senselessly brutal act as it is. A hammer, chisel and a full swing.
The average viewer, despite having been conditioned to movie conventions that offer a solid who, what, when, where and why, have no time to demand reason. Apart from being overwhelmed by the harrowing bloodshed, one is swiftly led from one heart-pounding scene to another.
The script, while a bit rough around the edges, is smart and stylish as it paints a grimacing portrait of contemporary society with all its muck and grit.
We see ugly modern man indulge in instant gratification and easily satisfy sexual urges with one phone call. His anonymity is guaranteed, of course, for names and personal identity have degenerated into numerical digits. Corrupt authorities that are blinded by personal gain overlook his sins.
``Yes, it is,'' Na said bluntly when asked if the movie was a social criticism. ``Fury prompted me to write the story,'' he told reporters following the film's press preview in Seoul. ``Intentions for murder cannot and should not be justified,'' he said.
hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr
Geht bei mir leider gar nicht.