The Chaser (2008)

Joong-ho (Kim Yoon-seok) is a pimp, but he also happens to be an ex-detective. When yet another of his girls (Seo Yeong-hie) goes missing, despite his best attempts to keep her safe, Joong-ho gets on the trail before it gets too cold. He finds himself crossing paths with Young-min Jee (Ha Jung-woo) and soon realises that he is the man responsible for the loss of his girls. Joong-ho assumes that Young-min Jee has been selling the girls on, but it's a lot worse than that. Young-min Jee is a crazed killer and once he confesses to the police it becomes a race against time as Detective Lee (Jeong In-gi) and his colleagues try to get more evidence and build a case before having to release their man. Joong-ho, on the other hand, doesn't need to build a case. He just needs the police to give him enough time alone with Young-min to beat the truth out of him.

Directed by Na Hong-jin, who also co-wrote the script with Shinho Lee and Hong Won-chan, The Chaser is another film from South Korea that has already bagged itself a loyal fanbase. I saw it after it was highly recommended on a number of occasions, but I must admit that it just didn't work for me. With its mix of humour, grit, drama, ludicrousness, brutality and (fleeting) sweetness, it just didn't settle into one particular genre/style that I could really get into. I'm not saying that blending so many elements automatically makes for a lesser film - many fine movies have been appreciated so much BECAUSE they mix things up - but I don't think that the mix worked in this instance.

That's not to say that many of the individual elements don't succeed. The script blends all of the required information through some decent characterisations. The acting from Yoon-seok and Jung-woo is great, as is the acting from Yeong-hie, In-gi, Bon-woong, and young Kim Yoo-Jeong  (playing the daughter of the missing woman). The tension does build in places due to the race against time to gather necessary evidence to make a case against a killer, but none of these things ever feel as if they're all blended together into one whole movie experience.

Definitely not a movie that I'd tell people to avoid, it's just one that I'd encourage you to approach with caution. You may end up being one of the many viewers who think of the film as yet another modern classic from South Korea, but you may not. As long as you don't get your hopes up too high I think you'll find a number of moments worth your time, at the very least.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Chaser-DVD-Hing-Jin-Na/dp/B001HSHG74/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1366165991&sr=8-2&keywords=the+chaser

Bedevilled (2010)

Bedevilled starts off as a slow, dramatic piece, develops into something harrowing and even difficult to watch and then moves to full-blown horror for a finale that actually provides quite a welcome relief from the casual brutality and nastiness of the preceding hour or so.

Ji Seong-won plays Hae-won, a stressed out bank worker who decides to take a vacation at an island she used to live on as a child. She gets to meet up with her childhood friend, Kim Bok-nam (played by Seo Yeong-hie) and soon starts to appreciate her chance to relax. It's just a shame that she didn't take up the offer from her friend a long time ago. Kim Bok-nam has written many letters but Hae-won didn't reply. After only a short while on the island it soon becomes clear why Kim Bok-nam always seemed so desperate to hear from her friend and why she likes to think about life off the island. She is being constantly abused by her unfaithful husband (Park Jeong-hak) and none of the other women in the small population seem to think that there's anything wrong with the way that she's being treated, even while it is happening in front of her daughter. But there are many years of resentment and anger just waiting to burst out of that victimised woman and it may only take one tragic moment to unleash it all.

Directed by Jang Cheol-soo and written by Choi Kwang-young, Bedevilled becomes quite horrific even before it tilts into the standard genre moments. There are times when it looks beautiful, including quite a gorgeous final shot, but it's hard to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the setting and the cinematography when so much being shown is just downright ugly.

The film shows how communities can allow abuse to go unchecked through a mixture of inaction and even, good grief, approval. It's hard to decide who the worst person onscreen actually is: the abuser, the community not taking the abuser to task or the outsider who knows that it's wrong but doesn't do anything to help. The film actually, on the surface, gives viewers nobody to root for. Hae-won is selfish and unlikeable and, even worse, lets her friend down when she's needed the most while Kim Bok-nam suffers too much for too long without trying to better her situation. And, of course, the abusers and those who allow the abuse to happen are vile. BUT, and I hasten to say this before complaints start flooding my email inbox, the depiction of someone so horribly victimised here is horribly and sadly realistic, I'm sure. Having endured hardship for so long, it becomes the norm. With such a controlling partner and nobody able to help her start afresh, Kim Bok-nam is resigned to her fate. She wants a better life for her young daughter but she thinks that it's too late for herself. It's quite heartbreaking to watch.

Bedevilled is a fantastic film to watch if you're either a horror fan who can handle a very slow burn on the way to a big finale or if you're a fan of pain-filled drama who can also handle a few more extreme moments. Fans of world cinema will be very pleased to see yet another great outing from South Korea.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bedevilled-Blu-ray-Yeong-hie-Seo/dp/B004EMS0P2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350727759&sr=8-1