Monday, September 10, 2012

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE (Korean) (2010)


From almost a last decade or so Korean cinema has been honing their skill in crime thrillers with so much consistency, prowess and intensity. They’re not only redefining the action-crime-thriller genre from long but also bringing out a cool action hero too. It’s time for Hollywood to learn a thing or two about how to make a taut slick thriller from them. Here is another gripping thriller with enigmatic and detached young man as lead who has a hidden track record and a tragedy. He’s pawnshop owner who’s sharing sublime emotional bonding with his neighbor’s small daughter who’s too innocent and yet too mature for her age. She names their union as ‘pawnshop creek and garbage’. Drug trafficking between two rival gangs led to the daughter and mother’s abduction. As the girl is the only hope or innocence left of his otherwise reclusive and tormented life, the kidnapping leads to his involvement in the engaging plot in order to protect her. It’s too late for him to realize that he’s used as mean to end the gang rivalry.

The rest is fast paced slick action thriller with everything on platter that one expects from Korean cinema- homicide, gang rivalry, violence, double cross, drug trafficking, organ trade where our lone hero is dangling between sniffing cops and gangster mob men. There isn’t a moment of dullness; it’s taut and edge on the seat entertainment with electrifying action including that brilliantly executed knife fight sequence. Jeong-beom Lee a new promising entry in the block of notable contemporary Korean directors ranging from Bong Joon Ho, Park Chan Wook & Kim Jee Woon and am looking forward to him in coming time. Same can be said about the man in lead- Bin Won. Remember the retarded son in Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Mother’.  

Recommended for all thriller & Korean cinema fans. 

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