[Korean DVD Roundup] April 2006 - Part 1

Note: Budget Re-Releases are not included (everybody and their dog is doing them nowadays, it would take years). Scores are out of 10, and the 'Overall' score counts the film rating twice. Ratings are not an exact science (especially mine!), but, generally, if I did my job correctly, the little average you find at the end of every mini-review should tell you:

8.00~10.00 MUST BUY
7.00~7.99 WORTH BUYING
6.00~6.99 RENT FIRST/WORTH A LOOK
5.00~5.99 ONLY IF YOU LOVE THE FILM
0.00~4.99 AVOID

To buy the DVD, click the '1DVD' (or more if available) link on every film.

Read the previous Roundups:

Korean DVD Roundup - March 2006
Korean DVD Roundup - February 2006
Korean DVD Roundup - July~October 2005 Part 1
Korean DVD Roundup - July~October 2005 Part 2
Korean DVD Roundup - July~October 2005 Part 3

--

enterOne - 2006/04/27
구세주 (Oh! My God)
2006 - 2DVD
Director: 김정우 (Kim Jung-Woo)
Cast: 최성국 (Choi Sung-Guk) as Jung-Hwan, 신이 (Shin Yi) as Eun-Joo, 조상기 (Jo Sang-Gi) as Chil-Goo, 백일섭 (Baek Il-Seop) as Jung-Hwan's Father, 박원숙 (Park Won-Sook) as Jung-Hwan's Mother, 박준규 (Park Joon-Gyu), 김부선 (Kim Bu-Seon),
CAMEO: 김수미 (Kim Soo-Mi), 이원종 (Lee Won-Jong), 홍기훈 (Hong Gi-Hoon)
OAR 1.85:1/16:9, DD5.1, Region 3, NTSC DVD-9, English/Korean Subtitles
FILM: 4.5
Rule No. 1 of entertaining crap: you don't necessarily need top stars or pretty faces, just people who can do well in comedies. Rule No. 2 of entertaining crap: the film should never forget one simple notion: no matter what happens, it's still crap. So trying to make the film turn into a tearjerker or some Bizarro World action flick won't work. Final, and most important rule of entertaining crap: it still has to be entertaining, obviously.

Three simple rules Korean films of this 'genre' seem to have forgotten as of late. Something like 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher) or 생, 날선생 (Mr. Wacky) might make sense on paper, but then the result made it obvious the only thing they were after was money. The former even had the right cast, as the only thing Jung Joon-Ho seems to do well is making people laugh, and of course people like Jung Woon-Taek and Jung Woong-In are great comic talents. But then the film got a little too ambitious for its own good, and when you can't gel genres together as well as someone like Yoon Je-Gyun does, then things don't turn out too well. The latter, of course, was a mere star vehicle made to bank on Park Geon-Hyung's popularity after making it big in musicals and starring in Moon Geun-Young's 댄서의 순정 (Innocent Steps). The result? A mess, predictably.

Now 구세주 (Oh! My God) is another story. The fact a film like this was made, and that it made big money (over 1.9 Million tickets sold) is no surprise. But the surprising thing is that its leads looked like eternal supporting characters: Choi Sung-Guk and especially Shin Yi seemed to appear in just about every comedy made in the last few years, with more or less the same characters. Success stories like Jung Jae-Young, Hwang Jung-Min, Gam Woo-Sung and more, coupled with the big box office of 'film with no stars' like 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown) and 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) opened Chungmuro to new trends. One of the biggest is obviously that of risking a tad more by casting talented 'no name' stars focusing on what they're good at.

So Jung Jae-Young keeps getting human dramedy roles like 나의 결혼원정기 (Wedding Campaign), and after meeting each other on several films, finally Choi Sung-Guk and Shin Yi star in their own star vehicle, their first time appearing before the title hits. Directed by first timer Kim Jung-Woo, who worked as assistant director under Kang Je-Gyu for almost ten years, and produced by Song Chang-Yong of 위대한 유산 (The Greatest Expectation) -- still one of the most watchable 'entertaining crap' films of the last few years -- 구세주 (Oh! My God) seemed even a little promising on paper. At least it sounded funny, which is more than what I'd say for Mr. Wacky.

It's not just Choi and Shin Yi, who worked together before in 색즉시공 (Sex is Zero) and 낭만자객 (Crazy Assassins), the cast is full of comedy veterans like Park Won-Sook, Baek Il-Seop, Jo Sang-Gi, Park Joon-Gyu, Lee Won-Jong, Kim Soo-Mi, and more. And, interestingly enough, the Korean title [lit. savior] perfectly fits this film, as the supporting casts essentially saves the film from hitting the bottom of the barrel. Choi is fantastic when it comes to making a fool of himself, coupled with his unique delivery, and when the film focuses on those talents of his then we're in good hands. The real problem is Shin Yi, who overdoes just about everything, and their non-existent chemistry, despite working together for so long.

Thanks to Baek Il-Seop and Co. the first half of the film is quite watchable, but then when the big 반전 (twist) starts the film slowly descends into hell, by committing the biggest crime a film like this can do: it becomes dull. Films like these need some work on the little details and creating the right environment to take advantage of the stars' ad-lib prowess. The fact the film does so in the first half essentially 'saves' it, but then by slowly losing focus we're back to those three rules: you break one and then we're closer to 'crap' than to anything really 'entertaining'.
AUDIO: 6.5
A solid track, but nothing amazing. Dialogue should have been a tad higher, and there isn't much surround activity.
VIDEO: 7.5
Contrasts are a little too strong, but otherwise a very good transfter, with nice colours and natural skin tones.
SUBTITLES: 7.5
For once, a very good effort. Mostly sticks to the Korean dialogue, and even gets the 대한민국 (Daehanminguk) joke right, although just using romanization with the translation in brackets the first time would have been better. For the most part no cultural appropriation, and with the exception of a few spelling mistakes (seems to have a problem with 0's, as the figure mentioned in the film is always 100 Million Won - and they use $. You'd think people watching Korean films would be familiar with the Won by now?) this is quite a good job.
EXTRA FEATURES: 7
Disc 1
- Audio Commentary with Director Kim Jung-Woo, Shin Yi, Jo Sang-Gi [A good listen, mixing anecdotes with the three just fooling around. Shin Yi's soprano-like laughing gets a bit grating after a while, but overall this is pretty fun]
- After Commentary
Disc 2 [~ 82 Minutes]
Page 1
- [10:25. Perhaps the best part of the DVD, with the director and cast discussing the themes behind the film]
- Making Of [25.33. A pretty good Making Of doc, with interviews and behind the scenes footage. Focuses a little too much on the action and not enough on interviews, but it's a decent clip nonetheless]
- Supporting Cast Special [19:09. A pretty decent featurette regarding the supporting cast. We start with a few comments from director Kim, then we get a mix of behind the scenes footage and interviews with the supporting cast, including Jo Sang-Gi, Baek Il-Seop, Park Won-Sook, Kim Soo-Mi, Lee Won-Jong and Park Joon-Gyu]
- Choi Sung-Guk Making Of [4:53. Behind the scenes footage from some of Choi's scenes]
- Shin Yi Making Of/Interview [4:15. We start with the scene of Shin Yi giving birth, then see behind the scenes footage of some of her other scenes. In between, she makes a few comments as well. Pretty throwaway]
Page 2
- NG Collection [5:12. With so many comic talents in the film, it's no surprise this is lots of fun]
- Poster Shoot [5:24. Posters for this film were... interesting. Wouldn't say good, but at least they had something distinctive. We get to see both the shoot for teaser and theatrical posters]
- Theatrical Trailer [2:10. Pretty fun, although editing could have been better. Kim Soo-Mi steals the show at the end]
- Still Gallery [3:00. A decent collection of stills from the shoot, but the graphics invade a little too much]
- Music Video [1:06. 노세노세 by K-Joon. Feels more like a Teaser Trailer than a Music Video, and the song is annoying]
VALUE FOR MONEY: 6
So far this year hasn't been that great for what concerns entertaining crap, but things should change for the better around Chuseok. Considering how bad many of the comedies shown in the first half of 2006 were, this is actually watchable. But if you look at that cast (comedy-wise), you tend to expect a little more. Decent fun for a rainy day, but extras could have been a little better, especially for a film which sold almost two Million tickets. Good subtitles and pretty nice presentation (at least in terms of transfer) from enterOne, but pass unless you're starving for comedy.
OVERALL: 6.21

--

KD Media - 2006/04/25
야수 (Running Wild)
2006 - 2DVD
Director: 김성수 (Kim Sung-Soo)
Cast: 권상우 (Kwon Sang-Woo) as Jang Do-Young, 유지태 (Yoo Ji-Tae) as Oh Jin-Woo, 손병호 (Son Byung-Ho) as Yoo Gang-Jin, 이주실 (Lee Joo-Shil) as Do-Young's Mother, 강성진 (Kang Sung-Jin) as Jo Young-Cheol, 김윤석 (Kim Yoon-Seok) as Ju Hyun-Tae, 정원중 (Jung Won-Joong) as Chief Prosecutor, 안길강 (Ahn Gil-Gang) as Yang Gi-Taek, 이한위 (Lee Han-Wi), 강승원 (Kang Seung-Won), 최령 (Choi Ryeong), 문정희 (Moon Jung-Hee), 이중문 (Lee Joong-Moon), 김준배 (Kim Joon-Bae), 손병옥 (Son Byung-Ok), 김지선 (Kim Ji-Seon)
CAMEO: 엄지원 (Eom Ji-Won), 최덕문 (Choi Deok-Moon), 조성하 (Jo Sung-Ha)
OAR 2.35:1/16:9, DD5.1, Region 3, NTSC DVD-9, English/Korean Subtitles
Read Review+Complete Extras Breakdown here
FILM: 8
Excerpt from the Review: "The film is far from perfect: although Kim shows impressive command of the medium, there's too much emphasis on flashy camerawork, excessive zoom ins and outs -- be it because Eom Ji-Won was in this, but sometimes it felt like 극장전 (Tale of Cinema) in that sense -- which is unnecessary given the powerful performances and impressive art direction driving the ball home. Also, although the bloody finale is very well staged and an emotional hitter, it really goes on for way too long. But the keys to this film's failure at the box office were other things: both the rush-job the director was forced into, which ended up taking off important scenes dealing mostly with character relationships (scenes which thankfully are restored here, making the Theatrical Version of the film like an ugly, shorter half-brother), but also that use of Kwon and Yoo's image, or its lack thereof. Of course that's a major strength of the film, but with today's cinemagoing populace in Korea dominated by young women, offering a 'macho' film (at least on the surface) which got rid of the two stars' persona didn't look appealing to viewers. But don't let that influence you. 야수 (Running Wild) has top notch acting, dialogue which might not be fresh but feels meaningful and has delightful little nuances to enjoy (for those who understand them, that is, but we'll get to the horrible subtitles later), another magnificent job from Kawai Kenji (the first 10 minutes are near perfect, and there isn't a single moment where he goes overboard with sentiments), and especially very assured direction from first timer Kim Sung-Soo."
AUDIO: 8.5
VIDEO: 8
SUBTITLES: 4
EXTRA FEATURES: 8,5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 9
OVERALL: 7.71

--

Taewon Entertainment - 2006/04/21
무영검 (Shadowless Sword)
2005 - 2DVD
Director: 김영준 (Kim Young-Joon)
Cast: 이서진 (Lee Seo-Jin) as Dae Jung-Hyun, 윤소이 (Yoon So-Yi) as Yeon So-Ha, 이기용 (Lee Gi-Yong) as Mae Young-Ok, 신현준 (Shin Hyun-Joon) as Gun Hwa-Pyung, 조원희 (Jo Won-Hee) as Jo Cheon-Soo, 박성웅 (Park Sung-Woong) as Mabul, 이한솔 (Lee Han-Sol) as Dan Yang-Soo, 정호빈 (Jung Ho-Bin) as Yayul Cheolla, 진봉진 (Jin Bong-Jin) as Im Seon-Ji
CAMEO: 최지우 (Choi Ji-Woo), 황인성 (Hwang In-Seong), 김수로 (Kim Soo-Ro), 정준하 (Jung Joon-Ha), 박찬대 (Park Chan-Dae), 이한갈 (Lee Han-Gal)
OAR 2.35:1/16:9, Dts/DD5.1, Region 3, NTSC DVD-9, English/Korean Subtitles
Read Review+Complete Extras Breakdown here
FILM: 7
Excerpt from the Review: "Kim Young-Joon promised an 'upgrade' with this film, and that is exactly what Shadowless Sword is. It's not a great film, but it's a lot of fun, it's reasonably well acted, the action is well choreographed and executed, and production values are predictably very good. Those are all things which Bichunmoo couldn't achieve, so Kim clearly learned something in the last four years. Considering the country's total indifference towards Wuxia, he's one of Chungmuro's last hopes in the genre. I hope it won't take another four years to see another of his films (that's why Shin Hyun-Joon jokes he's a 'World Cup director'), and his next film might not even be a Wuxia, but this film has won me over. It's nothing more or less than a very nice throwback to the days when Wuxia was a genre and not an excuse to make vapid exotica. The action works, the Drama (mostly) works, and it never tries to be more than that. I don't know if he finally fulfilled his dream or he'll have to work harder to do that, but now I can definitely call Kim that: Korean Cinema's 'action kid'."
AUDIO: 8
VIDEO: 7
SUBTITLES: 7
EXTRA FEATURES: 8
VALUE FOR MONEY: 7.5
OVERALL: 7.36

--

enterOne - 2006/04/21
흡혈형사 노도열 (Vampire Cop Ricky)
2006 - 2DVD
Director: 이시명 (Lee Shi-Myung)
Cast: 김수로 (Kim Soo-Ro) as Na Do-Yeol, 조여정 (Jo Yeo-Jung) as Yeon-Hee, 천호진 (Cheon Ho-Jin) as Detective Kang, 손병호 (Son Byung-Ho) as Tak Moon-Soo, 오광록 (Oh Gwang-Rok) as the Priest, 이상진 (Lee Sang-Jin) as Detective Lee,
CAMEO: 김인문 (Kim In-Moon)
OAR 2.35:1/16:9, DD5.1, Region 3, NTSC DVD-9, English/Korean Subtitles
FILM: 7
Vampire films are nothing new in the West, but in Korea it's a whole different story. Although there have been attempts in the genre, especially in the past, Korean vampire films have always been few and far between. Even if we add 갈갈이 패밀리와 드라큘라 (Galgari Family & Dracula), a horror comedy by the crew of KBS' standup comedy show Gag Concert and a few elements of the genre in a couple of films, it's still pretty slim pickings. But, be it because of the news Park Chan-Wook was directing vampire-themed 박쥐 (Evil Live) in 2007 (with Song Kang-Ho), or because of the cult sitcom 안녕, 프란체스카 (Hello Francesca)'s success, something like 흠혈형사 나도열 (Vampire Cop Ricky) emerged almost out of nowhere.

Explaining why vampire films don't work in Korea is a little too complicated for a small space like this, but let's just say it goes down to the same reason why Sci-Fi films rarely do well in the country, especially when directed by domestic talent. The industry's longtime focus on realism rarely left space for genre exercises touching the B-Movie sphere, so in that sense Lee Shi-Myung's second film after 2002's 2009 로스트 메모리즈 (2009 Lost Memories) was quite an intriguing challenge. On one hand you have genres which barely registered a blip at the box office in the past, on the other Kim Soo-Ro, whose long and hard rise to stardom is finally starting to reach the heights he always deserved.

The film takes a slightly different approach compared to the usual vampire film: it's not only blood which causes the transformation to vampire for corrupt detective Na Do-Yeol. Whenever he gets an erection then his foes (be it his date or the people he's after) are in trouble. So it's a horny vampire. I mean, how can you not do well with an outline like that? But reality is a little different. Lee's debut started incredibly well, with one of the most fascinating pieces of 'alternate history' seen in recent Korean Cinema. But then all the different genre elements started to clash instead of creating flow, and by the end flag waving and pompous music led the proceedings. Similar problems plague Vampire Cop Ricky (another pathetic English title. Ricky who?). Given to people like Kim Ji-Woon or Jang Joon-Hwan this film could have turned into a classic, but Lee shows problems right from the beginning.

The comedy is not funny enough, and it only ends up working because of Kim Soo-Ro's usual brilliance; while the script is actually pretty decent, the film never really gives it justice except for a few sparks of creativity, and you always feel you're getting second best. But then when the film abandons the Vampire flick tropes and embraces a more Korean approach to the superhero genre then things become a little more interesting. Unlike flying CGI in spandex costing hundreds of Million, Do-Yeol maintains his character comfortably at home even when he learns of his new powers. It's not a struggle to accept the fact this vampire superhero (vamphero?) is the only man who can save the world. No, Do-Yeol just learns how to kick some ass, take some names, and restore his dignity with his friends, particularly Yeon-Hee (a not too convincing Jo Yeo-Jung).

I mean, how often do you see a 'superhero' run from baddies while looking at Porno Videos on his mobile phone, to feel the 'force' necessary to beat his foes? The film lives (and sometimes dies) of those little quirks, and the fact the central figures (Kim, and predictably wonderful Son Byung-Ho and Cheon Ho-Jin) give very good performances helps things immensely. But of course the central problem remains: something is missing. Now I'm no big fan of B-Movies (I like certain tropes of the genre, not too often the actual movies), but there's a certain soul to the whole B-culture. Call it style, touches here and there, flow. It's not here. And this goes down to the way the director handles the script.

Director Lee, who grew up under Kang Woo-Suk's wing, only shows an affinity for the genre(s), but he's not able to master their peculiarities. Whereas Lee's first film needed the blockbuster treatment, Ricky needed a little more than average to very good CGI, nice cinematography and a serviceable soundtrack. It needed to focus more on the little quirks (like Oh Gwang-Rok's Priest, for instance) and a little less on all the blockbuster aesthetics. Still, if you approach the film with low expectations, it's actually a fun little flick. Action isn't bad, performances are almost uniformly fine, and the film never falls into the kind of mistakes which plagued Lee's previous effort, keeping a decent pace throughout.

What we can hope, since the box office success of the film will bring us two sequels, is that future installments of the Na Do-Yeol saga will focus more on Kim Soo-Ro than genre tropes the director doesn't seem too comfortable with. Vampire or superhero, the franchise has potential. Now we need a little more effort to take advantage of it.
AUDIO: 7.5
If there's any regret about this audio track is that the film was actually 6.1, so we're getting the short end of the stick in that sense. Still, even without an EX track or even Dts, the track handles all the action and soundtrack quite well.
VIDEO: 8
enterOne's usual very solid effort. Nice colours and skin tones, no other particular problems.
SUBTITLES: 6
This is the kind of subtitles which will leave a different impression depending on your understanding of Korean. At first sight they seem the usual good job, but the translation is extremely lazy, often making up lines of its own whenever something touching the culturally-specific appears. But the second half improves a little, and they're good enough to follow the story. Shame about the details, though.
EXTRA FEATURES: 7.5
Disc 1
- Audio Commentary with Director Lee Shi-Myung, Kim Soo-Ro, Son Byung-Ho, Cheon Ho-Jin [Hands down one of the most entertaining, laid back commentaries of the year. Plenty of anecdotes, but also plenty of fun, with Kim Soo-Ro leading the crew as expected. Really nice chemistry between the four, and it's just a very fun listen]
- After Commentary [A few words by Kim Soo-Ro and Son Byung-Ho]
Disc 2 [~90 Minutes]
Page 1
- Vampire Cop Na Do-Yeol [23:56. A nice Making Of Doc, mixing the usual interviews with Behind The Scenes footage]
- Do-Yeol Story [13:46. A Making Of about all the Special Effect shots in the film, the sets, the Castle and more. Decent]
- Korean Joker [8:40. An interview about Son Byung-Ho's role, including interviews with the actors, director, costume designers, and everyone related. Interesting, with Son stressing the 'Andre Kim' delivery style he used for the role, but too many clips from the film]
- NG/Ad Lib [8:56. This is Kim Soo-Ro's turf, obviously. Some of the best NGs from the film, with the highlight being the Kim In-Moon cameo]
- Deleted Scenes [10:37. Nothing really major, as they're mostly extensions of scenes already in the film, alternate versions, or inserts that add very little. There's a couple of hilarious ones though, especially involving the Oh Gwang-Rok/Kim Soo-Ro line]
Page 2
- Poster Shoot [4:12. Your average poster shoot, with a few comments from the stars and then the shoot itself]
- Still Gallery [4:15. Nice behind the scenes and film stills. Starts in B&W, then moves to colour]
- Trailer Making Of [3:37. Titles says it all: a little behind the scenes clip about the Making for the (teaser) Trailer. A little throwaway]
- Theatrical Trailer [2:03. This focuses more on the sex-related comedy than anything else. Quite fun and well edited, although music could have been a little better]
- Yellow Eyes [4:09. VIP Screening clip featuring Im Ha-Ryong, Shin Yi, Hyun Bin, Noh Dong-Cheol, Jang Dong-Gun, Ha Ha, Lee Byung-Heon, Gong Hyung-Jin, Im Chang-Jung and many others. Kim Soo-Ro is popular in Chungmuro, folks. Fun clip]
- Music Video [4:43. Dynamic Duo feat Paloalto - 파도 (I Know). Ahhh... Dynamic Duo, best group in Korean Hip Hop History, hands down. Essentially, they're what hip hop should be. Great song (part of their second album), and the Music Video is quite fun too. Does the song fit the film? Not really, but hey, It's Dynamic Duo]
- Teaser Trailer [1:14. Builds up all stoic and stuff, like a Dracula film. Then, then... it goes all Kim Soo-Ro style on us. Hilarious]
VALUE FOR MONEY: 7
An interesting concept, and although execution wasn't as good as expected, Chungmuro needs to try more of these films. Kim Soo-Ro completely carries the show, and despite a few trappings in the middle, overall it's a pretty entertaining, mindless fun type of flick. DVD is highlighted by an excellent commentary and enterOne's usual good job in terms of audio and video, but subtitles could certainly have been better. Still, definitely worth a look.
OVERALL: 7.14

--

KD Media - 2006/04/14
홀리데이 (Holiday)
2006 - 2DVD
Director: 양윤호 (Yang Yoon-Ho)
Cast: 이성재 (Lee Sung-Jae) as Ji Gang-Hyeok, 최민수 (Choi Min-Soo) as Kim An-Seok, 장세진 (Jang Se-Jin) as Jang-Gyung, 이얼 (Lee Eol) as Dae-Cheol, 문영동 (Moon Young-Dong) as Sang-Ho, 동현 (Dong Hyun) as Gwang-Pal, 여현수 (Yeo Hyun-Soo) as Min-Soo, 이봉규 (Lee Bong-Gyu) as Lee Deok-Man, 조안 (Jo An) as Hyo-Joo), 오상훈 (Oh Sang-Hoon) as Shim-Bok, 설성민 (Seol Sung-Min) as Lee Ju-Hwan, 최창균 (Choi Chang-Gyun), 문형주 (Moon Hyung-Joo),
CAMEO: 조상구 (Jo Sang-Goo), 박영로 (Park Young-Ro)
OAR 1.85:1/16:9, DD5.1, Region 3, NTSC DVD-9, English/Korean Subtitles
FILM: 6.5
From the outside, 1988 might be known as a very prosperous year for Korea: they hosted the Olympics, ranking an impressive fourth in the final standings; the first ever non-military president, Jeon Du-Hwan puppet and 하나회 (Hanahoe, Jeon's military clique) member Noh Tae-Woo, was elected; and, if you allow me to get a little closer to home, Lee Myung-Se made his debut in Chungmuro with the masterful, crazy and glorious 개그맨 (Gagman). But as it's always the case with things that seem to shine a lot on the surface, there were some skeletons in the closet, things the government tried to hide, lest foreigners might have actually realized not everything was right in the country. And that's when things like 有錢無罪 無錢有罪 (유전무죄, 무전유죄) started becoming a little more than a proverb in Hanja. If you're rich you're innocent, if you have no money you're guilty. No matter how big or small the crime actually is.

Those were some of the final words of Ji Gang-Heon, one of the names most Koreans from the 386 Generation will remember. The 보호감호법 (social protection law) made over 13,000 victims, but people like him and Jo Se-Hyung (a sort of 'Robin Hood' of modern Korea) ended up giving a voice to all those people who had to suffer in prison even for petty crimes, while the big sharks in the government and chaebol's were getting it easy even when Billions were involved. While the 'Miracle on the Han River' was taking place, people like Ji Gang-Heon were rotting in prison for crimes which would make most people laugh, but such was the reality of the country's 'justice' back then. So Ji, along with 12 accomplices, decided to find a way to speak out, to scream their anger at a society which wasn't listening and didn't care. Even when he asked for a last song, Bee Gees' Holiday, soldiers misunderstood and played Scorpions' Holiday. The problem was in the details, after all.

This accident touched, enraged and woke up many Koreans, so much that this Ji Gang-Heon item was on the table of many Chungmuro companies for years. Lee Myung-Se added The Bee Gees' song in his 인정사정 볼것 없다 (Nowhere To Hide) as a sort of tribute, but there were producers who were fighting each other to be the first on the starting line. By June 2004, four projects dealing with the same story were in pre-production: Kim Young-Bin's 휴일 (Holiday), Dain Pictures' 무전유죄 (No Money, Yes Guilt), 유전무죄 무전유죄 (Different Laws for Different People) and finally Yang Yoon-Ho's 홀리데이 (Holiday). How did Yang and Hyunjin Cinema win the 'race'? President Lee Soon-Yeol met with victims of the accident, including the last hostage to see Ji, Go Seon-Sook (played by Jo An in the film). And what he learned was that the reality reported by the media and by this lady weren't quite the same.

Combining Hyunjin Cinema's know how in terms of blockbusters with successful director Yang Yoon-Ho, a budget of 7.5 Billion Won with the largest prison set ever created in Korean Cinema History, and the writing talent of Kim Hee-Jae, who worked with Kang Woo-Suk for years, Holiday looked quite promising on paper. The cast mixed big stars like Lee Sung-Jae and Choi Min-Soo with talented theater veterans like Lee Eol, and very promising youngsters like Jo An. And, besides being the most 'masculine' of Korea's female writers (including all those writing on TV), Kim Hee-Jae's works always end up intriguing, even if she really never wrote anything great. The choice of Yang Yoon-Ho though hid a little more pitfalls, at least looking at his recent career.

In theory a film like Holiday would be nothing new for Yang, as his first, acclaimed short film 가변차선 (Reversible Lane) dealt with labor workers in the early 80s. But the rest of Yang's career was anything but controversial, as he took it easy with star vehicles like 미스터 콘돔 (Mister Condom) and 화이트 발렌타인 (White Valentine), along with interesting but flawed blockbusters like 리베라 메 (Libera Me). His most successful work, 2004's 바람의 파이터 (Fighter in the Wind), took something interesting like Choi Bae-Dal's story, and turned it into a meat & potatoes, flag waving action flick which completely wasted Yang Dong-Geun's enormous talent.

But despite failing to keep up the pace, the problem really isn't Director Yang. The moment a certain character enters the film, the first works which came to mind were 2003's 선택 (The Road Taken) and 나비 (Mr. Butterfly). The former, because it deals with a similar structure (the issue is different, but the sentiment doesn't change that much) showing how to actually do the convict vs warden struggle. The latter because, just like this film, starts well and benefits from good acting until a single character and too much black and white histrionics derail the ship. And who could have possibly written Mr. Butterfly, if not Kim Hee-Jae?

The similarities are incredible. We're both dealing with touchy issues in the 80s, even somewhat related (Samchong Camps vs Ji Gang-Heon accident). Some of the acting is quite good (the Kim Jung-Eun/Kim Min-Jong couple against Lee Sung-Jae, Lee Eol and Jo An), production values impressive, and direction is not bad even though certainly flawed. But then again a single character ruins everything, and if it was Lee Jong-Won in the 2003 film, this time is our good old 민수형님, Choi Min-Soo.

I sort of have a love/hate relationship with Choi, as if kept in check and with the right project he can do wonders. There's no more than a couple of actors with as much charisma as Choi in the country (one shares his family name, if you were wondering), but when you let him loose, then problem begin. Want proof of his talent? 모래시계 (The Sandglass) and 유령 (Phantom: The Submarine), or if you want something lighter, the Drama 한강수 타령 (Ode to the Han River) and the romcom 주노명 베이커리 (Love Bakery). But Yang completely lets him go here, and... well, Choi makes a mess. Complete with golden tooth.

He doesn't only make his character ridiculous, he overpowers everyone else, so much that his character becomes like some villain from a Hollywood superhero flick, not a person. Of course the character was set up to be a sort of icon, a symbol of all the corruption of the people who helped the controversial law survive. But this is too much to handle. Young Jo An does more in 10 Minutes next to Lee Sung-Jae than Choi in the entire film, so that should tell you something. Kim Hee-Jae is not free from faults either. Ji Gang-Heon (renamed Ji Gang-Hyuk in the film) might have been a victim of the system, but the film glamourizes him a little too much, presenting him as a sort of romantic, silent hero. Despite a thunderous performance from Lee Sung-Jae and understandably taking the anti-hero route, characters never emerge from cardboard cutouts, which is a shame. And the same problem which plagues many of her other works, from Mr. Butterfly to 공공의 적 2 (Another Public Enemy) is that tendency to use 절대악 (100% Evil) characters.

Holiday could have been truly a gem if handled by the right people. Given to a director who understands the difference between anger and machismo and especially able to control people like Choi Min-Soo; written by someone focusing a little more on the social commentary than the cool silent hero vs the 70s action flick villain, it all could have worked like a wonder. The item was definitely interesting, it's too bad it turned out into something just a little too simplistic for its own good.
AUDIO: 8
Good use of surround speakers, especially during the most intense scenes. An excellent job.
VIDEO: 7.5
Quite good, but contrasts are a little too strong, and skin tones should have been a little more realistic. Maybe it's the look of the film.
SUBTITLES: 7
Generally good, sometimes even very good. But punctuation is quite lazy, and a few spelling mistakes ruin the fun. Most importantly, the subtitles fail to cover the little details which make the dialogue a bit more interesting than you'd think.
EXTRA FEATURES: 7.5
Disc 1
- Audio Commentary with Director Yang Yoon-Ho, Lee Sung-Jae, Moon Young-Dong, Yeo Hyun-Soo, Seol Sung-Min, Jang Se-Jin, Jo An, Lee Eol, Dong Hyun [A very good listen. Relaxed, everyone participates frequently and many interesting discussions are mixed with anecdotes from the shoot. More fun than most commentaries involving more than 2-3 people]
- Audio Commentary with Director Yang Yoon-Ho, Lee Soon-Yeol, DP Shin Ok-Hyun, PD Shin Jung-Soo [Obviously not as fun as the previous one, but still very informative an interesting. For once, two very good commentaries on the same DVD]
- After Commentary [8:37. Much longer than any other After Commentary I've seen. All the people who participated in the two commentaries make a few comments after seeing the film after a long time]
Disc 2 [~ 83 Minutes]
Page 1
- Concept [12:55. Interview with Producer Lee Soon-Yeol and Director Yang. As it's often the case with these featurettes, one of the best parts of the DVD]
- Making Of [25:48. This focuses mostly on the shoot itself, combined with interviews with the stars. Well made]
- Interview [19:24. A very interesting set of interviews with all the supporting characters And Lee Sung-Jae, from Jo An to Lee Eol and Dong Hyun. Uses the usual mixed focus between the actors divided by subjects]
- Prison [6:30. An interview with director Yang and producer Lee Soon-Yeol regarding the Prison Set and the concept behind it]
- Deleted Scenes [10:21. Nothing feels really necessary here. There's even a ridiculous scene with Choi Min-Soo wearing a night mask (Did Choi ever shoot cosmetics CF? I don't remember), which probably would have sent half the audience into fits of laughter]
- Music Video [2:52. Holiday by The Bee Gees. I'll always remember this song because of Nowhere To Hide, and if it weren't for Ji Gang-Heon actually requesting that song, it'd feel just tacked on this film. Still, nice little Music Video]
Page 2
- Trailer [3:28. These make the film feel like a sort of low-rent 실미도 (Silmido) -- which is kind of true -- but it's OK all considered. Features both Teaser and Theatrical Trailers]
- Photo Gallery [3:23. Thankfully without silly graphics, as cinematography in this film was quite good, so you can see it in full glory here. Except they use a sepia tone, which sort of defeats any purpose...]
- Even For Just a Second [3:31. A Poster Shoot. And what does that have to do with the title? The line [translated in Korean] from Bee Gees' Holiday ends up on the poster. And when you pay 900 Million Won for the song's rights, you have to get as much bang for your buck as you can, I guess]
- Press/VIP Screening [5:20. The usual array of big stars attending, followed by an introduction by the cast and director. Choi Min-Soo, as always, carries the show]
VALUE FOR MONEY: 7
A missed opportunity, if you will. And besides the film, the way it was treated by a particular theater chain to promote an affiliate company's latest release (which... hmmm... just happens to be part of this Roundup. I won't name names), left a sour taste in many people's mouth. Of course it's not really a great film, not even something I'd call good. But by putting the spotlight on such an important and symbolic event of the 80s, it's at least an interesting failure. DVD is actually quite good, with a nice presentation and interesting extra features. I'd say it's even worth a look, but don't expect too much.
OVERALL: 7.14

--

CONTINUES ON PART 2