FilmFan
10-31-2009, 10:24 PM
http://northcorner.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/the-chaser-11.jpg
Running time: 125 minutes
Directed by: Hong-jin Na
Starring: Yun-seok Kim
IMDB rating: 7.9
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190539/
The Chaser aka Chugyeogja
Joong-ho is a pimp who has recently had two of his girls go missing. As a former cop, he tries to use his contacts to help find them, but with no luck. Mi-jin is one of the few girls he has left, and he calls to make sure she goes out to work, as he is in need of money.
When looking through his records, he notices that the missing girls were both with the same guy on the last night that they were seen, and that Mi-jin is currently with him as well. All he has is a phone number for the guy, so he calls Mi-jin and asks her to text him once they arrive and tell him where they are so he can come over.
Unfourtunately for her, once she arrives at the house, she finds that there is no signal. She tries to step outside, but the door is heavily locked. Things are clearly looking bleak for her.
Joong-ho goes to the area that he suspects the man to be from, but ends up getting into a minor car crash. Upon seeing the driver of the other car, he notices that he has blood on his shirt, and realises that he has found the man that he's been looking for. He handcuffs him and is about to take him off to find out the information he needs to know, when the police arrive, and arrest both of them. Once at the station, the man (who is called Young-min) seems to offer little resistance, and admits to killing nine people as soon as the police start to question him.
For a lot of films, the bad guy getting arrested and confessing would be the final act, but this all happens fairly early on, and with almost 90 minutes still to go, there are still a lot of twists and turns to be had.
I can't really think of anything to criticise about this film. It's not 10/10, but at the same time it doesn't have any faults, and there isn't a thing that I would change about it.
A lot of the time when watching a film by a first time director, you notice that it doesn't do things in the conventional way, and this can be both a positive and a negative. Positive because is more original than most, negative because it's a bit rough around the edges, underdeveloped or in need of a few cuts here and there. But that isn't the case here. The Chaser is as fresh as a film of this genre can be, but with none of the flaws that can sometimes accompany a work such as this.
8.25
Running time: 125 minutes
Directed by: Hong-jin Na
Starring: Yun-seok Kim
IMDB rating: 7.9
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190539/
The Chaser aka Chugyeogja
Joong-ho is a pimp who has recently had two of his girls go missing. As a former cop, he tries to use his contacts to help find them, but with no luck. Mi-jin is one of the few girls he has left, and he calls to make sure she goes out to work, as he is in need of money.
When looking through his records, he notices that the missing girls were both with the same guy on the last night that they were seen, and that Mi-jin is currently with him as well. All he has is a phone number for the guy, so he calls Mi-jin and asks her to text him once they arrive and tell him where they are so he can come over.
Unfourtunately for her, once she arrives at the house, she finds that there is no signal. She tries to step outside, but the door is heavily locked. Things are clearly looking bleak for her.
Joong-ho goes to the area that he suspects the man to be from, but ends up getting into a minor car crash. Upon seeing the driver of the other car, he notices that he has blood on his shirt, and realises that he has found the man that he's been looking for. He handcuffs him and is about to take him off to find out the information he needs to know, when the police arrive, and arrest both of them. Once at the station, the man (who is called Young-min) seems to offer little resistance, and admits to killing nine people as soon as the police start to question him.
For a lot of films, the bad guy getting arrested and confessing would be the final act, but this all happens fairly early on, and with almost 90 minutes still to go, there are still a lot of twists and turns to be had.
I can't really think of anything to criticise about this film. It's not 10/10, but at the same time it doesn't have any faults, and there isn't a thing that I would change about it.
A lot of the time when watching a film by a first time director, you notice that it doesn't do things in the conventional way, and this can be both a positive and a negative. Positive because is more original than most, negative because it's a bit rough around the edges, underdeveloped or in need of a few cuts here and there. But that isn't the case here. The Chaser is as fresh as a film of this genre can be, but with none of the flaws that can sometimes accompany a work such as this.
8.25