THE MURDERER (황해) Preview + THE CHASER (추격자)

Na Hong-jin's icy debut

Directed by: Na Hong-jin

Country of origin: Korea

Starring: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Yun-seok

Young up and coming filmmaker Na Hong-jin turned a lot of heads with his directorial debut The Chaser, a strikingly dark film, black, even, that tells the story of a Seoul pimp searching for one of his girls whose gone missing. As ordinary as the premise may sound, the film is anything but typical. Tenured Asian film fanatics may recollect that prostitution and the relationships between pimps and their girls are common topics; Kim Ki-duk touches on this with Bad Guy and hints at it with The Isle, and even Akira Kurosawa insinuates such circumstances. But The Chaser is in a class of its own. It's very possibly the darkest film I've ever seen, relying on bold visuals, opaque twists, and gratuitous violence. It blends the darkest forms of suspense with the most disturbed ideologies or violence and action. If Fincher were to remake his opus Se7en in Korea, you might get about two thirds of the movie that Na delivers to us. Ironically enough, the alienating sense of grimy gore and the truly chilling performance of actor Ha Jung-woo actually compel the audience, and make us more and more curious. The twists in the movie aren't mind-blowing. Some of the scenarios may seem familiar with a much more exposed American audience. But the fact is, Na Hong-jin makes those facts obsolete, with The Chaser's solemn story, strong performances, and air-tight direction. I think that, arguably, The Chaser may be one of the most impressive debut-features in modern cinema, simply because director Na did not hold back. When you see a director's first film, often they seem to tread softly, trying to find their footing. But then you have a director like Na who goes all out on his first go around. It was definitely refreshing. To the South Koreans, Na Hong-jin is their next Park Chan-wook. He is a filmmaker who isn't afriad to tell the controversial, bold stories that are constantly thought of as taboo. The future looks bright for Na......

****1/2 / *****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB2LPzdxBHM

.... and even more so with his new film. The Murderer looks to adopt the same tone and feel of The Chaser. Even from the trailer one can tell that Na will challenge his audience's conscience with this taut. new thriller, starring Chaser star Kim Yun-seok. Can't wait .