2024

   The Korean film industry remained in the grip of its struggles in early 2024, but at least there were a few positive developments at the box-office to point to. People in the industry had been heartened by the runaway popular success of 12.12: The Day in late 2023, but they weren't sure if it marked a broader resurgence of interest in moviegoing, or simply a one-off success. The fact that occult movie Exhuma soared past 11 million admissions at the start of 2024 was exciting in itself, and also provided grounds for a bit of optimism.

On the festival circuit, director Hong Sangsoo won yet another Silver Bear from the Berlin International Film Festival, picking up the Grand Jury Prize (the festival's second highest honor) for A Traveler's Needs starring Isabelle Huppert. In addition, Kim Hye-young's independent feature It's Okay! won a Crystal Bear for Best Film in the Generation Kplus section. Exhuma and The Roundup: Punishment also premiered in Berlin to strong reviews. However the good vibes at Berlin would not carry over to Cannes, as the only Korean film to be invited to the main sections was director Ryoo Seung-wan's I, the Executioner (a sequel to his 2014 film Veteran), invited to the Midnight Section.

At the time of this writing it's not clear which films might emerge to be the most talked-about releases of 2024, but there's cautious hope that this year will at least leave the pandemic slump a little bit further behind.  (Written on April 17)

     Reviewed below:     Citizen of a Kind (Jan 24)  -  Exhuma (Feb 22)  -  The Roundup: Punishment (Apr 24).

    Citizen of a Kind

Single mother Deok-hee's life has fallen apart even before the opening credits, a devastating fire having ruined her laundry shop. After failing to secure a loan to rebuild her business, she is relieved when a representative from the bank calls to tell her about a special, limited-time only loan offer. Rushing to meet the loan's conditions, which involve transferring the rest of her savings into a new account, she just barely completes the process on her phone before the offer expires. However when she shows up in person at the bank, nobody knows anything about this supposed loan. With rising panic, Deok-hee realizes that she has been the victim of a voice phishing scam.

Embarrassed, desperate and completely broke, she goes to the police, but they say there is nothing they can do. Her back to the wall, she is just barely managing to survive when her phone rings, and she hears the familiar voice of the man who scammed her. But this time his manner is completely different. Begging for her help, he says that he has been abducted in China by a Korean gang, and forced to make calls for their voice phishing operation. He says he will try to pass along information about the business, and he asks her to report it to the police.

Adapted from a real-life incident that took place in 2016, Citizen of a Kind is in some ways a classic David vs. Goliath story of a resouceful and utterly determined woman who refuses to back down. The very talented actress Ra Mi-ran - who has often been pigeonholed into comedy roles, even though she has tremendous range - communicates Deok-hee's desperation, but also makes you believe in her strength. As the film progresses, her performance pulls you ever more deeply into the story. At first, she is primarily focused just on getting back the 30 million won (~US$25,000) that she lost, but then her increasing determination to get the entire voice phishing operation shut down turns her into a kind of avenging hero.

Meanwhile the film also shifts to the perspective of the caller Jae-min (Gong Myoung), a young man who finds himself trapped in a hellish kind of prison. As he places ever more secret, highly risky calls to Deok-hee to relay information, an unusual sort of bond develops between these two desperate people.

Writer/director Park Young-ju (who debuted with the 2018 independent feature Second Life) has done a tremendous job in bringing this story to the screen. She has taken liberties with the facts of the true-life incident, adding an entire act in which Deok-hee travels with several close friends to Qingdao, China to personally search for the criminals' base of operations (this did not happen in real life). But personally I'm quite glad that she added these scenes -- this is not a documentary, after all -- as these are some of the most vibrant and suspenseful sequences in the movie. The cameraderie and chaotic energy of Deok-hee's group of friends (played by some outstanding actors such as Yeom Hye-ran and Jang Yoon-ju) bring these scenes to life, and Director Park has a real talent for harnessing that energy and using it to drive the story forward.

Most often, films tend to celebrate heroes who are naturally gifted or highly skilled in some way. But there's something inspiring about a screen hero like Deok-hee who has been given no advantages in life, and is casually disregarded by others, yet who manages to push ahead regardless. For all of the dark places that Citizen of a Kind takes us in the course of its story, it ends up as one of the feel-good stories of the year, for all the right reasons.      (Darcy Paquet)

    Exhuma

Hwa-rim (Kim Go-eun) and Bong-gil (Lee Do-hyun) are modern-day shamans particularly skilled in the arts of exorcism. We first see them on a flight to Los Angeles, where a wealthy Korean-American businessman has summoned them in regard to his infant child, who appears to be under the influence of something sinister. Not all of the family is happy to see the pair arrive, but Hwa-rim soon realizes that this affliction affects other members of the family as well. She suspects a "grave's call" - namely, a dead ancestor who, for whatever reason, is disturbed and unhappy in his grave.

This will require an exhumation and reburial, which means she will need the help of two old colleagues, feng shui expert Kim Sang-deok (Choi Min-sik) and undertaker Young-geun (Yoo Hai-jin). The two are excited at the prospect of a large paycheck, but their anticipation shifts to unease when they actually visit the grave site, which lies just below the border with North Korea. Sensing something evil and dangerous about the grave and the body buried inside, Kim reverses course and refuses to go ahead with the exhumation.

Director Jang Jae-hyun has charted a clear path for himself in the Korean film industry, directing three films in the occult genre and finding success with each one. His debut The Priests was a surprise hit during its release in 2015, selling over 5 million tickets and helping to launch the career of future Parasite star Park So-dam. His sophomore effort Svaha: The Sixth Finger starring Lee Jung-jae was also well reviewed and popular, but with Exhuma he has moved into another statosphere, remaining atop the box office for close to two months and amassing over 11 million admissions. Genre films of this type do have an audience in Korea, but the performance of Exhuma was in many ways unprecedented.

For sure, great casting was a part of the film's appeal. The veteran presence and aura of Choi Min-sik gives depth to the character of the feng shui expert, and forms a nice contrast with the youthful, powerful energy of Kim Go-eun who is terrific as the shaman. The always excellent Yoo Hai-jin and the up-and-coming star Lee Do-hyun round out this appealing quartet, who would be great fun to watch onscreen even if there were no spirits to appease or curses to break.

As for the plot itself, director Jang adopts an unusual structure for his narrative, dividing it neatly into two parts. The first half plays out more like a conventional genre film, but at the film's midpoint the plot literally descends down another layer, opening up a new realm for the film to explore. Without giving too much away, we can say that the film's symbolism expands from this point on, and the weight of history and colonization begin to make themselves felt.

Some viewers have taken issue with the film's two halves, and the threads of logic that hold them together. But Exhuma leaves its viewers with much to think and talk about, as well as some unforgettable imagery. Without a jump scare in sight, the film creeps out its audience through the accumulation of chilling, realistic details and the occasional visual flourish. The story's ultimate message may be seen as rather downbeat, but Exhuma's success has provided a much-needed injection of hope to the struggling Korean film industry.      (Darcy Paquet)

    The Roundup: Punishment

In the past few years, the big fists of Detective Ma Seok-do have become one of the most reliable box office draws in Korean cinema. With The Roundup franchise now reaching its fourth iteration (after 2017's The Outlaws, 2022's The Roundup, and 2023's The Roundup: No Way Out), actor/producer Don Lee -- aka Ma Dong-seok -- has returned with another highly entertaining stroll through the world of crimefighting. He doesn't show any sign of slowing down, either -- apparently, four more sequels are already in development.

There are some things audiences can always expect in a Roundup movie. The story will be based very loosely on a real-life crime case, though it won't weigh things down by sticking to the facts. Detective Ma will crack a few groan-inducing dad jokes, and get confused if anyone hands him a piece of new technology. The bad guys will be truly despicable, and will cause much suffering to decent, ordinary people. Then sooner or later, they will look up and Detective Ma will be standing in front of them, and he will make them pay.

In The Roundup: Punishment, the crime is online gambling. We are introduced early on to Baek (Kim Moo-yul), who is a rising star in the online gambling scene, thanks mostly to his tactic of physically attacking and laying waste to his competitors. Detective Ma's team Metro Investigations first learns of this lucrative business - which is located offshore, in the Philippines - when a young computer programmer is killed trying to escape Baek's particular brand of forced labor.

But Baek's not the only bad guy in this racket. Sitting atop the business is the super-rich, so-called "genius" tech entrepreneur Chang (Lee Dong-hwi), who has already raked in millions, and is now looking to launch his own rigged cyptocurrency that will make him even richer. Obsessed with his own self-worth, he has little time for other people's needs or opinions (or respect for their lives), which inevitably leads to tension with the ambitious Baek. Which of these two is the worse criminal may depend on one's perspective, but both more than deserve what's coming to them.

The Roundup: Punishment is directed by Heo Myeong-haeng, who has years of experience as a stunt coordinator (the list of directors he has worked with include Ryoo Seung-wan, Bong Joon Ho, Kim Jee-woon, Choi Dong-hoon, Na Hong-jin, Yoon Jong-bin, Yeon Sang-ho, and many more), but is just now stepping behind the camera. He also directed the recent Netflix feature Badland Hunters, but it's with this Roundup film that he is drawing particular praise, for its streamlined storytelling, energetic pacing and impactful, satisfying fight scenes. There's a particular rhythm to a Don Lee action scene, with the frenetic energy of the bad guy interspersed with the heavy, bone-crunching thunk of Detective Ma's fist. Director Heo balances this perfectly, delivering what may well be the most dynamic and entertaining Roundup film yet.      (Darcy Paquet)

Koreanfilm.org, last updated April 17, 2024.