The Good, The Bad, The Weird - 神偷:獵人:斷指客

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (神偷:獵人:斷指客) is a 2008 film out of Korea. The film stars Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, and Jung Woo-sung. The movie is based in Manchuria.

The Cast
Song Kang-ho - Yoon Tae-goo (The Weird)
Lee Byung-hun - Park Chang-yi (The Bad)
Jung Woo-sung - Park Do-won (The Good)

A map to a secret treasure from the Ming Dynasty has surfaced and is being sold to the Japanese by a Korean high official. However, the high official wants to double cross the buyer by stealing it back via his own bandits, Park Chang-Yi. On the train where the map is delivered to the Japanese buyer, a train robbery is in full effect. The robbery is carried out by Yoon Tea-goo, a bumbling thief that shows some signs of skill. Tea-goo inadvertently steals the map. Park Chang-Yi starts to carry out his double steal, but finds that the map is stolen. Park Do-won is a bounty hunter on the trail of both Chang-yi and Tae-goo as both have bounty rewards. But Do-won is set on taking in Chang-yi and getting the map as he's promised a handsome reward from the Korean Independence army. A cat and mouse chase ensues when they leave the train. Do-won and Tae-goo form a uneasy pairing to find the treasure. But they have 3 gangs on their tail, the Japanese army, the Mongolian bandits, and Chang-yi.

This movie was pretty crazy and exciting at the same time. The action was a little hard to believe for most of the movie. But it didn't detract from the main point of the movie. This is the first Korean western I've seen and it was a doozy. The three guys do give a pretty good performance. Worth a watch and worth the wait.

Thirst - 蝙蝠:血色情慾

Thirst (蝙蝠:血色情慾) is a 2009 film out of Korea. The movie stars Song Kang-ho and Kim Ok-bin. The film was directed by Park Chan-wook of Oldboy fame.

The movie is about Song Kang-ho as Sang-hyun. Sang was brought up in an catholic orphanage and went into the priesthood in Korea. A devote man of faith, he truly wants to help others. Sang signs up as an volunteer for a experiment for the Emmanuel Virus (EV) vaccine somewhere in Europe or Africa. Like the other volunteers, he falls victim to the deadly outcome of EV. However, during this death experience, he receives a blood transfusion. That blood was that of a vampire. The blood helps Sang recover completely from EV. Sang goes back to Korea and starts to go back to normal priesthood duties. Including praying for the healing of others. On one such trip, he heals the cancer of a childhood friend. Thus begins Sang's relation with his friends wife, Kim Ok-bin as Tae-ju. At the same time, the effects of the blood makes a complete transformation of Sang into an vampire. Including super strength, fast healing, and an appetite for sin. Which includes a adulteress affair with Tai-ju. Sang eventually converts Tai-ju into a vampire so they could be together forever.

The movie itself explores many things that is labeled taboo in human nature. It also takes bits and pieces of vampire mythos that are convenient for the story.

In the end, the movie was not able to live up the hype. Maybe I needed to watch the movie with no preconceptions. However, at the end, I was ultimately let down. The story is unconventional and the subject matter is very specific. Maybe if I had some background on catholic traditions, I may have thought more of it.

Joint Security Area - JSA - 共同警戒區

Joint Security Area/JSA (共同警戒區) is a 2000 film out of Korea. The film stars Lee Young Ae, Lee Byung-Hun, and Song Kang-ho.

The movie is about murders at the North/South Korean DMZ zone. A special international force is brought in to investigate so that both sides are addressed. Layer upon layer of mysteries are unraveled to get to the truth.

This is one of the first Korean films I watched back in 2001. Up to that point, Korean cinema didn't even register on my radar. Korean dramas were just starting to flex their muscle in the Asian markets. The movies didn't lag behind too much. I was entertained by the movie and it was a glimpse into a world unknown to me. When I think of this movie, I also think of the planet b-boy promo clips at the DMZ.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - 復仇

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (復仇) is a 2002 film out of Korea starring Song Kang-ho. This is the first installment of a vengeance trilogy by director Park Chan-wook, succeeded by Oldboy.

Although this was the first in the trilogy, this was the last film in the trilogy that I saw. And also the most disappointing.

Violence, deceit, revenge, and vengeance are all here. You get it all.