A well made action thriller with non-stop flashes of stone cold humor, unrelenting suspense and skull cracking chase between the hard luck cop and the invincible villain- keeps you at the edge of your seat until the end.
Director Kim Seong-hun offers a slick flick with on-target technical execution, narrative poise & arm rest gripping combat scenes.
Australian Premier: 6th Korean Film Festival in Australia
Festival Dates: 12 August, 2015 – 27 September, 2015
SYDN Sat 15th Aug, 6:45PM,
BRIS Sun 30th Aug, 6:10PM
MELB Sat 5th Sep, 7:15PM
CANB Sun 6th Sep, 6:30PM
PERT Sat 19th Sep, 4:45PM
ADEL Sat 26th Sep, 4:45PM
Director: Kim Seong-hun.
Cast: Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Jin-woong.
Genre: Crime Action Thriller
Runtime: 111 min.
Korean w/English Subtitles
Rate: 8/10.
A hit and run case or rather should we call it chase?
Homicide Detective Ko Gun-soo (Lee Sun-kyun) is having a hard day. Ko- a morally, personally & professionally compromised corrupt cop- you would say he kind of deserves it as it seems like the karma is just biting back. Enter : Park Chang-min (Cho Jin-woong) our over the top ruthless villain who epitomes Die Another Day and has no intentions of ceasing the pursuit of getting his mission accomplished using Ko as a catalyst. Despite Ko’s no remorse persona, director Kim encapsulates him as a hero and makes you bank for his win and yes, you would jump with joy when Ko stunts many times to get himself out from Park’s clutches.
The movie spins out with Ko recklessly driving to his work station midnight while being constantly bothered by his sister and teammates over the mobile phone. His mother has just died and the funeral is being organized by his family, he is hurriedly summoned by his chief & teammates as the internal affairs are raiding the office unveiling their collective racketeering and the stashes of bribe money. Amidst chaos hits despair which starts his hard journey. While speeding down pitch-black highway, he swerves to avoid hitting a dog and ends up running over a man. Braving the most conscience-pricking stare from his pooch witness, the corrupt cop actually intends to do the right thing by calling emergency services but a rather inopportune follow up phone call from his sister disrupts and diverts his decision. The sudden (& well calculated) sight of a nearby police van shakes Ko up and he hastily stashes the body in his car’s trunk and keeps going.
Hereby, the proverb ‘necessity is the mother of all inventions’ takes reel life.Ko then seeks forgiveness from his deceased mother as he disposes off the body in her casket (!!!, yes you read it right) and experiences his mind being rest in peace(in literal sense) as the casket is buried down under. Little did he know that with this novel stunt he has actually dug his own grave much deeper. A sudden order makes him & his teammates in charge of a case to find a much wanted murderer who is small time crook with underworld and drug racket connections. Introducing Lee Dwang Min —Tada! That’s the same guy whom Ko generously allowed to share space in his mother’s casket.Which means that almost every next second the bitter truth is about to be unveiled by his teammates as they try to decipher actionable intelligence. And Ko’s attempts to divert the team’s attention and contest their findings will only leave you with nail biting suspense yet laughter in splits.
Source: Korean Film Festival in Australia (Official) – KOFFIA
Just when he thought it was all over, Ko gets a mysterious call from a person claiming that he was the sole witness to the crime, who now begins to blackmail him to get Lee’s body back.That stalker finally comes face to face with Ko as Park Chang-min (Cho Jin-woong) and ensues Ko with the formidable mission. While Park offers numerous gripping turning points, at one point you think get the end in quickly and let someone win once and for all, as the movie gives many finales obeying the thriller law of ending multiple times.
Though the cinematography is punctuated with adroit panning, treating us with breathtaking high-angle and flyover shots of chases and reckless yet perfect-to-the-feel driving sequences, it does a fantastic job at moving us along with Ko’s restless state of mind. The dramatic lens shifting & zolly superbly outlines the oppressively tight closeups of combat & nerve-racking situations against the most simplistic set ups that the film has been shot at. No fancy or special effects but pure mastery. My personal notable call out would be for the tussle in the toilet between Ko & Park, where the director has chosen to keep it realistic and eschews bloodshed- stomach churning ouch! Well, actually many times the chase translates into the one between Tom & Jerry, however a ferocious version where many times you would assume one has almost conquered another & Bamm! It restarts- Like a tap out between count 2 and 3.
Most loved part of A Hard day is the comic relief that keeps spiraling throughout the morbid scenarios. Social satire, political bites and surrealism which gives a rather acceptable shade to Ko’s quirky yet convoluted plans. His attempt to go from one room to another by jumping over the balconies; the key props in his endeavors were a toy soldier, shoe thread, bunch of yellow balloons and nailing the casket with his elbow. We actually might have done the same in haste though(just the elbow part)-keeping the reality absurd but very acceptable. Terminator like Tom and Mario like Jerry-a thorough hilarious, inventive & entertaining case s ‘A Hard day’ indeed.
Remarkably well constructed & written movie. Whether the finish is a happy dawn or a daunting dusk, it is certainly a worth a watch to find out.
