Chugyeogja (2008)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Hong-jin Na

Writers:

Won-Chan Hong (written by)
Shinho Lee (written by)

Release Date:

14 February 2008 (South Korea)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts...

Plot Keywords:

Pimp | Chisel | Impotence | Police Corruption | Violence

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Yun-seok Kim	...	Joong-ho Eom
Jung-woo Ha	...	Young-min Jee
Yeong-hie Seo	...	Mi-jin Kim
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
In-gi Jung	...	Detective Lee
Hyo-ju Park	...	Detective Oh

Also Known As:

The Chaser (International: English title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | UK:18 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Japan:R-15 | France:-12 (with warning) | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-18 | Australia:MA (2009)

Filming Locations:

Seoul, South Korea

Company:

Fine Cut

Trivia:

The part where Young-min (Jung-woo Ha) slips as Joong-ho (Yun-seok Kim) chases him in the alley was not scripted. Actor Jung-woo Ha actually did slip on the slippery pavement while shooting, but kept running anyway. Director Hong-jin Na liked that cut so much that he kept it in the final edit.

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Chaser (2010)

Excellence in Film making

Before watching this film, I had doubts in my mind whether to watch it or not.. the reason being, it's not in English. I thought why take trouble in watching a Korean film. I've checked IMDb and was stunned to see a 8.1 rating. Then I thought again.. this film must have been really good. I highly doubted that most of the films that are rated high didn't rhyme with my taste.

Anyway.. I started watching this film. It started off slowly and as it progressed, I was amazed by the way the story unfolded, the way the director portrayed the characters. Everything was amazing. Acting was excellent and I just can't seem to find any shortcomings in the film.

The climax was superb and I must say that Yeong-hie Seo, Jung-woo Ha & Yun-seok Kim deserve much of the praise for excellent acting.

I'm sure that this film will be a good contender for the next Oscars. I highly recommend this film to everyone (above 15).