Genre: Spy Thriller
Platform: Amazon Prime
Time : 2 hours 5 minutes
Director: Lee Jung-jae
Cast: Lee Jung-jae (Park Pyong-ho). Jung Woo-sung (Kim Jung-do). Jeon Hye-jin (Bang Joo-kyung). Go Youn-jung (Jo Yoo-jeong)
Plot: In the early 1980s, South Korea is under the military dictatorship of General Chun Doo Hwan . During his Washington visit, a plot to assassinate him is prevented by both Park Pyong Ho , the Korean CIA (KCIA) operative and head of Domestic Security, Kim Jung do. Both are pursuing leads towards a highly placed North Korean mole, code named Donglim, who has consistently leaked information leading to North Korean defections being blown, South Korean commando attacks being massacred and other disasters that don’t add up. The leads pile up. Soon each suspects the other to be Donglim…
In 2003, during an official visit to ChinaI met two Koreans . The senior ‘Park’ joked that 90% of Korean names was split between Park, Kim and Lee. Never have truer words been spoken as we soon scratch our heads at the profusion of Kims and Lees and Parks who are involved in the complex plot.
The plotting IS complex. Yet, it runs at a blistering place slowing down only when both antagonists present their juniors with their respective suspicions. Soon the truth is revealed halfway through the movie . We can only wonder how all the main characters will survive , given that all of them are involved in one conspiracy or the other.
The core idea is truly an “ARE YOU KIDDING ME” moment. This is TOO FILMY even for fans of FILMY exaggeration . Namely the heads of external (KCIA) and internal intelligence (NIS) agencies are not only rivals but suspect each other of being a North Korean Mole named Donglim.
As with all South Korean films, the action scenes are brilliantly choreographed. The North versus South ideological war is shown as it is and surely the linguistic differences between the two nations, would be impossible for non Koreans to grasp. Probably this is where the script fails a bit as the North Koreans are shown as the fanatical Communists (that they are in real life) with no humanism left in them , except to achieve their goal of reunification. They think that the genuine pro democracy student protests is a good chance for a forced reunification of the country.
The ordinary viewer may not know that the Korean War is technically still running as there is only a truce and not an end to the hostilities, since both sides consider themselves to be the legitimate successor , pointing fingers at the ‘other’.
Given this background, the plot is chilling as the sides are only concerned with their objectives, unmindful of the overall human cost. Given such a topic, the performances are a bit wooden but then what else does one except the two lead conspirators to be , except to put on a wooden face while going through their shenanigans.
The action scenes, as with ANY South Korean thriller – spy or otherwise – are brilliant. It may be a bit complex in the beginning and takes about half an hour to really ‘understand’ what is happening. Once you do, then you will be absolutely enthralled by this typical South Korean edge of seat thriller, where cross and double cross continue till the last minute, leading to a feeling that in real life, there is no happy ending, reflecting the unclear non resolution of the problems between the two countries.
Script – 4 out of 5
Story – 4 out of 5
Direction – 4 out of 5
Photography – 4 out of 5
Total – 4 out of 5
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