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วันจันทร์ที่ 22 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2556
Confession of Murder (내가 살인범이다, Naega Salinbeomida) 2012
The sound of torrential rain beating down during a pitch black night can
be heard along with the heavy footfalls of boots stamping on the wet
ground. The atmosphere is pregnant with a sense of unease; menace and
frustration linger in the air. A weary and despondent detective chases
after a despicable man: a monster with the blood of young women on his
hands. But the lawman’s pursuit will prove fruitless, as this faceless
ghost will vanish into thin air and into the forgotten recesses of
history.
Such a passage could easily describe any number of narratives that have
cropped up in all kinds of mediums across the world. As far as Korean
cinema is concerned, it quickly brings to mind a handful of powerful
works whose import cannot be dismissed in any serious consideration of
the nation’s cinematic output. Chief among them is Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder
(2003), a transcendent genre piece that captured the anxiety and trauma
of an entire nation and which is for many, including myself, the single
greatest work that the country has ever produced. Another would be Na
Hong-jin’s blistering The Chaser (2008), which deliberately
trampled over every generic convention it could find and forged a new
direction for one of the world’s most dynamic film industries in the
process.
Unlike Hollywood’s serial killer productions (save perhaps for the works
of David Fincher), these films don’t attempt to placate us with the
catharsis afforded by a foiled murder or an apprehended criminal. The
killers here, just as in so many other Korean films, such as Tell Me Something (1999), No Mercy (2010) and Children…
(2011), are either never caught, or they outsmart the law. Even if they
do end up behind bars or dead, they triumph by successfully carrying
out one final crime, typically targeting someone close to the
protagonist or the one person they’ve been trying to save throughout the
narrative.
Though by no means reflecting the entire scope of the Korean film
industry, these films, as well as a few other somber thrillers, have in
large part been responsible for shaping the perception of Korean cinema
abroad. Well-made, intelligent and anchored by an emotional resonance
afforded by the peninsula’s painful modern history, examples from this
informal subgenre have demonstrated some of the best that Korean film
has to offer.
And so along comes another work to carry on the torch for Korean cinema’s solemn and hardboiled commercial thrillers. Confession of Murder
immediately aligns itself with the above works while also demonstrating
a fresh temperament all of its own. A saturnine detective eats and
drinks by himself at a local eatery with a scowl on his face as the news
blares on TV, reporting on a serial killer case. Though we have yet to
be explicitly informed of it, we already know he’s the detective in
charge. No sooner than we form this assumption does the very man he’s
gunning after burst into the restaurant. So begins an intense chase
scene, replete with bone-crunching blows, death-defying stunts and a
palpable sense of danger, all to the beat of some very taught editing.
Stabbed, the detective lies on the ground, drenched and defeated. The
antagonist, instead of finishing him off, slices his cheek open and
leaves him with the ominous words ‘I still need you for later’, or
something to that effect.
As far as introductions go, the opening salvo of Jung Byung-gil’s
fiction feature debut packs a hell of a wallop, combining the
intoxicating heft of Korea’s best thrillers with some extremely
effective action cinema counterpoints. It sets the bar pretty high for
what’s the come, and while Memories of Murder it most certainly is not, this action-thriller stands as one of the year’s most enjoyable genre offerings.
15 years following the events of the opening scene, and after the
statute of limitations have expired on the serial murders, a dashing
young man named Lee Dong-soo publishes a book titled ‘I Am the Killer’
(also the Korean name of the film), claiming the murders as his own.
Det. Choi Hyung-goo, who also lost his fiancée to the murderer, is not
wholly convinced that this man is indeed the perpetrator of the crimes
and so begins an intense confrontation between them as well as various
family members of the victims.
The premise is intriguing and while the twists and turns that follow
threaten to strain the narrative’s credibility to breaking point, the
film’s sheer will to entertain wins out in the end. Confession of Murder
is a genre film, though like many Korean films before it its approach
to genre is supremely elastic. At its core, the film is a dark thriller
that hints at a past trauma which stretches beyond the characters on
screen. Aside from the serial killer and procedural elements that this
entails, the film also straddles the spheres of action and comedy.
Perhaps most surprising in this case is how the high concept conceit
yields another level of social commentary as it presents the adulation
inspired by a serial killer for the combination of his sudden fame and
his pretty boy looks.
Park Si-hoo, as the purported murderer, relies more on presence than
performance for his role but perhaps that’s just as well as most of his
time on screen is spent before reporters’ cameras. As to be expected
Jeong Jae-yeong is one fine form as the surly detective. Though Det.
Choi is mostly bad-tempered and morose, Jeong throws in some of his
trademark deadpan humor: instances of levity which are particularly
necessary in an uneven narrative.
The balance of the film comes does into question when it reaches some of
its most ridiculous moments, such as a miscalculated highway scene that
may have been more at home in last year’s silly summer offering Quick.
However, while the film is initially presented as a serious thriller,
it quickly demonstrates its tongue in cheek style and as the plot gets
more ridiculous, some of the sillier aspects of the film just add to the
film’s fun quotient.
Jung’s second film, following his documentary debut Action Boys (2008), may well be terribly flawed but it’s also a fun ride that brings to mind some of the more successful poly-generic Korean offerings of the last decade. Unabashedly seeking to entertain, Confession of Murder clings on to the coattails of its influences and hits its mark.
★★★★☆
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