The Chaser | Na Hong-jin, 2008
Based on a true story, the recent Korean box office smash Chugyeogja or The Chaser has caused quite a stir since debuting at the Berlin film festival back in February of last year. It took a while but the film finally made its European release in September and has already been picked up by Warner Bros. for a 2010 remake that will involve Leonardo DiCaprio and The Departed writer William Monahan. This small fact says much for the exciting state of Korean cinema at present, and makes one wonder how long it will be before American studios invest more heavily in the country and its talent, rather than simply wait to see what it produces and then buy and re-label it. The Chaser is a twisted crime thriller in the vein of those that littered Hollywood decades ago, and is also the first full-length feature from writer/director Na Hong-jin. The plot is straightforward enough: an ex-cop finds it in his interest to investigate missing prostitutes and ties them all to the same man, the bad guy is then subsequently arrested by police who, through their own incompetence and some heavy political leaning, allow him to avoid prosecution and walk free. Thus, our renegade protagonist takes it upon himself to see that justice is served.
As a Korean film The Chaser instantly draws up comparisons to Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder; a quite flawless thriller in much the same style. This later film doesn’t quite reach these heights though is suspenseful enough to have you on the edge of (or, at some points, behind) your seat for most of its duration. Where Memories of Murder steered well clear of any kind of melodramatic urges The Chaser falls down precisely because of such things. It takes until the conclusive scenes however for some overly dramatic meandering and quite improbable events to ruin its previously well-conceived authenticity. Much credit must be handed to the lead actor Kim Yun-seok who plays our stricken ex-cop – his furious longing for a conclusion is both believable and enthralling, as is the self-imposed moral burden that eats away at his burning passion for justice for long enough to push his own morals to the brink. Heavily influenced by Western material, The Chaser is a gripping and at points brutal ride that shrugs off some over-zealous writing to deliver one of the more exciting thrillers in recent memory.
Our Rating:
