previously published on Asian Movie Pulse
Does
everything under the label of cinema has to be completely original?
Of course not, because otherwise we would not be able to enjoy
precious little thing called genre. Genre works on the terms of
archetypes, and, for added bonus if we are lucky, it innovates or
even creates them. "Golden Slumber" directed by Noh
Dong-seok works as a stellar example: it is hardly original
(actually, it is a second adaptation of the novel by Japanese writer
Kotaro Isaka), but it well-made and fun to watch. After a
successful stretch in theatres world-wide, especially in East Asia,
it is being shown at Florence Korea Film Festival.
It
is a recognizable riff on the trope called "wrong man wanted",
with our unlikely hero Kim Gun-woo (played by Gang Dong-won
seen in "Duelist", "Master" and "1987")
being framed for assassination of a leading presidential candidate.
Otherwise, he is a happy-go-lucky delivery guy who became a minor
celebrity for being a model citizen and saving a K-Pop star from
mugging, which might actually serve as a primary motive for framing
him: the media would gobble up the sensational story of his fall from
grace and would not go deep in the political or whatever background
of the murder.
Framed
but also warned by his high school friend and former bandmate he did
not see for a while Moo-yeol (Yoon Kye-sang), Gun-woo has to
run for his life against the seemingly omnipotent and omnipresent spy
gang operating within the government. Everyone close to him either
turns to be a traitor or dies in a brutal fashion by the hands of
Gun-woo's body double nicknamed Silicone so he has no one to turn to
except for maybe a Moo-yeol's former secret agent buddy Mr. Min (Kim
Eui-sung, best known for the role of the businessman Yon-suk in
"Train to Busan") who is, needless to say, quite a shady
character.
In
the meanwhile, the surviving bandmates, a computer repairman
Geom-chul (Kim Seong-gyoon) and a divorce lawyer Dong-gyu (Kim
Dae-myung), as well as his former girlfriend Sun-young (Han
Hyo-joo of "The Beauty Inside" fame) who now works as a
radio reporter, keep debating whether to help their friend or the
government that is breathing down his neck. The title of the film has
been taken from The Beatles song from their Abbey Road phase which
the band used to cover in their "glory days". We get to
hear it as a bonus.
Compared
to the previous Japanese screen version also titled "Golden
Slumber", directed by Yoshiro Nakamura in 2010, Noh's one
is tighter, with less digressive sub-plots, but also with two angles
distinctive for Korean cinema. One is obsession with government
surveillance, which is understandable having in mind both the Korean
not so distant history of military dictatorship and the playbook of
movie tropes according to which the mightier the enemy, the more we
root for our hero. The other one is quick and smooth transition back
and forth between breathtaking action directed and edited with
precision and more relaxing genres of buddy comedy and melodrama
about the power of friendship.
The
acting is solid throughout, while the range of the emotions some of
the characters have to cover is impressive. The actors respond to the
challenge with considerable zest and it works, especially in the case
of Gang Dong-won whose transformations are brilliant. Also, the
technical aspect of the film is so flawless that it is easy to forget
about some minor script troubles.
Speaking
of which, Noh treats the conspiracy in the same manner as the media
in his film, never going deeper into the background why the spy
syndicate had to remove the presidential candidate, while the other
problem is more common for the sub-genre. The script is pretty
arbitrary regarding the power of the agents who are all-mighty and
all-knowing until the point they have to screw something up really
badly so our guy will get the chance. But never mind that, "Golden
Slumber" is an effective action thriller with an emotional core
and it is really fun to watch.
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