Yellow Sea is the name given to northern part of the East China Sea that’s located between Korean peninsula and Chinese mainland. Joseon-jok is the name given by South Koreans (considered unfriendly) to the millions of ethnic Koreans living outside Korean peninsula in China as the citizens of People’s Republic of China. These people are alienated, who are mostly employed with hard labor jobs, both by their Chinese compatriots and South Koreans. From this standpoint, for the Joseon-jok people, the ‘Yellow Sea’ might be a symbol of alienation or hopelessness, as isolation close in on both sides of the shores. Korean film-maker Na Hong-jin’s second feature film “The Yellow Sea’s” (2010) protagonist is a Joseon-jok, who is discriminated, falsely incriminated and stabbed at. He brings out the hopelessness confronted by his people, but “Yellow Sea” isn’t just a bittersweet film that tracks the livelihood of a persecuted immigrant; it’s an exhilarating and unbelievably coincidental action/thriller.
Director Na Hong-jin made his debut with the much-talked
about serial killer thriller “The Chaser” (2008). The debut was regarded and
equated with the works of Korean New Wave film-makers Park Chan-Wook, Bong
Joon-Ho and Kim Jee-Won. So, it is very important to mention earlier that “The
Yellow Sea” reaches the heights scaled by those modern Korean auteurs, although
it bestows a frequently thrilling movie experience. The movie begins with the
protagonist Gu Nam (Ha Jung-woo) squandering the little money he has earned the
previous night as a taxi driver by playing mah-jong. He has had a lot of drinks
and as he tries to sleep, couple of tough guys beat him up to pay off the debt that’s
mounting up day-by-day. As the sleepless Gu Nam gets down to his taxi, he seems
to have punched at the photo frame, where he and his wife are standing in their
wedding attire.
We learn that Gu Nam has borrowed a lot of money for the
visa to send his wife to South Korea, in hopes of getting a better job. But, it’s
been six months since she has left Gu Nam and their little daughter. She hasn’t
sent any money or even a letter regarding her whereabouts. Everyone from the
wife’s father to debt collectors state that she has an affair with some South
Korean. They say that it happens often with the woman traveling to Korean
peninsula for a better life. Gu Nam’s mom also expresses her doubt about his
wife: “her eyes are so slanted… They are split open like a vagina”. Gu Nam
dreams about his wife having passionate sex with some stranger. During one of
those bad gambling days, Gu Nam is insulted for his ethnicity and the consequent
sight of his rage beholds the attention of a Korean gangster Myun (Kim Yun-seok). Next day, the loan sharks introduce Gu Nam to Myun, who promises to
pay off all his debts for one simple job: to do a contract killing in Seoul.
Gu Nam is reluctant to accept the offer, but his wild
visions of his wife’s alleged affair makes him to accept the job. The job also
provides him the opportunity to search for his wife. Gu Nam makes his
horrifying illegal journey in the clammy bowels of a fishing boat, along with
other poor souls, to South Korea. Myun has given nearly two weeks to Gu Nam for
the killing, and if he botches the plan or goes off the radar in Seoul, his
daughter and elderly mother would be murdered. Gu Nam wanders through Seoul
with his wife’s photograph and at the same time observes at his target like a
secret agent. He selects a day for killing after detailed plans, but an
incredible and deadly coincidental happening plunges our protagonist into a web
of deceit & intrigue.
Although “The Yellow Sea” could be called off as an
action/thriller, we can strongly associate the movie’s narrative and themes
with that of sub-genres like ‘neo-Noir’ and ‘black comedy’. It also has the
usual Korean ingredients and slick production values. Renowned critic Mr.
Raghavendra (in his book “Directors Cut”) calls this familiar Korean ingredient
as ‘casual brutality’. From Lee Chang-dong’s “Pepppermint Candy” to Kim Ki-duk’s
“Pieta”, Korean protagonists and antagonists don’t neatly fit into the
frameworks of their respective roles. Through their causal brutal nature and
lack of compassion, they make us reassess their characteristics. Korean film-makers
tend to heighten this inherent brutality, especially when they are approaching
characters that are normally perceived as vicious ones by general public. Bong
Joon-ho’s in-competitive main guy in “Memories of Murder” and Kim Jee-woon’s
caved in hero of “I Saw the Devil” are some of the few examples, where this ‘casually
brutal’ nature has an extraordinary, lacerating effect on the viewers. Director
Na Hong-jin’s protagonist in his debut feature “The Chaser” is a pimp, a deeply
flawed character. But, as the narrative progresses, we look through his flaws
and root for his vicious attitude to catch the more deplorable serial killer, who
is killing the prostitutes.
In the same vein, Gu Nam and Mr. Myun in “The Yellow Sea” are
not likable characters. They are driven by rage and revenge, but their causal
brutality becomes enthralling as we perceive the antics of bourgeois villains. Korean
Neo-Noir’s that perfectly entrench this Korean ingredient not only changes
viewers’ understanding of the blurred lines of good & evil, but also raises
the bar of tension and excitement to the highest levels. Despite the
characterization and performance of actors playing Gu Nam and Myun, “The Yellow
Sea” never reaches the greatness of its predecessors, mainly because of its
digressing script. At 157 minutes, the theatrical cut wavered a lot without
clearly depicting the character motivations for a majority of running time.
Hong-jin’s director’s cut (140 minutes) version was better, but still would
leave the viewers scratching their head, trying to figure out the parties
involved in the killing.
Director Hong-Jin deliberately leaves certain things with an
air of ambiguity (the fate of Gu-Nam’s wife), but other muddled plot points
couldn’t be related with ambiguity. Hong-jin starts the film spectacularly
with Gu Nam, recalling his childhood memory of a rabid dog in his village. As
Gu Nam finishes the brief story with the words ‘Rabies is spreading’, we could
guess at the callous and downbeat things that are going to happen in the
narrative. The rage, fear and isolation of the protagonist works as a nice
analogy to the event he recalls at first. Gu Nam's furious beatings, hard escapes
and final fate reminisces us of the tale of rabid dog. On the other hand, the
axe-wielding gangster part of Myun imbues a darkly comic nature to the film.
His unbelievable escapades and the consequent reactions of his South Korean
counterpart are offensively joyous parts. Most of the action sequences
involving Myun are kept off-screen, mainly to enhance the black comedy
elements.
Hong-jin may not have elegantly unfolded the multiple layers
of lies, deceit and deception in the script, but he has certainly amplified the
tension through the long chase & fight sequences (credibility is stretched
in some of these sequences). The violence in some of these sequences is
insanely brutal that all it makes us to do is chuckle at it. Despite its
downbeat nature, the savagery is depicted in a slick manner, like the ones we often
experience in a Tarantino movie. Another flaw with the film is that there are
no notable female characters in the film (it was the same in movies like “Oldboy”,
“A Bittersweet Life”, etc). The few females present are shown off as treasured
objects, inciting all the bloodshed. Hong-jin might also have missed out a
chance to depict the barbarous treatment of Joseon-juk – people with no
homeland (although that image in the fishing boat, where the immigrants are
huddled together, is very haunting).
“The Yellow Sea” (140 minutes) could have been a robust,
contemplative, hard-edged piece of work, if only it had jettisoned its petty
digressions. Nevertheless, it is an energetic, commercial thriller with
ingenious set-pieces.
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