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Review by Dean Crawford korean dVd corner the SMall Screen 73 new World (신세계) Directed by park Hoon-jeong Despite Korea’s arguable status as the world’s foremost authority on revenge flicks, I feel like its contributions to the gangster genre never really hit the same heights. But 2012 was a year that challenged that history, with the excellent “Nameless Gangster” being re- leased, as well as Lim Sang-yoon’s thrilling debut, “A Company Man.” Last year also saw the release of another film that had a lot of potential — Park Hoon- jeong’s “New World.” After the leader of the Goldmoon mafia organization is killed, a battle for the vacant position ensues. At odds are Lee Jung-gu (Park Seong-woong), the suave, smooth-talking No. 3 in command, and Jeong Cheong (Hwang Jeong-min), the comical but crazy No. 2 and proper heir. Jeong Cheong’s right-hand man, Lee Ja- seong (Lee Jung-jae), is actually an undercov- er police officer whose strings are being pulled by Chief Kang (Choi Min-sik) and who, despite Ja-seong’s protestations, is forcing Ja-seong to stay deep undercover to try and influence the imminent violence caused by the gang’s transition of power. “New World” is a breath of fresh air, albeit a rather violent one. It would be easy to say it’s simply the Korean version of “Infernal Affairs” (2002), but it’s more than that. Sure, “Infer- nal Affairs” is a big influence, but so is “The Godfather” (1972), as gangsters dish out brutal, bloody vengeance after their leader’s departure. As one might expect, Choi Min-sik is solid as a police chief whose own actions blur the line between lawman and criminal. Despite some overacting in the more emotional scenes, Lee Jung-jae is great in his role as he tries to work out who the bigger criminals are: the police or the gangsters. But it’s Hwang Jeong-min who steals the show; he succeeds at being laugh- out-loud funny while still making sure you nev- er underestimate his character. He can switch from comedian to psychotic killer in a second, as he does in one of the best fight sequences I’ve seen in a Korean movie since the hallway scene in “Oldboy” (2003). “New World” is a must-see! NR Crime / Thriller 134 minutes Rated The City of Violence (짝패) Directed by Ryu Seung-wan After watching the excellent “New World” (2013), I came to the realization that I might have to reeducate myself on the Korean gang- ster genre. In the last two years, Korea has produced some classics, so I decided to go back and take a look at some of the best-re- viewed gangster films of the last decade. One that’s consistently ranked near the top is Ryu Seung-wan’s “The City of Violence” (2006). When the film opens, we meet Wang-jae, a reformed gangster who runs a bar in Onsung. After getting into a confrontation with a group of young thugs, Wang-jae is overpowered and killed. Tae-su (Jeong Du-hong), a friend of Wang-jae’s who is now a police detective in Seoul, returns to his hometown to grieve with his once-inseparable group of childhood friends. As Tae-su investigates deeper into his old comrade’s death, he starts to realize that Wang-jae’s murder doesn’t make any sense — something isn’t quite right in his old town. Initially, “The City of Violence” confused me, as I couldn’t quite work out if the film was in- tentionally trying to be funny. It starts off nat- urally enough, but transforms into a parody of the 1979 film “The Warriors” as Tae-su fights off more than 200 people from gangs such as the Capoeira BMX bandits and the face-paint- ed baseball players. But once I got to the film’s finale, it all became clear; “The City of Violence” is an exploitation movie wrapped up as a hard- boiled Korean crime drama. Take, for instance, the scenes in which Tae- su walks around punching bad guys through doors, accompanied by a Shaft-approved soundtrack. Or the film’s violent finale, which initially plays out like “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964), but ends up more like “Kill Bill” (2003- 04), which itself is an homage to several types of exploitation films. Once I realized all this, I instantly watched the film again. It might not be totally original, but it sure is a lot of fun. Rated R Action / Crime / Drama 92 minutes
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