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Aptly named, “The Chaser” follows the story of an ex-detective turned pimp, whose girls have started to disappear. Hard-boiled investigation leads him to find out that they are being sold by a recurring client. When he eventually catches up to the culprit and nabs him, they both end up getting nabbed by a young cop, the first link in the chain of Seoul’s snail-paced “due process.” And while the ex-detective (and later the police) are investigating the suspected and obvious culprit, a side plot about a man who throws gunk at the face of the mayor of Seoul runs parallel and over the case of the disappearing and susceptibly murdered girls. The media hogs over this story while the police bumble about the murder case. This is the second film in a row from South Korea I’ve seen that has the same over-arching motif: ineptitude of the South Korean police force and judicial system. The first film was “The Host,” which alluded to the Agent Yellow used by the United States in the Korean and Vietnam wars. “The Chaser” keeps it narrowed down to only police responsibility, and makes no mention of the US presence in Korea. The wide-ranged ensemble of characters each display the pinnacle of humanness, both at its highest and at its lowest. It’s actually pretty easy to keep them straight, and a few cell phone caller ID nicknames play part to this. The detective pimp is seen constantly romanticized, almost as a tough American with his consumption of cigarettes and Budweiser. His own drive to save his girls puts him through a couple of beatings, fooling the cops breathing down his own neck, and two very similar foot chase scenes. Perhaps they were purposefully similar to drive home the point that this movie is not about a night of drinking. Nevertheless, it gives many scenes where he shows his strength to get through the endeavor, and nine out of ten times it’s displayed in a physical sense. The director took careful care to try to not let the action get stale, even though the characters’ depth sufficed. But some fighting scenes left me wondering, aren’t all South Koreans trained in Tae Kwon Doe? Then why do these men look like children re-enacting a fight scene from “The Bourne Identity”? It left a lot to be desired in the camera and the choreography, particularly in the last fight scene. Musically interspersed well, I didn’t feel as bombarded by the Asian film stereotype consisting of lots of woodwinds, sentimental strings, and flowing piano passages. I only wish they had reconsidered the electric guitar parts, which will sound dated within a decade. Overall I love where South Korean cinema is going. It is serious, twists and turns, and provokes the sweetest feelings from within. When pimp-detective first discovers his girl-kidnapper face to face early on (before the cops become involved), we get the sweet feeling of revenge and the succulent anticipation of an undoubtedly good show of force from our protagonist. “The Chaser” is not as family friendly as “The Host,” despite sharing an overall tone towards authority. Apparently if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. 4 out of 5 stars.
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Sep 3, 2010 06:48
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 09:15 |
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