Mil-jeong (2016) Reviews

• The movie you have to experience

  kanyeezy-288322016-09-12

  Based on the real story that happened during the time that Japan ruled the Korea, The Age of Shadow is very successful history-based movie. It is a fine mixture of Korean characteristics and Western characteristics. Until these days, many Korean movies have sought for ways to put Korean-exclusive stories into the frame of Western film-making. The result has been somewhat successful but also somewhat disappointing. It fulfilled Korean people's wishes to watch Hollywood-ish Korean movies. However, it couldn't convince foreign people of the reason to watch Korean movies instead of Hollywood movies. I mean, no matter how hard Korean movies try, the budget is lower than Hollywood, and spectacles are also lesser. However, this movie, The Age of Shadow, is different. This one is unique. I'm not going to praise action scenes, or comedy scenes because they were not that outstanding. What I want to praise is atmosphere in this movie that keeps suspense alive throughout the whole running time. Well, for better understanding I could use Quentin Tarantino as an example. Even though he is famous for violence in his movie, many people who watch his movies for the first time find them very non-blockbuster like but still quite amusing. The Age of Shadow is quite similar. This movie's acting, dialogue and visuals give this movie a special atmosphere that keep audiences' focus. I'm not saying that this movie is Tarantino-like though. Kim Jee-Woon and Tarantino are similar in a way that they use special atmosphere throughout the movie but their atmospheres are different. Kim Jee-Woon has the ability to form a Korean-exclusive atmosphere that is based on Korean culture. I'm not sure how to name it but it is something that can move Korean people's heart without stating it in a specific way. And I believe this movie will be quite amusing and also exotic experience for you if you are not Korean. This movie is not like other Korean movies, but also the most Korean-like movie. I recommend it.

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• Enjoyably Thrilling

  billygoat10712016-11-26

  Well, that was a lot of fun. The Age of Shadows is a spy thriller that is basically a ticking bomb and once things go wrong, it just gets brutal and chaotic. The set up for these characters and their plot is well put together enough to be engrossing. And the set pieces are just excitingly executed. The film is unafraid of showing something terrible from their consequences. Though there is one point at the third act where I wished the film had ended. It gets to feel a little too long as it goes on, but man, the train sequence alone is one hell of an exercise for suspense. The production is also too impressive and the acting is quite engaging. Overall, it's a dark and brutal, yet quite an edge of your seat cinematic thrill ride.

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• So much in this film it feels like watching a Beethoven Symphony!

  alexdeleonfilm2016-09-15

  Mil Jeong (밀정 ~ The Age of Shadows). Viewed at 2016 Venice FilmFestival. Tremendous Korean epochal drama about life and resistance under the oppressive Japanese occupation in the early decades of the century. Director Kim Jaewoon really knows how to set up drama and suspense mixed with blazing action. There was so much in this film that I felt like I was watching a Beethoven symphony. Dark Sepia toned photography used to good effect enhances period feel. Musical soundtrack employs jazz and adrenaline tensor stretches and the final shootout in the train station is orchestrated deftly to Ravel's Bolero. 139' running time is long and winds up with several anticlimactic codas but never lets you out if its grip. For Koreans this is clearly a film with heavy patriotic messages. The final theme is "Don't let your failures stop you -- build on them and rise to the next level" -- until victory is achieved. I would love to see this film with a Korean audience and would expect to see people on their feet cheering at the end... A young Italian I met afterwards said he loved it even though he knows nothing of the history involved. I could easily see why -- in a way this is something like a Kimchee spaghetti western and charismatic actor Kang-ho Song, 49, has got to be the Korean equivalent of John Wayne, or at least, Robert Mitchum.

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• Pales in comparison to Choi Dong-hoon's "Assassination"

  kluseba2016-12-23

  "The Age of Shadows" is a historically inspired dramatic action-thriller about a group of Korean resistance fighters who are opposing the peninsula's Japanese occupation. Directed and written by creative mastermind Kim Jee-won and starring South Korean top actors like Lee Byung-hun, this epic film became South Korea's official submission for the "Best Foreign Language Film" category of the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. While the premises seemed to be very positive, I was slightly disappointed by the movie. First of all, a much better movie with a very similar story line called "Assassination" was released only one year earlier and it beats this flick in terms of acting, pace, settings and story. It's quite difficult to identify with the main character in "The Age of Shadow" who constantly changes sides and doesn't seem to know what he believes in. Instead of portraying a man torn between two choices, the movie focuses on a rather antipathic and egoistic character who is thinking about his own advantage at all times. Even an outstanding actor like Song Kang-ho can't make this dull main character any more exciting. "The Age of Shadow" starts with an explosive opening scene only to lead towards a lengthy introduction with endless dialogues and numerous characters. It takes close to one hour before the pace quickens up again. The first half of the movie is definitely too long and often lost my interest. While the settings of the movie are very realistic and bring to life a genuine depiction of the Korean peninsula in the forties, the costumes and locations aren't as detailed and memorable as in many other South Korean high-quality productions. The story remains somewhat shallow in my opinion. It's obvious that the members of the resistance are trying to attack the Japanese occupants but the film never really explains what they are organizing precisely. It's quite unsatisfying to realize that the resistance's charismatic leader is taking many risks by trusting a highly unreliable main character and personally organizing an attack against the enemy that is never ever specified. The ending also leaves many questions open and feels unfinished to me. Despite these flaws, the movie also has many strong points. The side characters are portrayed excellently and add some depth to the movie. Especially the clever villain portrayed by Um Tae-goo is very creepy. The movie also convinces in its more intense passages. The opening scene is both dynamic and memorable. The climax on the train is very tense and will get you on the edge of your seat. The last thirty minutes of the film have a welcome dramatic and emotional touch. The settings are authentic and especially the scenes on the train, in different torture chambers and in the prison are beautifully crafted and provide a gripping and sinister atmosphere. While the story is maybe the movie's biggest flaw, it still requests some thinking from the audience and includes a few minor twists in the second half of the film that save this movie for me. Maybe my rating would be slightly more generous if the excellent "Assassination" hadn't been released a year earlier. That film's excellent execution from any point of view makes "The Age of Shadows" look quite predictable, redundant and even unnecessary. Faithful fans of contemporary South Korean cinema should still watch both movies but I would only recommend "Assassination" to occasional international audiences. "The Age of Shadows" really pales in comparison to Choi Dong-hoon's "Assassination". On a closing note, South Korea should have chosen the outstanding horror film "The Wailing" as official submission for the "Best Foreign Language Film" category of the 89th Academy Awards in 2017.

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• Starts slows but the second part is worth watching

  deloudelouvain2017-09-04

  I am pretty sure in South Korea this movie will score higher than I rated it. When it's in your own language it's always easier to follow. And Korean is not a great language to listen to when you're not understanding it. It's sounds like they are always angry when they speak. The movie is nicely shot though. But the major problem I had with it was that it was too long and it took a really long time to become interesting. You could easily cut out the first hour of the movie where nothing major happens. I started getting bored actually. But the second part of the movie is way better, I would say from about where they are in the train. If the whole movie would be at that level of intensity I would have scored it higher. Most of the actors were good, some a bit lesser. All in all it's worth a watch. From the Asian movies I watched the Koreans are for sure the best ones.

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