Kim Ji-Woon’s I Saw The Devil
“I Saw The Devil” is a South Korean tale of murder and revenge, but with some very unique creativity. Kim Ji-Woon is a director whose efforts I have been intrigued by for as long as I remember. Being the man who made “The Good, The Bad And The Weird” and the even more respect worthy “A Tale Of Two Sisters”, Kim is no stranger to great Asian cult films. (He also made “The Last Stand” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, but let’s just forget about that one for now).
People who are fans of Asian cinema will instantly recognise Choi Min-Sik who plays the protagonist Oh Dae-Su in Oldboy, and just as he were to show his promising talent in Oldboy, he does so again here, perhaps just as wonderfully. The film is relatively well cast and acted on all parts, but the dynamic between the protagonist Lee Byung-Hun and the antagonist Choi Min-Sik is simply unparalleled. Choi features as a sadistic sociopath who is unrelenting, uncaring, devoid of guilt, but also equally pathetic and disgusting. Lee on the other hand is a kind and loyal hero to our story, but as my favourite heroes normally are, he does not try to find the out of a moral high ground, but is willing to become just as much of a villain to do what he feels in his heart is right.
This story has no happy ending, there is no being the better man, no preservation of humanity, no doing things by the book, there is just an ever-increasing fall into chaos and ruin, culminating in the destruction and degradation of everything orbiting around our two lead players. This film does not play to our ethics, it does not make us cheerlead the protagonist, but it does go much, much deeper than that.
I praise the film for it’s generously violent action and dark humour, an area most revenge thrillers are not quite so willing to chip away at. As much of a fan of gratuitous violence as I am, there are times when I feel a moment of sadness, narrative reflection, or even just lengthy dialogue would be better suited, but then I am quickly brought back to the task at hand with a quick knife to the neck or a kick to the jaw. If there is any one film I would recommend for fans of brutal acts of violence, it would be “I Saw The Devil”.
I do however feel overall that the film may rely too much on these kinds of antics, enough so that it detracts from the potential that, with a few tweaks, it could just as easily capitalise on. There are times of mind-blowing sadness and empathy, but they are not played as often or as in-depth as they could be, instead the film begins opting for grander bouts of blood splatter and violent rape to recklessly fill the gaps. It always maintains a slight twinge and reflection of the situational distress caused to our “good guys”, but is for the most part very subtle and left on the backburner until it culminates into a glorious flame, only to later simmer back down into the same formula.
Another issue I have is the length, clocking in at an astounding two and a half hours, Kim’s very macabre expression of revenge has to find itself overcoming a stretch of long and maybe even unnecessary scenes, that make it entirely too easy for large sections of his audience to feel tired and sluggish, with the film having to fight even harder to find it’s second wind. I think that if it were edited down and cut into a two hour or even ninety minute film, Kim might have found himself playing more to the strengths of the film’s action, rather than it’s necessity in the face of tedium.
Beyond all that, I will say the film is very meticulously structured, and I applaud Kim for having put the story together the way he did. I was thoroughly enticed by the characters and their distinct exploits. As much as I feel the length of the film is slightly monotonous, I cannot deny that it proceeds steadfastly in the direction Kim has so carefully laid out for it, and makes use of this to build a very deep, very resonant series of events. The cinematography is very well done, especially in the action scenes, some of that can be seen clearly in the trailer.
Overall I very much enjoyed “I Saw The Devil”, it did not leave me with so much an awe-stricken vibe that so many classic revenge films do, such as Memento, Straw Dogs (Original '71 of course) and Unforgiven. However, I was left with a sense that the film was crafted by someone who indeed cares about the story he was tasked with making, and proceeded to bring it into reality with the best of his ability. While not an outstanding classic by it’s own right, this film is brilliantly made. And with a few major tweaks, could just as easily stand up to the likes of those mentioned above. But make no mistake, even though I feel it could be better, what it is right now is definitely skirting that border between being regarded among the best revenge films to come from Asia in a very, very long time. And I am also very satisfied I was able to come across it.
For fans of violence, sorrow and destruction, I recommend a viewing of “I Saw The Devil”. If you loved Oldboy, you will love this too.
(Below is the trailer for this film, I’ve been thinking about posting trailers along with all the films I choose to review in this thread. I may go ahead and do that, or I may just post them when I feel they significantly add to what one may expect to really see after having read my reviews. Either way, it starts with this one, so for those who sat through this ride, enjoy!)
(And yes, that scene at the end with the kick was just as awesome as you would think it to be.)