Summary
Taking several key beats from a modern classic and mashing them up with a more hyperkinetic vibe, the result is something less cohesive, but still a gripping thriller from moment to moment.
It’s only been six years since Johnnie To’s Drug War was released to cinemas, but the throwback to the glory days of Hong Kong action rapidly developed a following. Korean filmmaker Lee Hae-Young, who has earned his own thriller reputation with The Silenced, approaches this remake from a slightly different angle. BELIEVER (독전) doesn’t just update the setting, but shifts the focus from the outset.
The mysterious Mr. Lee is a drug lord who has eluded Detective Won-Ho (Cho Jin-Woong) for years. Following the death of one of Won-Ho’s informants, the detective works with Rak (Ryoo Joon-Yeol), one of Lee’s drug ringers, to draw out the elusive crime boss. The first step is a sting on drug boss Ha-rim (the late Kim Joo-hyuk), and it all gets a bit involved from there.
Jung Seo-Kyoung and Lee Hae-Young’s script immediately marks its differences with its literally explosive opening. Never before has the phrase ‘this time it’s personal’ been more apt, as it’s the death of an underage junkie that pushes Won-Ho into activity. This isn’t so much a remake as it is a dish that has the flavour of the original, taking several key ingredients and crafting a Drug War based dish.
Case in point are the scenes involving Kim Joo-hyuk, who tragically died in a car accident shortly after completing his work on this film. As an unhinged player covered in blood and wearing little else than a bathrobe, he is a force of nature. The equivalent character in Drug War looks sedate in comparison. Some scenes are lifted wholesale, including an iconic ice-bath following a drug overdose. By the time the characters start doing shots with eyeballs in them, it’s fair to say that Lee Hae-Young’s film is an exercise in adding excess.
The film is undeniably gorgeous to look at. Cinematographer Kim Tae-Kyung (The Throne, 26 Years) opens the film with some crisp photography of a frozen landscape, and it is to this image that the film ultimately returns – albeit by way of some slick montages. This aesthetic throws up some interesting characters, such as a deaf-mute duo who work in Lee’s gang, but almost all other characters are perfunctory. An office full of cops stop to mourn a death at one point, but one might be racking one’s brains to remember precisely who was dispatched or why that was significant.
The approach ultimately reminds us more of the Usual Suspects than of To’s original screenplay. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the combination of the two dynamics make for a capable drama. It’s just unfortunate that once the connection becomes apparent in your mind, the remainder of the film feels like it is going through the motions. Nevertheless, if you need a beautifully photographed thriller in your life that doesn’t tax your soul too much, BELIEVER might fit the bill nicely.
2018 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Lee Hae-Young | WRITERS: Jung Seo-Kyoung, Lee Hae-Young | CAST: Cho Jin-woong, Kim Ju-hyuk, Ryoo Joon-Yeol, Cha Seung-won | DISTRIBUTOR: CineAsia (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 127 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 7 June 2018 (AUS)
