Choi Il-hwa Movies
- 2007
A ruthless gangster who uses his brutality to rise through the ranks suddenly finds his life complicated on all sides in this hit Korean crime drama directed by Han Jae-rim (Rules of Dating) and starring Song Kang-ho) (The Host). In-gu (Jae-rin) is a low-level gangster who's more than willing to crack some skulls in order to get an edge on the competition. Lately, In-gu's life has been a steady regiment of roughing up rivals with steel pipes, and busting up construction sites with baseball bats. Upon recovering from his battle wounds, In-gu stumbles out of the smoky karaoke rooms where he spends the majority of his time, and makes his way back home to visit with the family. In-gu's daughter detests her father for strong-arming her teachers with cash and threats, and his wife has made it clear that he's no longer welcome in what was once the couple's bed. Soon, a rapidly snowballing series of events both at home and at on the job find the hapless gangster beset by intense complications that could finally drag him under. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Song Kang-ho, Park Ji-young, (more)
- 2006
Approached on the street by two strangers who insist that she is someone she is not, a sympathetic young woman from Seoul agrees to pose as the runaway daughter of a dying old man who longs to see his child one last time in director Lee Yoon-ki's adaptation of Taira Azuko's short story. Gi-yeong (Kim Yeong-min) is certain that the girl he has met on the street (Han Hyo-ju) is Myeong-eun, but he is mistaken. Despite Myeong-eun's mistake, however, the amiable young woman agrees to accompany the insistent man and his brother to the old man's home so that he may see her face and die a peaceful death. Upon arriving at the dying man's home, it immediately becomes obvious just how dysfunctional the two men's family truly is. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Han Hyo-Joo, Kim Young-Min, (more)
- 2003
The Road Taken tells the true story of Kim Sun-myung (Kim Joong-ki), a communist imprisoned for decades in South Korea and who refused to recant his beliefs, despite torture and deprivation. Kim began serving his life sentence in 1953. The film picks up his story in the early '70s, when he is put into a cell with his comrades, who include the older, resolute Ahn (Choi Il-hwa). The men form bonds and communicate news and gossip amongst each other by tapping out Morse code on the cell wall, but they're routinely moved around in a seemingly arbitrary fashion to increase their emotional distress. Oh Tae-shik (Ahn Suk-hwan), who runs the prison, has criminal convicts beat and torture the political prisoners in an effort to get them to "convert," signing a confession and disavowing Communism forever. Occasionally, a prisoner dies from these beatings, and it's made to look like suicide. One prisoner, Choi (Goh Dong-eub) receives letters from his daughter chastising him for his beliefs and blaming him for her humiliation in the community. Another, Master Lee (Kim Jong-chul) is greatly respected by Kim, but he finds himself in danger when he's put in a cell with other prisoners who suspect him of being a traitor. The prisoners rely on each other for comfort and friendship, and to support each other's resolve. Eventually, Officer Oh decides to put Kim in solitary confinement, and to separate the political prisoners' cells so that they can't contact each other through the walls. Through it all, Kim holds onto his dream of reunification. The Road Taken was directed by Hong Gi-seon and was shown at Subway Cinema's 2004 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Jung-gi, Ahn Seok-hwan, (more)
- 2002
Junji Sakamoto directs this taut spy thriller about the real-life abduction of Kim Dae Jung -- who would later be elected president of South Korea -- from a Tokyo hotel in 1973. Major Tomita (Koichi Sato) is a Japanese intelligence officer specializing in Korean matters. While tailing a North Korean spook, he learns that his attractive Korean teacher, Lee Jeong Mi (Yang Eun-yong), has been kidnapped by the South Korean Intelligence agency. Tomita negotiates for the freedom of Lee, who he learns was previously tortured by the same agency for protesting against strongman Park Jung Hee. Meanwhile, the Korean embassy gets the orders to kill Kim Dae Jung, known also by the codename "KT," who is living in exile in Japan. Tomita finds himself caught up in the scheme, privately realizing that the plot is wrong while participating nonetheless. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Koichi Sato, Kim Kab-soo, (more)
