Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Harry’s just plain cuckoo for Korean movies, and I agree with him that there’s a vital, important genre scene going on in that country. This quick review puts another title on our radar, and I can’t wait to see what the line-up for this summer’s FantAsia in Montreal is going to be like:
Hey guys, this is a review of a new Korean film. It's sure to be a favorite on AICN because (1) it's in an obscure foreign language (2) lots of super cool gun-fu (3) it will never be shown stateside. It tells the story of a warped world in which Japan entered WWII on the side of the US in 1936. It annexed Korea and Manchuria and virtually assimilated them. Korean culture and language are almost dead and the nation of Korea is but a distant memory. Even "native" Koreans see themselves as Japanese and speak Japanese. Japan is all powerful and has a seat on the UN security council.
The story centers on a Korean cop who is working on a case involving a fanatical terrorist group that wishes to "liberate" Korea. The cop becomes more and more drawn to the group and finally comes to the realization that Japan has somehow tampered with history: in fact, the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan in fact did lose WWII. The Japs have somehow gone back in time and changed history. The hero must set history right in a bizarre sci-fi-"MAN IN THE HIGH TOWER"-detective hybrid genre mix.
In the process there are MANY excellent fire fights. The hero physically resembles Chow Yun Fat by the way, and in kicking Japanese ass, he must break all ties with his job, society, friends, etc. Ultimately he must kill his partner, a Japanese cop, to change history.
Many viewers will feel a cold shudder as they remember other films of this genre: TIMECOP, DEMOLITION MAN, etc. but LOST MEMORIES is a cut above. There are only two problems I had with the film: (1) it has a tendency to get a bit sappy and near the end there are so many "emotive" slo-mo death scenes that everyone except hardcore Korean nationalists will doze off (2) Pocari Sweat. Man, what a hideous name for a soft drink! You have to be Japanese to like that stuff. I know it's a good symbol for Japan, but does it have to be in every scene??? Did Pocari fund this movie???
Anyway, hope this is helpful.
call me
Mr. Chen "Free Korea" Ahn
Thanks for writing in, man.
"Moriarty" out.
