gothic_a666

Steel Cold Winter is a very bleak movie that delivers in every possible way. It takes a basic premise that could lend itself to a K-drama treatment and a cast of young actors that would be at home in any romantic comedy only to create a claustrophobic atmosphere charged with anguish without ever becoming melodramatic.

We follow a boy haunted by a traumatic past who transfers from Seoul to a small town where he ends up falling in love with the local outcast girl. Their relationship is at the core of the movie, it evolves very naturally through a series of very well crafted scenes that shine thanks to the flawless interpretation of the two leads. Particularly impressive are the ice skating sequences that range from playful to downright frightful.

True to the title, the wintry landscape rules supreme and the contrast between majestic snow swept mountains and the narrow mindedness of people serves as one of the main thematic axis of the entire movie. This is a sick village where pigs are buried alive along with the hopes of the vulnerable who are made to suffer.

Teenage angst is framed in a context in which it not only makes perfect sense as it merges with something much greater, it becomes an outcry against injustice. Without being a thriller, there is enough suspense to keep the viewer engaged and the topnotch human drama is explored with brutal honesty.

There are even a few surreal moments as Steel Cold Winter plays with expectations. It shows the devastating effects of discrimination how explosive the consequences of gossip can be in such an enclosed environment.

Unlike other Korean movies in the same vein, there is no epic element here. The movie deals with the banal side of evil, a pervasive kind of abuse that snowballs into something absolutely monstrous. It is almost believable and all the more horrifying for that.

This is not an easy viewing experience, its worth relies in precisely that. It forces the viewer into very uncomfortable territory that is all the more damaging because the characters are fleshed out as real people.

It is also worth mentioning that no animals were harmed in the making of this movie, Korean cinema is not always as respectful of the rights of animals as it ought to be so it is reassuring to see that this attitude is changing: the credits mention the involved of CARE, Coexistence of Animal Rights On Earth.

The Terror Live is a very tight thriller in the best Korean tradition. It follows a former successful TV news anchor Yoon who has been demoted to a radio host. One day an upset caller threatens to blow up a bridge only to be dismissed, needless to say it was no mere idle threat and in a matter of seconds after the call is over a bridge does did explode.Thus begins a tense back and forth between Yoon and the terrorist while the nation watches in growing horror.

There are many good things going for this movie. The real time format never gives the viewer a break and the tension builds up to such a pitch as to be almost palpable. This comes across through the main's superb acting, the actor's voice and demeanor carry his distress as he scrambles for self-mastery in facing the cameras installed in his radio studio. What at first seemed like the chance of a lifetime as Yoon puts it, the perfect opportunity for going back to his television stardom, degenerates into a veritable nightmare on all fronts. Yoon pays greatly for his choice of exploiting the terrorist attack for his career.

It is interesting how The Terror Live focuses exclusively on domestic terror. The highly contentious neighbor country of North Korea is not even mentioned, the movie is firmly steeped in a South Korean reality through and through. The very premise of the media having such a swaying control fits well with South Korean society.

Strangely enough social media plays no part in this movie but it does feel very modern. The shooting style, with well thought out closeups to heighten intensity and almost exclusively centered on the studio, creates an atmosphere of claustrophobia.

This is a very Korean movie so one should expect a great blurring of the line between terrorism and highly corrupt authorities, there are no heroes here to speak of but the human element comes across through the haze of panic.

A few minor plot points keep this from reaching perfection but it is a remarkably well crafted movie and well worth watching. And it could happen in real life. Almost.

This is one of those movies that deliver precisely what you expect and true to the Korean tradition of comedy laced with drama it manages to be highly entertaining. The plot follows a hustler who runs into debt because of his father's scamming ways. He is hired by an old lady to locate her long lost granddaughter and sets out to the countryside around the area the then child was last seen 25 years ago. He ends up pretending to be a doctor and staying at the house of a ditzy young woman who had a daughter at age 15, the mother/daughter relationship being a rocky one. The advent of the hustler complicated matters further especially when he is driven to marry the mother in order to get access to her bank account when his original money making project fails.

It is the old routine of the crook who starts off pretending to love the underdog only to fall in love for real but the execution is so flawless one is drawn in. The relationship between the very immature young and highly studious daughter has been seen before as well but both actresses are great in their role and play off each other beautifully. This angle is probably the best aspect of the whole movie. The daughter is a bit embarrassed because her mother is so young and often lashes out but there are touching moments between them that endear the viewer. In one particular moment she tells the hustler that she does love her mother that she will never have a love that causes people to look down on her.

The fact that the mother and daughter are only 15 years apart makes the slapstick between them very effective and the way they both vie for the same man forms one of the funniest elements.

As for the hustler himself he gets plenty of character development as well and his moments of frustration as he tries desperately to scramble for money will put a smile on anyone's face. The contrast between his handsome charming persona and his real self is pulled off greatly thanks to the overall acting talent that abounds in the cast.

And speaking of the cast, we have the three stooges in the shape of the town's silly guys one of which has been courting the mother for ages with no success. They are purely there for comedy relief until the very end in one of the few surprising moments in the movie.

It is never hilarious but it is funny enough with the expected dip into drama about two thirds into it. But it does not get too tragic, the movie knows how to keep lighthearted with enough depth to keep it from being fluff.

My only complaint is that it is difficult to believe that the hustler could fail to notice some very obvious facts until the plot demanded that he found them out.

Overall, this is a very Korean comedy movie: beautifully acted, with great chemistry between the characters, very solid and with just the right amount of drama. Viewers familiar with this stripe of cinema will love it as long as they do not expect much originality, those less familiar will find in this movie a good entry into one of the best cinema in the world.