When his pregnant wife becomes the latest victim of a serial killer, a secret agent blurs the line between good and evil in his pursuit of revenge.
Review
It's taken me a little while to write the review for I Saw The Devil. The reason is not so much that I needed time to think about what I'd seen or how the characters and storyline worked, no.
The reason was that I needed time to recover from it.
First off, I Saw The Devil is a brutal film. You need to be warned of that. It's a film that would never originate in Hollywood, there may well be a remake on the cards, but it won't be any near as raw, unflinching and brilliant as its original. I Saw The Devil left me shaken and disturbed by its content, and you know what, I think that is a great thing. A piece of art should leave a lasting effect on its audience and this film certainly left its mark on me.
It's a tale of revenge, there's nothing too original about that, those films have been around for a long, long time. The difference with this film is that the revenge takes place in the first half an hour and then continues for over another two hours. On the same serial killer. After he's been let go. Then asks some really serious questions of you, the audience.
The story follows a secret agent (Kim Soo-Hyeon) who, after his pregnant wife is killed by a serial killer (Kyung-Chul), goes out looking for revenge. Once Soo-Hyeon finds Kyung-Chul he gives him a good roughing over but then decides to let him go, leaving a note stating that this first encounter is just the beginning and more wrath will befall him. From then on in it's a cat and mouse story arc but with the roles reversed, and a lot of grotesque torture thrown into the mix. At each encounter with Kyung-Chul, Soo-Hyeon exacts out a severe beating and almost un-watchable acts of violence (sliced achilles tendon anyone?).
This whole process which Kim Soo-Hyeon undertakes makes you question his motives and raises alot of moral questions since everytime Kyung-Chul awakes after each encounter he embarks on more rape and torture activities of his own. This is clever work by the film-makers as it's almost as though they are prodding you and asking "Do you agree with this?"
The question is made even more difficult in the fact that Kyung-Chul is such a repulsive character. The acts that he carries out, the murders and the complete lack of remorse that he shows just make you root for Soo-Hyeon all the more, which of course you shouldn't really do.
Counter to the ugliness of the content matter I Saw The Devil looks glorious. From the beautiful opening credits, continuing on through many set-pieces including an almost Jackie Chan style hotel sequence, it is shot with such care and consideration which stays in line with Eastern film making. The fact that the set-pieces and film style is just so gorgeous really brings home the ferociousness of the violence which I'm sure was intended.
Even if your not a fan of foreign film (and if your not, broaden your horizons), seek this out as you wont see such an original, engaging and shocking film for quite some time. Outstanding.
1 Comments
