While we're busy wading through the mountain of films here at the Toronto Film Festival, New York City has just wrapped up their Korean Film Festival and here's Josh Ralske with his take on The Big Swindle.
Okay, I should be sleeping now, but I wanted to get at least one review in before the New York Korean Film Festival is over. It was a disappointing festival for me this year, but perhaps my expectations were too high. After all, last year I caught Memories of Murder and Save the Green Planet! at this festival, and both of those will probably make my top ten list for theatrical releases in the US this year. While not quite on the visionary level of those two films, The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do: Once Upon a Time in High School was also excellent. Even the more routine genre films I caught, like My Little Bride, The Uninvited, and Singles, were well executed and enjoyable. As someone who had not seen that many Korean films prior to 2004, that edition of NYKFF was actually one of the more thrilling experiences of my filmgoing life.
So perhaps it's natural that this year's NYKFF doesn't come anywhere close to measuring up. The best films I saw this year, Spider Forest, Mr. Gam's Victory, and maybe The President's Barber (I love Song Kang-ho, and generally found the film very interesting, and I don't feel that I can fault the film for my own general ignorance of Korean culture and history; I feel like I need a lot of the jokes in the film explained to me, if anyone wants to take on that task) were not even really on the level of the good genre exercises I saw last year. And if I weren't a big baseball fan, Mr. Gam wouldn't even make that cut.
So, disappointment, sure, and yet, I'm still glad these films have made it to American screens. I'm glad these people go to the trouble, and I'll be back again next year with unreasonable expectations, as long as they'll have me.
The Big Swindle is an entertaining, if overly familiar caper movie. Director Choi Dong-hoon and star Baek Yun-sik were at the screening I attended, and while Choi mentioned films like Bullitt as an influence on the work, the more obvious influence, for better or worse, was Steven Soderbergh's remake of Ocean's Eleven. It's definitely an example of style over substance, but thanks to Baek as the film's crimelord heavy, Master Kim), the estimable Yeom Jeong-ah (one of my favorite actresses, having seen her in this and A Tale of Two Sisters) as Seo In-kyung, the scheming love interest, and Park Shin-yang in the complex lead role, along with a strong supporting cast, the film is more emotionally involving than one might expect.
The film opens, promisingly enough, in mid-car chase, complete with 1970s style emphatic scoring and cool freeze frame credits. This creditable chase, the aftermath of a massive bank robbery, ends when the car being driven by Choi Chang-hyok (Park) explodes in a ball of flame. As the bumbling cops try to unravel the crime, interviewing the one suspect who was caught, Big Mouth (the appealingly goofy Lee Min-sik), along with Master Kim's mistress (Yeom), and Chang-hyok's bookish older brother, Chang-ho (also played by Park). Through flashbacks, we see how Chang-hyok, fresh out of prison, arranges a meeting with Master Kim through a fellow ex-con, Gasoline (Kim Sang-ho), who is a good-natured buffoon, but also an expert counterfeiter. In-kyung greets Chang-hyok at Kim's door, and the two immediately find a rapport. The interplay between these two clever characters is the emotional core of the film, and both actors pull off the decent banter with aplomb. Major plot twist aside, our rooting interest in the film hinges on figuring out just how mercenary In-kyung will turn out to be, and Yeom dances along that borderline between good and bad gracefully, keeping us guessing. Baek similarly manages to make Master Kim imposing, sometimes menacing, while maintaining his humanity. At one point, he tells a vengeful rival, “I am a person who acknowledges every grudge in your heart,” and we believe him, even as we realize he'll do whatever is necessary to come out on top.
Chang-hyok successfully sells Master Kim on his plan to con the Bank of Korea out of billions. Gasoline and Big Mouth are brought on board, along with a fifth man, Swallow, played by Park Won-sang. Swallow, by far the least likeable of the group, is an egotistical jerk who fancies himself a ladies man. He preys on vulnerable women with money, and has no problem smacking them around if they give him any grief. He naturally resents the smooth talking, genuinely charming Chang-hyok, and quickly enlists the devious Big Mouth in a double-cross.
The moderate success of the film hinges much more heavily upon the enjoyable interplay between these characters than on their typically complex far-fetched schemes. Writer-director Choi, making an impressive feature debut, might be aware of this, as he throws away scenes that reveal pivotal plot points (to the extent that it took me two viewings of the film to figure out the identity of the woman making those mysterious calls to the police), while the film's strongest, most memorable moments (the detective in charge of the case turns out to be a huge fan of Chang-ho's unsuccessful novel; In-kyung screams in frustration while out jogging, and gets into an argument with a random passerby; Chung-ho bumps into a couple on the street, and has to deal with the man's macho posturing) have nothing to do with the complicated plot, and everything to do with character. Choi keeps things moving visually, with split screens and a restless camera. He shows promise as a writer-director. While the plot of The Big Swindle is nothing special, the performances and characterizations elevate the film to another level.
Review by Josh Ralske.