Rough Cut (2008)

AKA Yeong-hwa-neun yeong-hwa-da / A Movie Is A Movie

South Korea

113 mins.
Directed by Hun Jang
Starring: Ji-Hwan Kang, Ji-Seob So, Chang-Seok Ko

I have a soft spot for Korean cinema after living there for two years, so any reason to revisit my former home away from home is welcome.

 I'm just going to say it right up front: this is a film that deserves the widest audience possible. It goes without saying that it probably won't get that but don't let that stop you from seeing it.

It's not exactly an action flick, but more a gangster movie crossed with a showbiz black comedy topped off with that special kind of pathos that only Asian films know how to do. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Hollywood eventually remake this with people like Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg or something like that.

It shakes out like this: a colossal jerk of a movie star named Soo-ta (Ji-Hwan Kang) can't get anyone to act opposite him in his latest movie because he beat the crap out of the last two actors and the media is having a field day with it. Plus, he has a girlfriend who he refuses to take out in public and insists on banging her in a van down by the river. His agent is fed up with him and a scandal is bound to rear its ugly head any day now. 

Enter Kang-pae (Ji-seob So), a vicious gangster who loves movies. After an awkward run-in at a club with both their entourages in tow, Soo-ta gets the bright idea to cast him as the other actor. He agrees and everyone is so desperate to shoot, they go along with it. The only problem is that Kang-pae fights for real. That means Soo-ta needs to get tough quick if he's to win the final fight he's scripted to win. There's a lot more to the movie than that and it's a joy to go along for the ride.

Rough Cut is one of those movies made by and for movie lovers (like Inglorious Basterds). The final brawl between Soo-ta and Kang-pae is a muddy, bloody slobberknocker and easily matches that great alleyway punch-up between Roddy Piper and Keith David in They Live. There's one scene in particular where Kang-pae and one of his crew are playfighting with the main theme playing under them where I felt a Real Movie Moment (RMM). Not every good film has an RMM and even some bad films have one. The point is they're random and specific to the viewer and very hard to come by. This is director Hun Jang's first feature film and his kung fu is strong indeed. I'll be waiting to see what he does next with excited patience.

Rarely does a film this good come along so stealthily. This is the best so-called "movie-in-a movie" offering in quite some time. You owe it to yourself to check this out as soon as you have the means to do so.

lMC