The Man From Nowhere

"The Man From Nowhere," a title unfortunately changed from the original "Ajosshi" (Korean for "mister"), is a thriller from Korea that isn't perfect, but good enough.

Won Bin, the star of "Taegukgi" and "Mother," plays Cha Tae-sik, a melancholy pawnshop owner. He has little to do save for putting up with a young girl (Kim Sae-ron) who takes a liking to him and follows him around and chats with him, much to his appeared annoyance. She also has few better things to do; her mother is addicted to drugs and her classmates and teachers ignore her--she even has acquired the nickname of "garbage," which is appropriate, according to her, because Cha's nickname is the "pawnshop ghost."

The girl's mother is caught up in a drug heist with very powerful people. They are hunted down, kidnapped, and Cha of course turns out to be not just any ordinary pawnshop owner; he has a bit of Liam Neeson in him. "You came to the wrong place," he tells the henchmen, a forced drawl prevalent. And with that, the rear-end-kicking begins.

Unfortunately for Won Bin, his scenes are immediately stolen by young Kim. His character is uninteresting most of the time, predictably brooding over a troubled past, becoming easily angered. The villain overdoes it a bit, particularly as blood is all over his face and he taunts Cha, despite the four or five nails shot into his thigh. There are all sorts of cliches in this film that even most American thrillers have seemed to grown tired of: an ex-military muscleman returning from the dark, pulling bullets out of one's wounds, issuing wooden threats, and suffering through a lost love that can't be brought back.

This is a predictable movie but it does enough to be unpredictable at times; my complaints aside, it's a very fun movie. It's less interesting than "Mother," one of the best films of last year, but much better than "The Chaser," one of the most overrated of last year. It's not for the faint of heart either, but much tamer than "Oldboy." Thai actor Thanayong Wongtrakul plays a henchman, whose fight scenes with Won Bin are well-choreographed and enjoyable to watch, and so especially is young Kim, who won the Best New Actress Award at the Korean Film Awards for her performance in this film.

I have particular appreciation for Korean cinema especially because I lived in Seoul for one year and enjoyed it thoroughly. Korea is a country of terrific food, wonderful natural beauty, impressive cinema, and gorgeous people; when God decided to make the most beautiful people, he made the Koreans.

I am currently in a rural village called Tkhaia on the border of Abkhazia and the Republic of Georgia until June; the internet is not quite as advanced as Korean internet, to say the least. I have yet to discover Georgian cinema, but it's on my to-do list (in addition to planning and executing five 45-minute lessons a day). Until then...