The Man From Nowhere

The Man From Nowhere (Ajeossi) (2010)

Runtime: 119 minutes

Directed by: Lee Jeong-Beom

Starring: Won Bin, Kim Sae-Ron, Kim Tae-Hoon, Kim Hee-Won, Kim Seong-Oh

From: Cinema Service/Opus Pictures/United Pictures

This is another Korean film for me and thankfully this was a far better experience for me than the last one I saw. This was a simple yet effective tale. I explain why below and I'll return tomorrow night.

Recently I watched Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and my opinion on it was against the grain of most; I thought it was too ugly and mean-spirited. However, I saw that come tomorrow this movie would be gone from Netflix Instant and maybe also Hulu, so I figured I shouldn't take any chances and I should watch it while I could. I heard good things about this too and the plot was of interest to me.

Basically, a John Wick-like badass who is a loner associates with a young girl but she likes him more than the vice versa. He finally realizes that the little girl has a pretty rotten life, including a drug-addicted mother. Shortly thereafter, she is kidnapped and he snaps; you don't see it right away but eventually you do find out he is great at kicking ass and he does lay waste to many SOB's as he tries to rescue the kid.

Early on you're introduced to many characters and it may seem confusing at first but you'll figure it out and when they are whittled down it's all good. Besides the glorious violence those horrible people suffer (they are also organ harvesters; is this a common problem or at least fear in South Korea?) it's also filmed well; most of the action is at night or during rainy days. When you're in the city it also looks rather nice. I was entertained throughout-I do understand those that think the lead character is flat because you don't know much about him and he's mostly sullen; however, I was fine with that and I didn't think he was boring-but the final 30 minutes or so before the end credits are an orgy of graphic violence and emotion. There are some tremendous moments throughout before that; the last act will stick with you the most.

While this is a dark film it's not so unpleasant it's a turn-off for me. This is not just because there's a little girl and you get to see her interact with the hero and he finally shows emotion years after a tragic event ruined his life; their relationship will tug at your heartstrings. If you enjoy the films of the Korean New Wave in general and you haven't seen this, you really should. It's not the best... it's just an entertaining movie with nice moments, whether they be heartfelt or vicious.