(Movie Review) 'Remember' revisits shadow of Korean history through 80-something man's revenge

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- Korean director Lee Il-hyung's new film "Remember" insightfully sheds light on a painful chapter of Korean history through an old man's revenge story, but the action thriller is entertaining with high-speed car chases, fist fights and twisted sense of humor.

"Remember" revolves around Han Pil-ju (Lee Sung-min), a man in his 80s with Alzheimer's. He acts on his long-awaited plan to purge those who collaborated with Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula whom he thinks are responsible for the deaths of his family members.

Lee's second film, following the crime action story "A Violent Prosecutor" (2016), is based on Atom Egoyan's thriller "Remember" (2015) that follows a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor with dementia who goes on a journey to take revenge on Nazi collaborators.

What distinguishes "Remember" from other colonial-era period movies is that it insightfully features Korea's dark history from the present perspective to deal with issues of those who worked for Tokyo's colonial government, many of whom later became part of the South Korean elite.

The tragedies of Han's family shown in his flashbacks are closely associated with the sufferings of many Koreans during Japan's occupation of their homeland in the early 1900s.

Under the Japanese rule, Han's father was deprived of his land and beaten to death, his brother died of hard labor in a mine and his sister committed suicide after returning home from a Japanese military brothel where she was forced into sexual servitude.

Han served in the military during the 1950-53 Korean War and later built his own family. After his wife dies, the war veteran digs up an old pistol he buried six decades ago and tattoos his targets' names on his fingers to remember them.

He then recruits In-kyu (Nam Ju-hyuk), a part-time coworker at a family restaurant, as his driver for a week. In-kyu is a college student in his 20s grappling with his own difficulties, being chased by loan sharks.

The first half of the storyline is quite predictable and those on Han's target list are flat characters who show no remorse over their past wrongdoings and seem to deserve his revenge, but there are hidden clues waiting to be uncovered at the end.

The story follows an individual's revenge on unpunished pro-Japanese collaborators in the modern Korean history, but the movie leaves the question open as to whether this is the right course of action instead of delivering a clear message.

It also gives the audience something to think about in regards to how they should look back at their history and deal with this controversial legacy through the voices of former traitors, now the society's power elites.

Director Lee said he wrote the script to rekindle thoughts about the nation's past related to pro-Japanese collaborators and their vestiges today, and decided to make a bromance story to resonate with different generations.

"I wanted to make people think about why this has happened and what's right and wrong, even question whether Pil-ju's personal revenge can be justified," Lee said during the movie's screening event.

Despite the gloomy and thought-provoking theme, it is still fun to watch car chase sequences of a red Porsche, fists flying and walking away from explosion chaos.

Veteran actor Lee Sung-min, 52, perfectly embodies the gray-haired, crooked man with the help of special makeup on his face and hands, switching expressions from a cold-blooded assassin to a sympathetic grandfather who cares about his young friend.

"I was curious about playing an old man and thought it was worth a try," Lee said. "I tried to focus on matching other elderly actors well in order to not distract the audience."

"Remember" will hit local theaters Oct. 26.

ejkim@yna.co.kr
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