During the previous period of the epidemic, I was asked by a friend to recommend a few Korean movies to pass the time. I said a few film titles, and finally added two "whatever things" to him-Korean movies with Song Kangho, Ha Jung Woo, Choi Min Sik, crime movies and movies based on real events are generally not bad. Where to go, the possibility of stepping on thunder is very small.
It goes without saying that the three major Korean acting male gods in the first "Whatever", and the two types of movies in the second "Whatever" have played an important role in the rise of Korea in the new century. Among them, crime genre films are one of the first genre films in South Korea. In the early days, they borrowed a lot of the essence of Hong Kong and Hollywood works in China. Later, they gradually integrated local characteristics ingeniously, sometimes digging for humanity, sometimes playing with black humor, and establishing From the unique characteristics. Movies adapted from real events are the product of the loosening of political trials in the 1990s. They have contributed many high-quality classic works, and they have also brought a wealth of material to crime films. As a sub-genre of crime movies, gangster movies are naturally also beneficiaries.
"Criminal City" is a work with a real background. This film is a 19th banned film and is not allowed to be watched by young people. In addition, there are no special big-name actors, so its box office was not favored at first. Unexpectedly, once it was released, it became the dark horse of South Korea's box office in 2017. It was not only a box office search for that year, but also ranked third in the box office list of 19 banned movies in Korean film history.
The background of the film can be traced back to the 1990s. Overseas Chinese began to settle in Garibongdong, Seoul, and gradually built a Chinatown. Later, Chinese Korean criminal organizations also infiltrated this area. By 2004, small-scale Korean gangs could be seen everywhere in Jialifeng Cave. In order to crack down on these underworld forces, the Geumcheon Police Station in charge of the area formulated a plan for raids and rectification. "Criminal City" is adapted from this incident. In the past ten years or so, an obvious feature has appeared in South Korean crime films or gangster films. Most of the people who commit crimes are Koreans from Yanbian, China. I briefly mentioned the survival situation of this group in South Korea in the film review of "Yellow Sea" (see "The Yellow Sea": Bats and Mad Dogs ). You can say that Korean movies are set in such a way that they are stereotyped, but they are not. It's completely groundless.
The difference is that "Yellow Sea" is a film that conscientiously combines social crime issues with the Korean ethnic group. It not only went to China for filming, but also gave a more in-depth description of the mentality of related characters. However, "Criminal City" is relatively more specific, focusing more directly on the criminal organization and the police. Of course, one thing is the same, that is, the Koreans in the two films can really be played!
Audiences who have watched "Yellow Sea" must be extremely impressed by the madness and brutality of the villain Mian Masaru, and there is a similar character in this film. Bringing two younger brothers from China to South Korea to collect loan sharks, they owe N ten million won, and he will ask for 200 million when he opens his mouth; if he doesn’t pay, he will chop people down, chop down people with one axe and one axe, divide the body into bags; go to KTV Consumption, the younger brother hit the escort lady, the manager came out to chase the people, and removed the manager's hand when he didn't agree with him; the three people almost leveled the entire block after arriving at the top of the hill that wanted to monopolize this place not long after arriving. When he was on the rise, he yelled out a very interesting line: "I am Zhang Chen from Harbin."
Why is Harbin? Instead of Yanbian, which often appears? It is said that this "Zhang Chen" has a prototype, and this prototype is Li Zhengguang, the famous Northeast underworld gangster in the 1980s and 1990s. Li Zhengguang is a native of Harbin, and he is indeed of Korean ethnicity. At first he was a member of the "Qiao Four Criminal Group", and later went out to work alone. Although Li Zhengguang was only 1.6 meters tall, he was extremely fierce in fighting and very shrewd. After being wanted by the Heilongjiang police, he fled to Beijing to continue his crimes. People in the rivers and lakes called him "the No. 1 killer in the Northeast." Until he was caught by the public security department, the criminal gang headed by him committed 13 crimes. The premeditated murder resulted in the death of 5 people. From robbery, kidnapping, to possession of guns and ammunition, they committed almost all kinds of crimes, and finally took the law in Beijing. The role of Zhang Chen is Yin Jishang from an idol group. In order to play this character well, he not only gained five kilograms, but also grew long hair, tanned his skin, learned the Yanbian dialect, and even cursed the Chinese. In his words, even the crew of the crew began to avoid him.
Of course, the demon is one foot high and the road is one foot high. With such a Northeast mad demon, there will also be a monster detective who will cure him. The monster detective Ma Xidao is played by Ma Dongxi. Those who have watched "Travel to Busan" will definitely have an impression of the strong and sturdy uncle in it. Ma Dongxi debuted as a fitness coach. He has been a personal trainer for many Korean actors and celebrities. After entering the show business circle, he often plays supporting roles who are reluctant to play, and he often has a little contrast. This police officer Ma is not a 100% "good guy." He would also charge a hush fee from the gangs in his jurisdiction, and would go to nightclubs to eat and play, and use his own way to check and balance the various gangs. But he also has the "heart-warming" side, and he takes care of the ordinary Korean nationals who open shops there. Therefore, it is natural not to let Zhang Chen appear suddenly, breaking the balance of power of the local gang, and even endangering the normal life of civilians.
It is estimated that Zhang Chen and the monster detective Ma Xidao, who are based on the Northeast No. 1 Killer, are mostly exaggerated settings to increase the movie’s highlights. Without these two characters with sufficient aura, the film would be inferior. Based on the reality that guns are banned in Korean society, most of the fights in the film rely on sticks and axes, or directly punches and kicks. To be wonderful, you must have excellent action scene design. At this point, the director is relatively simple, pursuing fist and fist, rather than fancy moves and dazzling editing, so there are really not many absolute highlights, and it can only be said that it is a good-quality crime movie.
"Criminal City" performed a box office miracle in South Korea at that time. After more than two years, as of now (April 17, 2020), the score on the South Korean scoring website (NAVER) has still reached 9.28 (Know that "Yellow Sea" only has 7.89 points). It may be that the film is adapted from real events, which will make Korean audiences more immersive, and will also inspire more memories of those who experienced it in those years. Or maybe it was the South Korean police who beat the Chinese gangsters so hard that they added a lot of national pride? It is not clear why Korean audiences would give such high ratings. Whether from the portrayal of the characters, the excavation of social problems, or the brutality of the fight, I personally think that "Yellow Sea" is even worse.
♑
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