The Age of Shadows

Allison 2022-01-23 08:07:05

IMDB score 7.2

Squeezed out "Cry" and "Miss" and became the best foreign language film selected by South Korea for the 89th Oscar.

Won the first prize in the 36th Korean Film Critics Association Awards for the best work.

Director Jin Zhiyun used the golden cast team.

The starring roles are Song Kanghao and Kong Liu, and supporting roles are Lee Byung Heon, Seo Young Joo, Park Hee Sun and Han Zhi Min.

It is really rare to see the pomp of four movie kings in a movie.

I said so much, just because although this movie still has some shortcomings, but I really like it myself and I really want to sell this Amway x

The Age of Shadows, I like the English translation better than the Chinese translation of "Secret Detective". What the movie wants to express is not just the ups and downs of the Yilietuan, this story is not only caused by the spy to the end of the spy, but is made by everyone in the Joseon period under Japanese rule, an era shrouded in infinite shadows. Struggle and choice. Conscience and national righteousness are ups and downs in troubled times, coupled with love, family affection, and friendship. In this chaotic era where we cannot simply distinguish good from evil, where do people go?

Director Jin Zhiyun did a good job of color and setting. The color of the whole movie is dim and depressing, and the blood red is shocking. The beginning of the movie was a gun battle and the death of Jin Changyu, the captain of the Volunteer Regiment. This sadness, horror and beauty continued to the end of the movie.

Compared with Kim Yoo-jin, the leader of the Insurgent Group, played by Kong Liu, a nearly saint-like image who can hide love without money and sacrifice his life for national independence, Song Kanghao's vacillating Lee Jung-chu is more like He is a flesh and blood, perfect person. The transformation of Li Zhengchu is the most exciting part of the whole movie. I watched some film reviews about "The Secret Agent", and many of them said that I felt that Li Zheng went out of the wall and changed too quickly, which made me feel a little inexplicable. In fact, I personally disagree with this view. From the beginning of the hunt for Jin Changyu, Li Zhengchu insisted on "catching alive" and "persuading to surrender", trying to save Jin Changyu's life, to the expression when he stared at Jin Changyu's death notice in the East Village office. Lee Jung-chu has always been a passbook and thoughtful person. His refuge in the Japanese is like the role played by Lee Jung-jae in another Korean movie "Assassination". When asked why he betrayed his comrades, he replied: I didn’t expect to be independent. In addition to being greedy, it is more because there is no hope for this country. At this time, if someone can push him away, and someone can give him hope, he will be easily shaken. The leader of the regiment, Jeong Chaeshan and leader Kim Yoo-jin, were just such people, and they seized the opportunity. Jin Youjin and Zheng Chaeshan and Li Zhengchu drank together, and in the process, they conveyed a meaning: intercourse with fate. This kind of respect and trust was something he never felt when he was working in the Japanese police department. The Japanese police department was more suspicious of him because of his Korean origin. The balance began to shake. Later, when Yan Jishun was arrested, and Dongcun forced him to use a hot brand to imprint the face of the woman who had bandaged his wounds, he finally understood that in the eyes of the Japanese, living is the greatest thing to him. Gift, he must use the blood of his compatriots as the price of living. In the end, Kim Yu-jin was exposed in order to cover him. The words that he said in the hut in the forest, and the firm smile on him from the trial bench completed his final transformation. When he saw Yan Jishun's body, he finally cried bitterly. In this section, Song Kanghao perfectly interpreted what is called "textbook-like acting". The transformation of Li Zhengchu, the core figure, is advancing layer by layer, which can be said to be very exciting.

I have also seen some film critics controversial about the relationship between Kim Youjin and Yeon Jishun, thinking that the final relationship was too abrupt. I also disagree with this point. When Yan Jishun asked to take a photo in the photo studio, it was obvious that the woman was interested, but the man seemed to avoid it. Although he evaded, Jin Youjin still did not refuse this request, and finally took a photo for Yan Jishun. When inspecting the traitors on the train, Zhao Huiling and Yan Jishun were told that they were all "Golden Fields and Herdsmen Inn", but there was a slight difference in time. It can be seen that Kim Youjin was very nervous when he heard Lee Jung-chu say "Golden Field Shepherd Hotel", but he heard that the time was 4 o'clock instead of telling Yan Jishun that 6 o'clock was, Kim Youjin Slightly relieved, this is a very secret but deep love. He was arrested at Yan Jishun at the railway station, and Jin Youjin, who was able to stay still before Taishan collapse, became uncomfortable and became irritable and impulsive. In the end, his fellow comrades restrained him. While in prison, when Jin Youjin learned that the photos he had taken had exposed Yeon Jishun, his weakness was caught and his heart collapsed, trying to bite his tongue and commit suicide. This endless self-blame even made him so brave that he did not dare to look back at his beloved woman during the trial.

The ending of the movie is both tragic and beautiful. Kim Yoo-jin lay down curled up in the prison with a small cluster of sunlight, his face is a generous smile. He finally carved on the wall in prison: I am not afraid of death, I am only afraid that the world does not know why I die.

At that moment, people couldn't help but think of Mei Linmao's Polonaise.

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Extended Reading

The Age of Shadows quotes

  • Jung Chae-San: The early bird catches the worm.

    Lee Jung-Chool: The early bird gets caught.

  • Lee Jung-Chool: [testifying before the judge] I always adhere to the work of the police.

    [He sighs, and continues hoarsely]

    Lee Jung-Chool: If the mission is successful, I will be promoted to Superintendent. I always give my utmost in police operations. I...

    [He pauses, and sighs again, but this time his sigh trembles slightly]

    Lee Jung-Chool: I have only to fulfil my duty as a Japanese police officer.

    [He finds himself close to tears]

    Lee Jung-Chool: I'm not a member of the Heroic Corps. I just wanted to manipulate Kim Woo-jin.

    [He heaves more shuddering sighs and starts to sniffle]

    Lee Jung-Chool: We are neither comrades, nor friends.

    [He bursts into tears]

    Lee Jung-Chool: I am innocent.