Hansan: Rising Dragon

BEFORE THE EPIC BATTLE IN THE ADMIRAL: ROARING CURRENTS

In 1592, admiral Yi Sun-sin and his fleet face off against the might of the invading Japanese navy and its formidable warships. As the Korean forces fall into crisis, the admiral resorts to using his secret weapon, the dragon head ships known as geobukseon, in order to change the tide of this epic battle at sea.

I loved the first in this series about famed Korean Admiral Yi. I've really been looking forward to this prequel, about Yi's famous earlier victory against the dominant invading Japanese fleet. It didn't disappoint, although it wasn't quite as rich in the secondary characters as The Admiral was. Highly recommended. As with the first movie, you've got to be willing to let all the confusing characters just wash over you. It will all come straight and make sense, rewarding you with a wonderful story.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #95: Masquerade

15 DAYS LOST TO HISTORY.

Though it places his own life in danger, a look-alike commoner secretly takes the place of a poisoned king to save his country from falling into chaos.

This is based on the true fact that in the eighth year of King Gwang-hae's reign his Annals contain fifteen missing days. This movie comes up with a look-alike pauper covering for the prince who has been poisoned. It's set in 17th century Korea so there are fabulous costumes and a lot of court intrigue. Most of all there is the stellar performance by Lee Byung-hun. I can see why he's one of Korea's top actors.

I always enjoy a noble impersonation story, especially The Prince and the Pauper and The Prisoner of Zenda. This is the best I've ever seen. We know all the common twists and turns but this movie keeps you in suspense even as you fall in love with the imposter more in every scene.

I wouldn't have heard of this movie except that there's a very popular television series based on it. Now I can't wait to watch it. Don't you wait to try this one. It's really something special.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #84 — The Admiral: Roaring Currents

It's been 12 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Based on a true story, this is the astonishing tale of a legendary battle against overwhelming odds: the embattled Koreans with 12 ships against the invading Japanese navy with 300 ships. And also of the extraordinarily talented Admiral Yi  Sun-sin who masterminded a victory. 

We'd never heard of this admiral or battle because it is from halfway around the world and long ago. It's always nice to find another fascinating story from history while you're watching a great movie. 

It was well acted, directed, and edited so that I could not only follow the naval battles but tell apart key characters who, to my unschooled eyes, were hard to tell apart because of unfamiliar uniforms. I especially liked the Admiral's son who is learning tactics and whose reactions mirror ours. The spy and his wife also were favorites of ours, especially as their importance to the battle was revealed.

Hansan: Rising Dragon  came out recently which is a prequel of another of the younger Admiral Yi's lauded battles. And a third is planned. I'm on board for all of them. 

We got the dvd from our library which had subtitles so we got the all the actors' original intonations. I understand that it originally streamed with dubbed English. It's available to rent on Amazon.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #82 — A Taxi Driver

It's been 12 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

In 1980, a foreign journalist hires a down-on-his-luck taxi driver to take him to Gwangju, South Korea. They soon arrive to find a city under siege by student protesters and the military. A Taxi Driver brings a ground-level perspective and a refreshingly light touch to a fact-based story with sobering implications.

I'd never heard of this 2017 movie which was wildly popular in Korea and was their entry to the Oscar foreign film nominations that year. Knowing only the brief description above and having a vague memory of Korea as having military dictatorship issues in the 1980s we launched into the movie.

As with the Indian movie Airlift, we were introduced to a piece of history we had never heard of. It turns out that the taxi driver, Mr. Kim, is the perfect character through whose eyes we should view the military lockdown of Gwangju. He also had no idea of the violence being perpetrated upon the protesters and innocent civilians. Following the reporter as he follows leads to the heart of the riots, the depth of the violence and oppression gradually unfold. We get to meet other taxi drivers as they help first with repairs and then with more important things. As the story goes on,  the driver begins seeing a bigger picture than just his own interest and that everyone, however seemingly insignificant, plays a part in others' lives. 

Based on a real event, this is a combination of fact about the photographer and fiction about the driver.  Kim's identity was unknown when the film was made so his story is fictional aside from his time with the photographer. Nevertheless, it is very effective and provides both a much needed lighter approach and "everyman" view which takes the audience along.

I came away grateful for good reporters determined to get the truth to the people. I also thought of the war reporters who have been dying in Ukraine. And I was reminded of how desperate the Ukranians' plight is, even as they fight with all they have. Those trends were personified in this movie.

As I mentioned, this reminded me of both Airlift and also of Argo. Fans of those movies will not be disappointed.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #64: Train to Busan

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Soo-an: Dad, you only care about yourself. That's why mommy left.

He's forgotten her birthday, he's forgotten to show up at school for her special song, but Seok Woo is going to make sure his little daughter safely gets from Seoul to Busan to visit her mother, his ex-wife. It's just their bad luck that a zombie virus breaks out while they're on the train. The passengers must fight for their families and their lives against the zombies.

We loved this basic zombie movie with the clever twist of NOT staying on a train but clearly having to BE on a train to get to Busan, where there might be a safe haven ... we hope. It was more thoughtful than the average zombie movie. (Is there such a thing as an average zombie movie these days? Oh, right, World War Z. That was very average.)

I especially appreciated the family themes as echoed through all the characters we really come to know ... from young love through fatherhood and old age. And it isn't afraid to look at how an extended struggle might turn survivors against each other as they trade common decency and humanity for personal security.

No wonder it made $85 million. A solid story, well told.

Scott and I discussed this in episode 244 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.