Kim Gil-suk ( YOO O-Seong) is a loyal lieutenant with the rival Taekji gang, the sort of insider who has an in with the cops. He breaks his deal with the Gyeongdo Gang with a blade. No, he’s not content with that long-time arrangement, which includes the occasional hired killing. The power dynamic at play is brutal Lee Min-suk ( Jang Hyuk), a gangster born in Seoul, is now a “debt collector” for one of the two main gangs in coastal Gangneung. Titles “Tomb of the River” is Korea, it’s a movie of elderly gangsters and their hobbies - pen and ink drawings, growing and drying one’s own chili peppers - and the hotblooded young men who might not let anybody’s retirement pass peacefully, if they even let a mob boss reach retirement age. The latest film from Yoon Youngbin reminds us just how much damage a sharp blade can do, how long it can take to “bleed out” from the wounds, and how much guts it takes the fight with this corner of gangland’s weapon of choice. You’ll have a long wait for that in “Paid in Blood,” a Korean gang war thriller that spills all its blood the old-fashioned way - with fists, sticks and knives. Some gangster or cop will pull out a firearm. Americans are conditioned to wait for that moment when an onscreen brawl crosses over into “to the death” territory.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |