Our
willingness to believe makes us vulnerable to conmen like the charlatan passing
himself off as Father Kim, an exorcist for hire. He isn’t cheap, but anyone who
thinks they need an exorcist will be desperate enough to pay—if they can. Unfortunately,
Evangelical Christians are particularly willing to believe, according to screenwriter-director Yi
Dong-hwan’s gritty con artist film Swindler, which screens during the
2019 Festival of Cinema NYC (formerly the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema).
He
only turned up at his adopted mother’s funeral because he was hoping to get his
hands on her bank book. When his adopted brother Namsik informs him she donated
all her money to the church, he quickly loses interest. Constantly dodging debt
collectors, he latches on to the phony exorcism scam and immediately starts
earning big money. Business is good, so he takes on an assistant (or a deacon
when he is in character), hiring an African migrant worker.
At
first, the play-acting is fun, but the immigrant is quickly disillusioned. He
is not reassured by their policy of only scamming the rich. In fact, it starts
to look like they are deliberately turning their backs on the poor and less
fortunate. Tragically, Park Yoon-hee will be the exception. In lieu of payment,
“Father Kim” accepted “in kind” contributions—and you know what that means.
Although
billed as a comedy, Swindler is a thoroughly depressing film. In many
ways, it compares very directly with Koichiro Oyama’s His Bad Blood.
Both films follow the exploits of an amoral grifter, neither of whom receives
their traditional movie comeuppance. Yet, nobody in their right minds would want
to live their solitary, irredeemable lives. These are highly moral films, but
in unconventional ways. However, Swindler cannot match the heft and
depth of Bad Blood.
Still,
Yoo Hyeong-jun slow burns with Millennial entitlement as the predatory faker.
He looks like a lamb, but he periodically bares the fangs of a wolf. Song
Yeong-chang is probably the most recognizable cast-member, portraying the
hypocritical pastor of a Prosperity Gospel-style church looking to recruit “Father
Kim.” However, it is Lee Gyu-jeong who really haunts viewers as the wronged Park.
Swindler is
intelligently written and features some laudable performances, but it is not a lot
of fun to watch. Such a scathing view of human nature is only really compatible
with real deal Puritanism. Recommended (with caveats) for fans of dark, religiously
themed con artists films, like Leap of Faith, Swindler screens
tonight (8/6), as part of this year’s Festival of Cinema NYC.
