Heart Blackened: Korea Remakes Silent Witness

They say money can’t buy love, but it can retain the best legal defense available. Sometimes that is just as important, or more so. For Im Mi-ra, this would be one of those times. The entitled heiress stands accused of murdering her father’s fiancée. Still loyal to his daughter, he makes a somewhat an orthodox choice hiring Choi Hee-jung, but he is a shrewd judge of character. Choi’s integrity is about the only thing we can take for certain in Jung Ji-woo’s Heart Blackened (trailer here), which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

Yes, this is indeed a Korean remake of the Aaron Kwok-Sun Honglei-Yu Nan legal thriller, Silent Witness, but Jung has shaken it up a bit. He largely parallels initial set-up of Fei Xing’s film, but he shifts the focus from the prosecutor to the defense attorney. Although he is faithful to the big twist, he makes some alterations to the ending, so viewers who have seen the original still won’t know with 100% certainty where the film is headed.

Given the fame of Yoo-na, an aging but still popular K-pop idol, this murder case is sure to be a media circus. Ordinarily, Im Tae-san’s sharky corporate firm handles all his legal business, but they subcontract Choi for this case. Due to their friendship at school, Mi-ra is more likely to trust the young, independent counsel. In terms of image, she is a good counterbalance to the Ims. Unfortunately, the case looks bad for them. Technically, there is no smoking gun, but the circumstantial evidence is as damning as it gets. However, a stalkerish fan might have video footage of the vehicular murder. A mad scramble ensues to recover that footage, sight unseen, so it is sure to surprise at least one of the interested parties.

Filling Sun Honglei’s shoes is a tall order, but Choi Min-sik is more than sufficiently grizzled and steely. He definitely commands the screen as Im Tae-san, but he also delivers some surprisingly poignant moments down the stretch. Park Shin-hye is terrific in the expanded role of shy but principled Choi Hee-jung. By elevating her to the lead, the film takes on a bit of a Jagged Edge vibe.

Lee Soo-kyung also shows impressive range as Im Mi-ra, who is allowed more room for self-awareness and growth this time around. Lee Honey’s warm but messily human portrayal of Yoo-na makes us sorry to see her murdered, even though it is necessary to get the picture going. However, it is unclear why the film allots so much screen time to slimy super-fan Kim Dong-myung, beyond actor Ryu Jun-yeol’s teen heartthrob popularity.

Heart Blackened is a slickly produced film that deftly turns its surprise reversals of fortune, but it is never too far divorced from the human element. It also features some of Korea’s biggest stars and most reliable character actors, all working at the top of their games. Highly recommended for thriller fans (even those who have already seen Silent Witness), Heart Blackened opens this Friday (11/10) at the Los Angeles and Buena Park CGV Cinemas.

(Photo: CJ Entertainment)

My Annoying Brother: Plan B for Judo Gold

South Korea offers its Olympic medalists a pretty significant fringe benefit: exemption from mandatory military service. That no longer matters to Ko Du-young. The former Olympic judo contender went blind after his optic nerve was damaged in a match. He would still be entitled to the same financial bonus as a Paralympic champion, but Ko has given up on himself. His estranged conman half-brother is the wrong person to motivate him, but slimy Ko Du-sik moves in anyway in Kwon Soo-kyung’s My Annoying Brother (trailer here), which opens tomorrow in Los Angeles.

The Ko brothers have not spoken since he ran away from home ten years ago. In the meantime, Ko Du-young handled their parents’ funerals on his own and found his place in the world through judo. Despite their lack of contact, Ko Du-sik uses his brother’s blindness to secure early parole. He intends to loot the supposedly helpless Du-young as best he can before absconding. However, a few awkwardly embarrassing incidents force Du-sik to keep up appearances for longer than he anticipated. Yet, just as the brothers start to come together as a family again, Du-sik gets some shocking news of his own.

Suddenly, that Olympic money could really help secure Du-young’s future. His bombshell coach Lee Soo-hyun is even willing to transfer to the Paralympic division with him. She also agrees to keep silent regarding Du-sik’s secret, to maintain Du-young’s focus on the competition.

Even though Kwon film shares many surface commonalities with My Blind Brother, the two films are very different animals. Du-young being the nice guy brother is really the least of it. Basically, Kwon takes the sort of tragedy Korean audiences enjoy so much in romantic melodrama and applies it to Bromance. There is some comedy too, particularly courtesy of Dae-Chang, a seminary drop out who keeps crossing paths with Du-sik in the neighborhood. Still, everyone can tell from the start it is all leading up to a big “I love you, man” moment.

Despite some transparent manipulation, Kwon and screenwriter Yu Young-ah deliver some surprising sweet and telling moments celebrating the importance of family bonds. Cho Jung-seok has a roguish charm as Du-sik and the bickering chemistry he develops with Kim Gang-hyun’s Dae-chang is somewhat amusing. Yet, believe it or not, the funniest line is delivered by K-drama-superstar-girl-next-door Park Shin-hye. She definitely brings her “it”-factor as Coach Lee. K-pop boy-band star Do Kyung-soo (a.k.a. D.O.) sulks and mopes as well as anyone, but he just never gets Du-young much further than that.

My Annoying Bro is a nice and sincere film that occasionally surprises just by so deftly turning some third act scenes. Although it is undeniably sentimental, somehow it takes the snark out of viewers. Recommended for fans of heartfelt k-drama and teen movies, My Annoying Brother opens this Thursday P.M. (12/8) in Los Angeles, at the CGV Cinemas.

NYAFFF ’13: One Perfect Day (short)

Let’s review.  If the characters are on a blind date, it’s a rom-com, but if they are internet dating, it’s a horror movie.  Yes, Korean horror master Kim Jee-woon indeed crosses over to the sunnier side of the street (let’s hope temporarily) with his pleasant short film One Perfect Day (trailer here), which screens today as part of the mighty 2013 New York Asian Film Festival.

Woon-chul badly wants to meet Ms. Right, so he gamely accepts a series of blind dates.  Unfortunately, that is really not a good forum for him.  Nonetheless, he makes a spectacularly counterproductive effort with Yoo-jin.  She is clearly not a good fit for him, but he drags her into a large municipal park (in heels), hoping to win her over through a game of rock-paper-scissors.  It might seem like a dubious choice, but he has his reasons.  However, she still is not the one.  That might be Eun-hee, who appears when and where Woon-chul least expects to find her.

Commissioned by a Korean sporting goods firm to celebrate their fortieth anniversary, OPD is light years removed from Kim’s brilliantly disturbing I Saw the Devil and his underperforming Hollywood debut, The Last Stand (here’s a marketing tip: putting Johnny Knoxville in a hat with ear flaps on your one-sheet will not necessarily guarantee box office gold).  OPD has its charms though, especially when Korean superstar Park Shin-hye lights up the third act.  Still, Yoon Kye-sang’s Woon-chul is so manically keen, it is hard to blame Yoo-jin for wanting the heck out of there.  In fact, viewers might find themselves rooting for Park Soo-jin and her perfect WTF expressions.  Nonetheless, Kim brings it all together with a payoff that implies much, but is quite satisfying.

To serve its promotional function, OPD is findable on the internet, but cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung’s rich use of light and color should look fantastic on a big screen and Kim Jee-woon is definitely a big picture director.  In any event, it is an entertaining short film, making it a nice bonus for Korean rom-com fans when it screens with the feature How to Use Guys with Secret Tips tonight (7/7) and Thursday (7/11) at the Walter Reade Theater, as part of this year’s NYAFF.