It
is not the most social division of the police force, so chief detective Hwang’s
ticky, standoffish new recruit should feel right at home. However, the
passivity of surveillance will be an issue for her. Nevertheless, her eyes and
memory will be needed to take down a master criminal and his crew in Cho
Ui-seok & Kim Byung-seo’s Cold Eyes (trailer here), an inspired
Korean remake of Johnnie To’s Eye in the
Sky, which screens during the 2014 New York Asian Film Festival.
Ironically,
during her rehearsal shadowing assignment, Detective Ha Yoon-joo and Hwang were
rubbing shoulders with James, the mysterious mastermind of a gang of armed
robbers. He is never personally on-the-scene, preferring to observe from a
carefully selected rooftop. Their last bank heist has the force particularly
rattled, so Hwang and his boss, director Lee are under pressure to produce. Scanning
surveillance footage, they practice of form of police work resembling a game of
Concentration. When they turn up a suspect, Ha will have her initiation by
fire, trailing him through the city. Of course, the closer they get to James,
the more the stakes rise.
Despite
all the time Hwang sits in surveillance vans, Eyes is decidedly action-driven. Co-directors Cho and Kim truly
master the near-misses and sudden disappearances involved in tailing suspects.
They also have a knack for spectacular shootouts and public safety-defying car
chases. Yet, it is the film’s neurotic vibe that really sets it apart from the
cops-and-robbers field.
Sol
Kyung-gu, this year’s NYAFF Star Asia Award recipient, powers the film with
slow-burning intensity. His off-kilter wiliness and rumpled soul distinguishes
Hwang from just about every other movie copper, except maybe Han Hyo-joo’s
socially awkward Ha. They are quite a pair, developing some appealingly eccentric
mentor-protégé chemistry. Counter-balancing her oddball colleagues, Jin Kyung
adds some class and authority as Director Lee. Although largely impassive
throughout, Jung Woo-sung shark-like vibe works in context for the ruthless
James.
