Every artist will tell you: the point of it all is to create something unique, a reflection of your inner self that is your own. It's what the game of creation is about, that's why it's so spiritually satisfying even when you don't make a penny our of your projects. There is little interesting art that doesn't create something entirely new, but it happens. Korean film NEW WORLD is in many ways a standard gangster movie, but it's a tremendously polished one. It's beautiful, well-executed and has a clever, fun screenplay. It will make you go like: ''Oh, this is like THE DEPARTED and SYMPATHY FOR MR.VENGEANCE a little bit, but it's GOOD.'' NEW WORLD is original in its execution rather than its narrative, yet it'll manage to keep you involved its entire duration.
I'm going to use the Korean character names and it's going to be pretty confusing. Ja-sung is a highly ranked officer of Goldmoon, a street gang union turned multinational company. When the patriarch of Goldmoon dies, it's a four man race to power: Ja-sung, Jang-Soo Ki, Jeong Cheong and Lee Jung-gu *. Only thing that prevents Ja-sung to pursue a ruthless campaign to Goldmoon's top position is that he's an undercover cop. He really words for Chief Kang, a morally dubious cop who's looking to squeeze whatever he can out of his most successful undercover operation. Both sides of the law are trying to pressure Ja-sung into doing what they want, leaving nobody but himself to assure his own survival in the middle of a bloody and chaotic power struggle.
NEW WORLD is the baby of Hoon-Jeong Park, known for writing the screenplay of I SAW THE DEVIL, a rather original horror movie. His latest doesn't shine through its writing though. It's clever, it's fun, but it's been done before. NEW WORLD is all about the execution. Visual details are making the movie stand out. For example, there is a gang fight scene that's filmed from a wide angle shot on a still camera. There is an odd beauty to seeing people in suits entangled and trying to kill one another. I'm not going to spoil the fun, but the gang fight scene leads to one of the greatest knife fights I've ever seen on screen. Apparently, it's a scene NEW WORLD is known for. A traditionally Asian, contemplative directorial stance, a study of colours and a sense of narrative pacing are what makes NEW WORLD stand out from other gangster movies. That and underground parkings. Awesome things happen in underground parkings in this movie. Watch out for them.
I have to say, I got a weak spot for morally-challenging movies. While NEW WORLD doesn't exactly tackles new questions or even has a new angle, it tackles a question I love: do you have to abide the law to be a moral person? Ja-sung's dilemma is that he really is two people. He has to decides if he wants to be the person others know him to be or the person he was when he started working undercover. He has moral incentives to make both choices and is pressured in both directions. Will Ja-sung decide to be a traitor or a killer? In NEW WORLD, none of the answers are a free ticket to a better future, but they are Ja-sung's only two choice if he wants to keep breathing. Once again, it's been done before, but if I'd have to rewatch an undercover gangster movie, I'd probably rewatch this one.
Seriously, God bless the Korean film industry. It's the hard evidence that it is possible to make entertaining, suspenseful action movies outside of whatever Hollywood is doing at the moment. More important, it's an industry that respects its audience and adresses the viewership as intelligent beings. NEW WORLD is a lot of fun. It's a highly visual, well-executed gangster film that has its shortfalls in originality, but has the strong points to make up for it. It's not going to blow you out the water, but it's a whopp...knifing good time (see what I did there?) NEW WORLD is entertainment way before it is art, but it's not a waste of your time. If you have to invest two hours in a gangster movie soon, choose this one.
* I think these are their names. Fuck, this is confusing. I might've not gotten them in the right order. My apologies to Korean readers.
Seriously, God bless the Korean film industry. It's the hard evidence that it is possible to make entertaining, suspenseful action movies outside of whatever Hollywood is doing at the moment. More important, it's an industry that respects its audience and adresses the viewership as intelligent beings. NEW WORLD is a lot of fun. It's a highly visual, well-executed gangster film that has its shortfalls in originality, but has the strong points to make up for it. It's not going to blow you out the water, but it's a whopp...knifing good time (see what I did there?) NEW WORLD is entertainment way before it is art, but it's not a waste of your time. If you have to invest two hours in a gangster movie soon, choose this one.
* I think these are their names. Fuck, this is confusing. I might've not gotten them in the right order. My apologies to Korean readers.