Starring: Cha Seung-Won, Shin Ha-Gyun, Shin Gu
Director: Jang Jin
Studio: Cinema Service
Rating: 15+
Genre: Drama
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About This DVD
At Crime Scene Without Leads, Suspect Arrested in Two Hours-
If you consider the story of a film as bones and the actors as meat, director
Jang Jin's fifth feature film, "The Big Scene," is a juicy piece of meat without
the needless fat and only full of red meat. It doesn't have colorful food
decorations (meaning special effects or action scenes) or aroma-releasing spices
(fancy art or visual design), but this piece of meat gets sweeter as you chew.
"The Big Scene" is the most popular of Jang's films. Characters formerly seen in
his previous films--such as a man who ends up being arrested after accidentally
passing by one murder scene after another in "Amazing Men," a floppy spy from
North Korea who gets robbed in a taxi in "The Spy," or hit men who offer a
discount for student clients in "Guns and talks"--are no where in sight. This
time, a prosecutor, a suspect, and witnesses tell a very believable story about
a murder in this investigation film.
Jung Yoo-jung (revealing the actress's name would spoil the twist in the movie),
a beautiful copywriter, is found dead in room 1207 at a five-star hotel in
Gangnam-gu, Seoul. She was stabbed nine times. The police arrest a suspect, Kim
Young-hoon (played by Sin Ha-gyoon), within two hours of the murder at the hotel
parking lot, and prosecutor Choi Yeon-ki (played by Cha Seung-won), the living
legend of the homicide department, investigates Kim. A broadcasting station airs
the investigation process live for 48 hours, sponsored by the "Campaign
Headquarters for Building a Healthy Nation." All goes well until Kim passes a
polygraph test and puts Choi on the spot.
Cha and Sin Bring Laughter; Jang's Sense of Humor Continues-
Jang demonstrates a keen sense of balance between the theater aspect and the
film aspect of the movie. Eighty percent of the film was shot at a two-story
investigation headquarters set of about 350 pyeong built in the Art Service
Studio in Hei-ri, Paju in Gyeonggi Province. The set is spatially-limited like a
theater stage, but the cameras shrewdly move vertically and horizontally, making
the place look like an open space and at the same time vividly capturing the
psychological clashes and conflicts between characters that take place in a
closed space.
Jang's sense of humor is once again brilliant. Cha does not intentionally try to
make anyone laugh and Shin is taciturn. The two sit face to face in an
investigation room filled with tension.
This is a very serious situation and the two actors are not overdoing it, but
you find yourself chuckling at this scene.
Sin Goo, Ryoo Seung-ryong and Other Supporting Actors Offer Great
Performances-
This film does not have a "scene of the year" scene, but it has a force that
constantly draws the viewer's attention. The film has lots of lines and is
occasionally funny, but the core of the story never diverts from its main path.
The broadcasting station suggests holding a shaman ritual to boost its viewing
rate. Even that ritual strongly pulls you in. It is not a thriller, but has an
amazing twist in store for you. Nor is it a horror film, but there is
bone-chilling fear within.
Sin Goo, Ryoo Seung-ryong, Lee Han-wee, Lim Seung-dae, Chang Yeong-nam and other
supporting actors' performances are controlled and superb. Cha Seung-won finally
seems to have learned the way to shine while benefiting from the supporting
actors.
Audio Format: | DTS, DD 5.1 Surround, DD 2.0 Stereo |
Video Format: | Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) |
Languages: | Korean |
Subtitles: | English, Korean |
Country Made: | Korea |
Region Code: | 3 |
Year Made: | 2005 |
Running Time: | 119 |
Special Features: | * Contains 24 Pages "Special
Book" Disc 1 - Commentary with director and casts Disc 2 - Making Of Featurette - Deleted Scenes - Interviews with director, casts and staff - Art direction - Trailers |
Availability: | Usually ships in 5-10 days |
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