The Koreans have gotten good at producing solid thrillers from B-Movie material hammered to death in other titles over the years. "Montage" is no exception.
The movie opens as the statute of limitations is about to expire on a 15 year old kidnapping case. Single mom Ha-kyeong (UHM Jeong-hwa) lost her daughter. The perpetrator appears to still be around, however, leaving flowers at the site, and police detective Cheong-ho (KIM Sang-kyeong) makes one last attempt at catching him. He comes real close, sitting across from the guy in a cafe, but time expires. Then another child is abducted, following the exact same pattern as 15 years earlier, sending the movie off on a fascinating turn of events.
I left the movie with a sly grin on my face, marveling at how the whole thing in fact was put together. This plot is worth following.
The movie also has a lot in common both in style and themes with the equally impressive "Confession of Murder" (2012), which also concerns the statute of limitations.
I'll admit I have a soft spot for thrillers like this one. The movie is fast, it's smart, and there's no shocking violence, no nudity, no super hero doing mindless action, and the Asian melodramatics are kept to a minimum.
In fact, this is a good, honest thriller with the story at its core.
The movie opens as the statute of limitations is about to expire on a 15 year old kidnapping case. Single mom Ha-kyeong (UHM Jeong-hwa) lost her daughter. The perpetrator appears to still be around, however, leaving flowers at the site, and police detective Cheong-ho (KIM Sang-kyeong) makes one last attempt at catching him. He comes real close, sitting across from the guy in a cafe, but time expires. Then another child is abducted, following the exact same pattern as 15 years earlier, sending the movie off on a fascinating turn of events.
I left the movie with a sly grin on my face, marveling at how the whole thing in fact was put together. This plot is worth following.
The movie also has a lot in common both in style and themes with the equally impressive "Confession of Murder" (2012), which also concerns the statute of limitations.
I'll admit I have a soft spot for thrillers like this one. The movie is fast, it's smart, and there's no shocking violence, no nudity, no super hero doing mindless action, and the Asian melodramatics are kept to a minimum.
In fact, this is a good, honest thriller with the story at its core.