I was initially confused by the relationship between the two principal leads, introduced early in the film. Their personalities were so different as to be conflicting. Then with the introduction of a third male lead, one considerably older, just as abrasive but considerably less well groomed things started to fall into place.
The two young men- JANG, stiff and seemingly humourless - appears pitted against JEONG -loud, obnoxious and yet with some charm. They are both members of Korean crime syndicate, that has managed to go legitimate. The third man - Section Chief KANG - is pulling any number of strings to bring down the syndicate before it becomes too powerful to stop.
As such fans and devotees of both INFERNAL AFFAIRS and Martin SCORCESE's remake THE DEPARTED may find parallels in the actors TONY LEUNG; ANDY LAU, and ANTHONY WONG.
I don't think the comparison between NEW WORLD; INTERNAL AFFAIRS, and THE DEPARTED far fetched - there is even a young woman comparable to the psychiatrist in INFERNAL AFFAIRS. This woman plays chess with JANG, though their meetings serve another purpose.
NEW WORLD is a reminder of how we were introduced to contemporary Korean cinema. Heroes and villains separated by the finest of lines; violence ever present and visceral, with hands, knives and assorted other weapons other than guns meting out terrible damage (it's stunning how much one key player survives).
I am giving the film only 7/10 because once I reflected on the key characters and their possible relationships, the story held few surprises for me. Furthermore the length of the film -135 minutes - works against its overall momentum. That said, NEW WORLD is professionally executed and a nice addition to Korean filmmaking.
PS: I was taken aback at how much swearing and coarse language the film contains. Is this a sign of the times in Korean film, or a concession to international markets?
The two young men- JANG, stiff and seemingly humourless - appears pitted against JEONG -loud, obnoxious and yet with some charm. They are both members of Korean crime syndicate, that has managed to go legitimate. The third man - Section Chief KANG - is pulling any number of strings to bring down the syndicate before it becomes too powerful to stop.
As such fans and devotees of both INFERNAL AFFAIRS and Martin SCORCESE's remake THE DEPARTED may find parallels in the actors TONY LEUNG; ANDY LAU, and ANTHONY WONG.
I don't think the comparison between NEW WORLD; INTERNAL AFFAIRS, and THE DEPARTED far fetched - there is even a young woman comparable to the psychiatrist in INFERNAL AFFAIRS. This woman plays chess with JANG, though their meetings serve another purpose.
NEW WORLD is a reminder of how we were introduced to contemporary Korean cinema. Heroes and villains separated by the finest of lines; violence ever present and visceral, with hands, knives and assorted other weapons other than guns meting out terrible damage (it's stunning how much one key player survives).
I am giving the film only 7/10 because once I reflected on the key characters and their possible relationships, the story held few surprises for me. Furthermore the length of the film -135 minutes - works against its overall momentum. That said, NEW WORLD is professionally executed and a nice addition to Korean filmmaking.
PS: I was taken aback at how much swearing and coarse language the film contains. Is this a sign of the times in Korean film, or a concession to international markets?