They don’t all come as enthralling as 2012 South Korean Action Thriller Confession of Murder. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing a few films for this year’s New York Asian Film Festival, but this may be the best yet, in another shining example of the power and quality of Asian cinema.
17 years after the statute of limitations expires (meaning prosecution can’t take place) of the murder of 10 woman, Lee Doo-seok (Park Si-hoo, making his feature debut) releases a book titled, I Am The Murderer, taking responsibility for the killings of the 10 victims. The media are thrown into a frenzy, while drawing the attention of Detective Choi Hyeong-goo (Jung Jae-young), the man in charge of the case, and who at the beginning of the film is left wounded by the killer.
Det. Choi is instantly suspicious of Lee, not at all sure if he is the real killer or not, but Lee has a hypnotic grip on the media and has almost been canonized by the press and public alike. As Choi seeks out the truth more issues arise as the families of the victims – led by Han Ji-Soo (Young-Ae Kim), one of the victims’ mothers – unite together to try and exact revenge on Lee for his crimes. The film only gets better when a mysterious figure, known simply as ‘J’ (Jeong Hae-gyoon) comes into the mix claiming to have vital information about the killings, which may be crucial to solving the mystery surrounding Lee. It’s apparent there’s something strange about Lee, he has all the answers to every question and more, but something doesn’t add up about this strange individual (and not because he’s apparently the murderer). While battling between keeping the press out of his life and trying to stop the victim’s families from abducting Lee Doo-seok, Detective Choi must find the answers he’s looking for.
Confessions of Murder is a gripping spectacle. You sense within the first five minutes this film will be etched into your memory for quite some time as it opens with pure adrenaline filled chaos including a fight and chase scene that is mind blowing and innovative. This is a superb game of cat and mouse as Lee and Choi seemingly try to out do each other in a bid to make the other blink. There’s something unnerving about Lee Doo-seok too, as his presence on screen is ever chilling. You’re never really sure how the film will turn out, even with 5 minutes to go you get the feeling that anything is possible, which makes for enticing viewing. The film explores not only the terrifying notion that a killer could be free to walk amongst us after only 15 years but also the rising craze of the ‘celebrity’ killer and how people have begun to put them on a pedestal and worship them because they’re ‘cool’ or ‘hot’.
The cast are on form as there isn’t a poor performance to be found in Confessions of Murder as everyone hits their cue. The film’s two leads, Park Si-hoo and Jung Jae-young, give masterful performances and later on so do the odd individual of ‘J’ as well Young-Ae Kim as the long-suffering blood thirsty mother seeking an eye for an eye.
The film is never dull, giving you a lot of questions to try and work out as you go along but once again, as it’s been a running theme with some of the films in this years NYAFF, the subtitles move along far too quick at times to the point of frustration and I found myself having to pause and rewind to catch important moments in the film (not something cinema viewers would have the luxury of doing).
With all due respect to the films I’ve already seen, and the films I will see, I find this hard to top. It’s a truly stunning and entertaining film which leaves me with only 1 regret, I wish I had saved it until last.
Rating: A seriously thrilling and smart Action/Crime flick that shows off the best of Asian cinema (7.5/10)
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