One of the must-see films to see at this year’s NYAFF is writer/director Yun Jong-Bin’s 80’s set gangster film, Nameless Gangster, starring Choi Min-Sik, a guy you may know from the films Oldboy and I Saw the Devil.
Nameless Gangster opens up in South Korea in 1990, Roh Tae-Woo has just been elected president and has initiated a massive war on organized crime resulting in the arrest of hundreds of gangsters in the Busan area. When a hotel beating goes wrong, it eventually gets traced back to the well connected Choi Ly-Hyun. As he sits in prison, we flash back to 1982 and start from where his new criminal life began when he finds a large amount of heroin and is introduced to his “Godson,” Hyung-bae (played by the very cool Ha Jung-Woo–The Yellow Sea) a local drug dealer whom he eventually partners up with so that they can become the most powerful gangsters in all of Busan. Chois is the brains that plays the bureaucratic gangster game while Hyung-bae controls the muscle and plays the street game, a perfect combination.
Ever since I saw the trailer I’ve been dying to see this film. Not only has Choi mastered his craft but he makes it look easy in his latest feature. Watching the evolution of his character Choi Ly-Hyun from a simple civil servant to a full on greedy crime boss is fascinating but, in actuality, the personality of his character doesn’t really change and that’s what makes this movie and his character so interesting. Choi is constantly putting on a show whether it is when he’s drunk or trying to get someone in his pocket, but his underlying mission never changes, he wants to win and be number one. He’s a charismatic asshole who you can’t call a gangster but whom you can’t call a simple criminal either. It’s this ability to float in the middle that makes him a unique specimen but one whom you may have difficulties trusting because of his ambition and inability to grasp the gangster code.
Like many gangster films, most notably ones directed by Scorsese, pacing is extremely crucial to the development of the story, especially ones about the rise and fall of a gangster. Though it may only be his third film, Yun Jong-Bin has proven that he is one of the top emerging talents in Korea today. To me, he makes Nameless Gangster feel like one giant crescendo, a film that starts softly and gradually gets more intense, more violent and more impressive, hitting its highest note during the final 20 minutes. But wait, there’s more! Once the peak hits and we move in the final minutes of the feature, the beat drops like a dubstep song giving you that complete feeling of satisfaction and learning that Choi knows what he’s been doing all along.
As badass as Choi is throughout the film, we cannot ignore the fact that Ha Jung-Woo is downright t
he coolest guy in the film. He’s plays this good looking, quiet, knowledgeable and respectful gangster that understands the rules of the game and does his best to try and keep Choi in check. Like Choi, he delivers a solid performance that shouldn’t go unnoticed and I now understand why people love this guy so much. Yun Jong-Bin got really lucky when he his leads are two of the top actors in the Korean film industry.
Overall, Nameless Gangster is going to be the best gangster film you see all year unless Gangster Squad somehow manages to be truly original. Yun Jong-Bin has written and directed a fantastic feature that perfectly captures the corrupt Korean aesthetic of the 80s and could have only reached its level of awesomeness because of the outstanding performances by his strong cast. If you needed any more proof that Choi Min-Sik is one of the most bad ass mo-fo’s around, then look no further than Nameless Gangster and be prepared to be in awe of his performance and amazing 80’s haircut.
Rating: A top-notch gangster film that oozes coolness and badassery (7.8/10)
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