Choi Min-sik seems to always find a way to survive in NAMELESS GANGSTER
CHOI MIN-SIK: MR. VENGEANCE — NAMELESS GANGSTER: RULES OF THE TIME (BUMCHOIWAUI JUNJAENG) (Yun Jong-bin, 2012)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Saturday, June 30, 9:00, and Tuesday, July 3, 1:00
Festival runs June 29 – July 12
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In 1990, Roh Tae-woo, the thirteenth president of South Korea, officially declared war on organized crime. Writer-director Yun Jong-bin goes back to that dramatic period in the 2012 epic mob thriller Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time. Korean star Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) put on a few pounds to play the roly-poly Choi Ik-hyun, a corrupt Customs inspector who soon immerses himself in Busan’s underworld culture. A goofy, pathetic figure who drinks too much and has no loyalty to anyone but himself, Choi seems to always find a way to survive despite his infuriatingly stupid decisions. He uses his family connections to team up with his godson, Choi Hyung-bae (Ha Jung-woo), a smooth, ultracool gangster who is continually suspicious of his godfather, and to convince determined prosecutor Choi Joo-dong (Kim Eung-soo) not to lock him up and throw away the key. Things come to a head when he gets involved with Kim Pan-ho (Jo Jin-woong) and a casino hotel, leading to violence, betrayal, and whimpering. Told primarily in flashback set in the 1980s, Nameless Gangster is a potent blend of mob drama and comedy, as Yun (The Moonlight of Seoul, The Unforgiven) mixes in elements of such genre classics as Goodfellas and The Godfather while also telling the story of a changing Korea. Choi Min-sik is a hoot as Choi Ik-hyun, a putz who just keeps on keepin’ on, his round face and puppy-dog eyes somehow helping to keep him alive even as he essentially demands to get whacked. Nameless Gangster is screening June 30 at 9:00 and July 3 at 1:00 at the New York Asian Film Festival at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, where it is part of the sidebar event “Choi Min-sik: Mr. Vengeance,” which also includes 2001’s Failan, 2003’s Oldboy, and 2005’s Crying Fist. Choi Min-sik will be on hand for the June 30 screening to talk about the film and his fascinating career.
The second in director Park Chan-wook’s revenge trilogy (in between Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and the 2005 New York Film Festival selection Sympathy For Lady Vengeance), Oldboy is a twisted, perverse psychological thriller that won the Grand Prix de Jury at Cannes, among many other international awards. Choi Min-sik (Chihwaseon) stars as Oh Dae-su, a man who has been imprisoned for fifteen years — but he doesn’t know why, or by whom. When he is finally released, his search for the truth becomes part of a conspiracy game, as he can seemingly trust no one. As he gets closer to finding everything out, the gore and terror continues to increase. Choi is outstanding as the wild-haired Dae-su in Park’s awesome rampage of a film, which is not for the faint of heart. On the DVD, the extras include audio commentary and deleted scenes in which Park discusses how embarrassing it is doing audio commentary and showing deleted scenes, but you can hear him discuss Oldboy in person on June 30 at 1:00 with costar Yoon Jin-seo at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, where it is being screened at the special New York Asian Film Festival sidebar event “Choi Min-sik: Mr. Vengeance,” which looks at the fascinating career of the popular Korean actor and activist, who left the business for several years in protest over controversial screen quotas. The series also includes 2001’s Failan, 2005’s Crying Fist, and this year’s Nameless Gangster.
Korean filmmaker Im Kwon-taek’s exploration of the life and work of nineteenth-century painter Jang seung-up (Choi Min-shik) is beautiful to look at but overly long and drawn out. We get it: The iconoclastic artist struggles with his identity, drinks too much, battles with his mentor (Ahn Sung-ki) over selling out, gets caught amid a political revolution, and has a complicated love life. However, it is always a thrill to watch Choi; Chihwaseon is screening on June 3 as part of the Museum of the Moving Image series “The Many Faces of Choi Min-shik,” which began May 20 with Song Hae-sung’s Failan and concludes July 1 with the Park Chan-wook classic Oldboy. This summer’s