Noor90
-
Posts
2,143 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Noor90
-
-
Movie Review: The Age of Shadows
The Age of Shadows seems to operate on two fronts, the first is a war epic—both sweeping and compact—of chases, gunfights and espionage, used as much for romance as it is cloak and dagger. The second is a melodrama of collective guilt between two men who play against one another on opposite sides of a Japanese-Korean conflict. Kim Jee-woon is one of the forerunners of South Korean cinema, he’s ventured into similar categories of baroque genre fare with the slickly produced The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008) and has even dabbled in the depraved I Saw the Devil (2010), an anomalous masterpiece of deconstructionist revenge and reactionary schadenfreude. Age of Shadows follows a similar tradition of early “resistance fighter” movies (Kim’s title is a riff on Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows (1969). It’s fraught with police checkpoints and criminal interrogation but it possesses none of the battle-worn realism of The Battle of Algiers (1966) or the contextual authority of The Train (1964). Kim Je-woon thrives primarily on his bravado and confidence in its text, fully embracing the political sentiment at the movie’s core.
The film opens with the chase and subsequent suicide of a resistance fighter by Korean-bred Japanese forces. The construction of the scene in and of itself is something to be admired; the storming of the peddler’s shop, battalions running along the gabled rooftops and pulpy gunfights work to a lavishly opening grand hook of dogged tenacity among the resistance. But it’s the moral revelation of the Korean police captain with blood on his hands who’s vital to the film’s transition from middlebrow espionage to quick-witted character study.
Neither that particular scene or the film itself can be described as compelling or argumentative, it’s too fixed on one side of the conflict or too on hell-bent in supporting the underdog. But it’s refusal to comprise to the sympathies of both sides work to better understand the patriotism and resolve of his characters, and their refusal to compromise to imperialism. One might accuse Kim Je-woon of being too biased, but history’s always been written by the winners and Japan (like all of history’s colonial nations) just happened to be on the wrong side of history.
he police captain is Lee Jung-Chool (played by the always fierce Kang-so Song). His cushy, steadfast position under Japanese rule is challenged after confronting an individual willing to die for the self-determination of Korea, a movement he once supported. This plunges Lee into an odyssey into Shanghai where he goes undercover to infiltrate the resistance operatives. What happens next is less a game of cat and mouse and more a test of will. Kim Woo-jin (Gong Yoo, who stars in another stellar South Korean film this year), Lee’s primary contact in the resistance, a man physically and psychologically prepared to die and kill for his cause.
Naturally, their conversations are duplicitous and misleading, but there’s always an underlying truth to their words which both men comprehend. It speaks to a social identity both men share, marred into hatred by Japanese intervention. It seems obvious that by removing the barriers keeping these men on opposite ends of the law they’d make great friends. However, neither man ends up playing into the other’s hands, their conflict transcends allegiances and politics and becomes a study in the dynamics which shape . All of it culminates in a phenomenal mid-film train sequence that proves stupendously potent as a madcap thriller of heists, confidence games and, yes, even a shootout. No previous film of Kim Je-woon better demonstrates his craft in suspense. He turns the train—already a claustrophobic environment—into a throat clinched in a ever tightening stranglehold.
Kim Je-woon plays his characters against a backdrop of revolution showing more interest in his conviction as a storyteller than any possible insight this history might represent. I don’t say that to criticize the film, however, The Age of Shadows is less a study of culture and history than it is an opera of high-stakes emotion, where the rules applied only follow a doctrine of poetic license. The plot is labyrinthine and almost inscrutable, but Kim Jee-woon relays information in a fast, mechanical productivity. Whatever your opinion on his choice of style, you can’t deny its effectiveness. Every edit, cut or shot is made with quick and maximum efficiency. Even as the plot tightens, he’ll always remind you what’s at stake and show no qualms in doubling down on expository montages just so when the moment comes you’ll feel a moment’s true impact head-on.
The action in The Age of Shadows is heavily emphasized and over-the-top (just as it is with previous films) but it fits wholesomely with its hyper-dramatic tone. One of the things we can take for granted in a film of this scale, especially when we try to pinpoint errors and aesthetic incongruences, is how convincing Kim Je-woon makes the film even despite of its histrionic approach to warfare and politics. A police checkpoint can turn into a brawl of fists and blades—resembling something John Woo or Quentin Tarantino would direct—and work not because of a holistic awareness of the action movie format but because Kim Je-woon understands how to set-up emotion and drama and also how to respond to it.
Of course I must also credit a great deal of the film’s “convincing-ness” to actors Kang-so Song and Gong Yoo, who bring to the movie some of their most confidently understated work—which is remarkable considering how commonly showy and impassioned performances in Korean films are most of the time. The Age of Shadows, produced by Warner Brothers, is a late-September relief in a month full of great directors, high-hopes and languishing disappointments.
Rating: 9/10
http://theyoungfolks.com/film/movie-review-the-age-of-shadows/87662
-
3
-
-
23 minutes ago, lkgy99 said:
7 millionTwo successful movies in the same year
I hope his drama 'll be hit too
-
3
-
-
'The Age Of Shadows' (2016) Movie Review
Though his Hollywood debut, the Arnold Schwarzenegger-fronted actioner The Last Stand, didn’t go quite as well as planned (flawed to be sure, I still dig it more than most), South Korean director Kim Jee-woon has done little more than churn out one hit after another for more than a decade. His genre-crossing run started with A Tale of Two Sisters and rolled right through masterpieces like A Bittersweet Life, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, and I Saw the Devil.Back working in his home country (though teaming up with Warner Bros.) after his brief dalliance with America, Kim’s latest, The Age of Shadows—which just so happens to beSouth Korea’s submission for the best foreign language Academy Award this year—finds the filmmaker hopping genres again. A lush, lavish, impeccably staged period piece set during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the early 20th century, Shadowsdelivers twisted, layered, pulpy spy thriller deliciousness.The great Song Kang-ho (Snowpiercer, Thirst, The Host) stars as Lee Jung-chool, a Korean-born police officer and former member of the resistance now in cahoots with the Japanese occupiers. Working to unravel a rebel plot, lead by Kim Woo-jin (Train to Busan star Gong Yoo), to smuggle explosives into Seoul, turns into a razor wire cat-and-mouse game of shifting loyalties, betrayal, unlikely comradery, ethical grey zones, and crises of conscience.Everyone plays their own angle and has their own end game in sight. While the “in another life, they could be friends” thread isn’t wholly fresh, an earnestness drives the two central figures despite the fact that neither ever explicitly speaks his mind. A moment between Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo, and Lee Byung-hun only highlights this sharp, stirring, back and forth full of hidden meanings and subtext. Little more than three men sitting at a table pounding booze, watching this vaunted trio together comprises one of the many true joys of The Age of Shadows.Driven by a borderline discordant score; off-the-wall, yet somehow perfect soundtrack choices; and effortlessly gorgeous camera work from frequent Kim collaborator Kim Ji-yong, The Age of Shadows crackles with energy. An extended scene on a train gives Hitchcock a run for his money when it come to building suspense, and the narrative veers from thriller to interpersonal drama to near horror. Let it be remembered, Kim Jee-woon is never one to shy away from brutal violence when the need arises, illustrated by a handful of grim, stomach-churning torture scenes and the predilections of Um Tae-goo’s Hashimoto, an ambitious, wild card Japanese cop.For a time in the final act, things unravel and spiral out of control as Kim loses focus and momentum—the scope gets a bit grand for itself and the pace drags when it needs to pick up most. But he’s so assured as a filmmaker and has such a precise, meticulous hand—coupled with a compelling, at times mesmerizing performance from Song—that he regains control. Think of it as the cinematic equivalent of grabbing the steering wheel just before the car careens off a cliff.
An homage to older films—it watches like a Korean version of a paranoid Cold War spy thriller—Kim breathes his own particular life into the narrative. Part arthouse, part grindhouse; pulsing with pressure and stakes both personally and politically astronomical; and exquisite in every last detail, The Age of Shadows could have been lifted from the pages of a dime-store paperback with breathless tension, moral ambiguity, and complex action. [Grade: A-]http://www.thelastthingisee.com/2016/09/the-age-of-shadows-2016-movie-review.html-
3
-
-
On 9/26/2016 at 9:38 AM, melodymel said:
Kim Sohyun will make a special appearance in Goblin. She will play the queen (we already have a king who is Kwak Dong Yeon). She's talented and I'm happy to see her reunite with Sungjae after School 2015 (although I don't think they will have any scenes together). The drama's cast is getting even better.
http://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=241&aid=0002597450
I love her she's so talented everyday this drama became more exciting and promising
Please (KES) write good drama and don't waste all of these talents
Mod edit: Do not quote images.
-
7
-
-
Epigram behind cut
-
3
-
-
5 hours ago, Princi_86 said:
@princess nour90 You think that they'll go there for a long period? I thought they'll film some scenes there like in was with Heirs in USA and usually it takes few days. It should be so expensive to film in such a place like BANFF, plus rider for all team. Hope that nothing has changed in their plans even if Wookie won't go there, Gong Yoo only (or with KGE), I wish them to film there to bring this project more value and publicity.
i don't know if they 'll shoot few scenes or they 'll stay longer but i've feeling the overseas scenes 'll be for GY and LDW to show their life as Goblin and reaper
-
8
-
-
‘The Age Of Shadows’ Review: Korea’s 2016 Oscar Submission Is A Spy Saga That’s Convoluted And Compelling In Equal Measure
It wouldn’t be right to refer to “The Age of Shadows” as a “yarn.” Very loosely based on an explosive footnote in the history of Japanese-Korean relations, the latest full-bodied epic from “I Saw the Devil” director Kim Jee-woonsprouts such a labyrinthine story from a single incident that this chic (if convoluted) spy thriller would be more accurately described as a magical beanstalk. The cloak-and-dagger adventure is far too sprawling for its own good, and the air only grows thinner as the film propellers towards its underwhelming finale, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more lavishly staged staged chunk of pulp nonsense.
Not that fans of the filmmaker should be expecting anything else. A grind-house gore-hound who’s capable of elevating filth to the level of Hieronymus Bosch (or, depending on your perspective, lowering maximalist art straight into the sewers), Kim has always been attracted to excess — the guy has never met a molehill he couldn’t make into a mountain with a crimson peak. Kim once made a gonzo neo-Western called “The Good, The Bad, The Weird,” but that colorful title could be just as easily slapped on to any of his other movies, none of which come to a close until the director has indulged in all three parts. By that standard, seeing him work within the restrictive confines of the Hollywood system for the 2013 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle “The Last Stand” was like watching a juggler try to perform with a hand tied behind his back.
The Hollywood system felt the same way. Warner Bros., realizing that it might pay off to let Kim be Kim, decided to switch things up and bankroll a project on his terms. The result is the studio’s first Korean-language film, and “The Age of Shadows” certainly highlights its hybrid identity. Here is a hectic, handsomely furnished piece of pop entertainment that combines the sheen of a blockbuster with the stubbornness of an auteur who’s been left to his vices. At its worst, the subterfuge and skulking around gets to be so much that it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on — at its best, the filmmaking is so rich and fluid that you couldn’t possibly care less.
“The Age of Shadows” begins at its best. It’s sometime in the late 1920s, and Korea’s resistance to the Japanese occupation is growing more violent. A leader of the rebellion is meeting with a contact deep in the heart of Seoul, but the Japanese police have caught wind of their actions. An entire fleet of rifle-carrying soldiers are summoned in to surround the area, dozens of them sweeping over the moonlit rooftops like a gust of wind — the way Kim orchestrates bodies in motion is on par with vintage Spielberg, and the energy generated by this sequence alone is enough to sustain the movie for its first hour. Leading the charge is Captain Lee Jung-chool (“Memories of Murder” star Song Kang-ho, a master of morally ambiguous characters), a Korean-born officer who’s betrayed his homeland in exchange for a cushy position with the invading forces.
Quickly moving up the ranks, Lee is tasked with visiting an antiquities dealer named Kim Woo-jin (Gong Yoo, intriguingly shifty and sympathetic) and ferreting out any ties he might have to resistance leadership. Those ties, it turns out, are knotted too tightly for any one person to untangle, and the delicate friendship that develops between the two men is soon revealed to be at the center of a bulging network of soft-lit spies, femme fatales, Hungarian demolition experts and one very mean Japanese cop (considering that the movie depicts its Japanese characters with all the subtly and nuance of Indiana Jones Nazis, it’s not a surprise that this role is played by a Korean actor).
READ MORE: Watch The Trailer For Kim Jee-woon’s ‘The Age Of Shadows’
The story spills from Seoul to Shanghai and back again, growing a bit shaggier with every turn of the tide. “Who can be a friend in this age?” someone eventually asks, but by that point the only thing you can keep straight is that people tend to be loyal to those who offer them a helping hand, regardless of what flag they fly. Of course, the beauty of a Kim Jee-woon movie is that it never really matters how often or how completely you lose interest, because you’re only ever one sequence away from being glued to the edge of your seat.
If the director has never offered a less compelling plot, he’s also never conjured such incredible set pieces. The best of them is inarguably a 30-minute scene on a smoky antique train, in which all of the characters are gathered together and literally compartmentalized as Lee snakes through the carriages and switches sides every time he steps through a door. Naturally, it crescendoes to a massacre — Kim may be working for a major American studio, but the guy refuses to surrender his sadistic tendencies. In one early scene, a member of the Japanese police force sends the Korean rebellion a spy’s swollen, purple, not-so-freshly amputated toe as a keepsake, as if the director is marking his territory with blood.
One crescendo gives way to another and another and then another after that; by the time one character is captured and tortured — long after Lee’s moral compass has spun around so many times that its eventual landing point already feels arbitrary — you’ll kind of understand how they feel. It’s still easy to appreciate why Korea decided to submit this lustrous, studio-sanctioned the country’s official submission to the Oscars (“The Handmaiden” is too pervy, “The Wailing” is too demonic, “Train to Busan” is too frivolous), but the film feels as lost in the dark as any of its characters. Kim Jee-woon will always gravitate towards the bleaker side of the things, but “The Age of Shadows” suggests that his stories might benefit from just a little bit more light.
http://www.indiewire.com/2016/09/the-age-of-shadows-review-kim-jee-woon-1201729941/
-
3
-
-
@Princi_86 they 'll shoot overseas since gong yoo mentioned it in his lastest interviews but when I don't know
It seems it'll be on Oct not Sept because gong yoo has fan meeting in 3rd oct
-
5
-
-
@hairuchii @lkgy99 you don't if Gong hyo Jin 'll be with gong yoo or not for fan meeting on 3rd oct
really i want to see them together
-
3
-
-
4 hours ago, tok-soompi said:
Hope Goblin team will invite Han Ji Min to cameo.
I'll invite her by myself
-
3
-
-
another pic of gong yoo
I love his smile
-
5
-
-
Finally gong yoo on set filming upcoming drama "Goblin"
-
5
-
-
-
New Drama By ‘DOTS’ Writer Has Begun Filming In Canada!
A new drama is soon to come for massive K-Drama lovers! ‘Goblin’ a story by Kim Eun Sook, the writer behind hit dramas ‘Secret Garden’ and ‘Descendants of the Sun’, is currently filming in Canada. Starring Yook Sungjae of BTOB and Kim Go Eun from ‘Cheese in The Trap’ pictures surfaced of the stars filming in a bookstore.
The drama is about a “goblin” (Gong Yoo of Train to Busan), who needs a human bride in order to end his immortal life, and a grim reaper, who suffers from amnesia who end up living together. Sungjae’s role in the drama is Yoo Deokhwa, a grandson from a rich family, who is rebellious and always gets into trouble.
Be sure to look out for Goblin airing in December!
http://officiallykmusic.com/new-drama-dots-writer-begun-filming-canada/
-
7
-
-
Gong Yoo Talks Candidly About The Loneliness Of Being An Actor
Actor Gong Yoo recently sat down for an interview where he talked about the hugely successful year he’s had.
The actor has starred in three well-received films this year, beginning with the melodrama “A Man and A Woman” in February. After the huge popularity and critical acclaim of his summer blockbuster “Train to Busan,” he is currently starring on the big screen in the action thriller “The Age of Shadows,” which hit theaters on September 7.
“I’ve been lucky this year,” says Gong Yoo. “Although it’s been tiring, the reason I’m happy is that everything was 100 percent my choice. All three films were ones that I jumped at first because I wanted to do them.”
Gong Yoo comments, “I wonder if this isn’t the busiest and hottest time of my fifteen-year career as an actor. This kind of moment might never come again.” He laughs as he admits, “[I’m getting through it because] even though it’s difficult and tiring, I’m keeping in mind that this might never happen again.”
While talking about the talents and hard work of his co-star Song Kang Ho, Gong Yoo admits that he’s wondered if Song Kang Ho feels lonely and burdened by the weight on him.
When asked if he also feels that way, Gong Yoo replies honestly, “Although we’re always standing in front of the public and receiving their love, being an actor seems to be a lonely job. I’m getting through it wisely.” He adds, “I’m usually tough on myself, but sometimes I’ll say to myself, ‘You’ve done a good job getting through it all.'”
Gong Yoo will soon be appearing in the tvN drama “Goblin,” alongside Lee Dong Wook and Kim Go Eun. He laughs as he says, “I’m worried about a lot of things lately. But since it’s the first romantic-comedy I’ve done in a while, I want to do a good job. I want to show everyone something a little different.”
Are you excited to see Gong Yoo in the drama “Goblin” later this year?
-
3
-
-
it seems we'll see every one except GY really i want to see him filming i miss him in dramaland 4 years since his last drama big is sooo long
-
5
-
-
-
2 minutes ago, lucifercorner said:
@melodymelDoes that mean they've already started filming?
yes they started filming but they didn't Go to canada yet
-
5
-
-
9 hours ago, Princi_86 said:
I wonder if they're still going to shoot parts overseas (Canada). It's already mid September and there is no news on this side. And nothing about filming process at all. That's super strange since tvN are known as channel who are starting to promote their dramas from the beggining of shooting process. And it's KES's drama at the end of th
in this interview Gong yoo said since it's fantasy drama it'll need CG and they 'll shoot overseas
i don't know why but I've feeling that only Gong yoo and Lee dong Wook 'll shoot abroad and these scenes 'll show the bromance , relationship between GY, LDW " Goblin and Reaper"
-
8
-
-
Gong Yoo clarifies he doesn't have a personal SNS
[Naver: news 1] Gong Yoo's reps: "Does not have a personal SNS, be careful of impersonators and bots" (official statement)
1. [+3155, -21] How wise. The solution is to not have any.
2. [+2269, -27] How wise of him... These days, it feels like there's nothing much to gain from having SNS.. there's actually more to lose..
3. [+1342, -38] Top 3 kinds of people that needs to die in Korea: 1) Malicious commenters 2) Impersonators 3) Sasaeng fans
4. [+1040, -15] Let's just get rid of all the impersonating accounts. Let's stop doing this.
5. [+857, -13] Victims left and right because of SNS
6. [+129, -7] Wow but seriously he's so damn handsome....;;
7. [+81, -2] Yoo Jaesuk, Kim Yuna, Park Jisung are scandal free. Top stars don't use SNS.
8. [+82, -4] Good thinking.. An actor just needs to act well... fighting!
9. [+76, -3] He even mentioned why he didn't use SNS in an interview but then this happened...
http://knetizone.blogspot.com.eg/2016/09/gong-yoo-clarifies-he-doesnt-have.html-
1
-
-
Gong Yoo's agency warns fans of fake social media accounts and bots
On September 18, Gong Yoo's management label warned for fans to beware of fake accounts and bots which give the impression that they are being operated by the actor himself.
The agency wrote, "We are making this announcement as it seems many people are confused about the many Gong Yoo impersonation accounts and bots which we have discovered. Gong Yoo does not personally run any social media accounts," greatly stressing that Gong Yoo does not operate any of the social media accounts with his name in it.The label advised, "We hope that you will take this into consideration so that it will not result in any harm."
-
2
-
-
8 hours ago, hairuchii said:
Hello, I would just like to introduce myself on this thread.
I am not particularly a new fan of Gong Yoo. I first knew of him from when he was in One Fine Day, and had always thought that he was rather talented as an actor. I would always react rather positively to when I hear that Gong Yoo would star in any particular drama or film.
I had not been watching his work ever since he acted in Big and it was not that the drama threw me off Gong Yoo. I would say that he saved the drama from being a disastrous viewing experience. It was always a pleasure to see and watch him on screen. I had just not been particularly interested in watching his movies, but when recently I went to see Train to Busan, I was queasy from dealing with so much emotion that churned and quickened my heart rate. I was thrilled to see him on the big screen, happy over the childhood memories that came rushing back, and filled with so much admiration at how much he had progressed as an actor.
I went straight home and started binge-watching Coffee Prince and Big. I couldn't take my eyes off him in Finding Mr Destiny. I went on Yesasia and bought Bluray copies of his movies Silenced and The Suspect. I wanted more and more of him. It is turning into a healthy obsession. Work and life have been rather stressful recently, but I quite like having small moments like this when I feel completely at ease, happily blushing when he appears on screen.
So, hello, everyone. Nice to meet all of you.
nice to meet you too
and welcome our new friend to Gong yoo page -
2
-
-
Age Of Shadows crossed 5m admissions in 11 days
-
3
-
-
Gong yoo the best runner
Gong yoo part start 4:04
-
2
-
Gong Yoo 공유 | ★ Upcoming Drama: Squid Game season 2 (2024)★
in actors & actresses
Posted
Age of Shadows
Hearing that "The Age of Shadows" was selected as South Korea's entry for the Academy Awards' Foreign Language Film award was a bit eyebrow-raising - not only have certain other noteworthy Korean directors made well-regarded pictures this year, but filmmaker Kim Jee-woon's output, varied as it may be, is genre movies, not necessarily the sort of thing that is considered for awards, whether action, horror, or crime (all of which he has excelled at). This time around, he's making a period spy movie, and, yes, it is good enough to be right up there with the best of the year.
It starts off with a terrific opener, as Kim Jang-ok (Park Hee-soon), a resistance leader in 1920s Korea, discovers that the appointment he'd made to raise money for the organization was actually an ambush, set up by former friend Lee Jung-chool (Song Kang-ho), now working for the occupying Japanese government's police force. Kim sets it up as a chamber piece, starting as a nifty procedural before pushing into suspenseful territory, and then kicking off action with a shot and then serving the audience up a fantastic chase. It's not quite the film in microcosm, but it shows a pattern that Kim will repeat throughout the film, starting off slow but then picking up speed, with composer Mowg increasing the tempo as Kim starts jumping around, cranking things up before pulling back and letting the audience be impressed by the choreography.
After that, the main story kicks in, as Lee tries to follow the trail to Kim Woo-jin (Gong Yoo) and Jo Hwe-ryung (Shin Sung-rok), partners in an antique shop and photography studio that serves as a front for the resistence, hoping they'll lead him to Shanghai-based resistence leader Jung Che-san (Lee Byung-hun) and his "secretary" Yeon Gye-soon (Han Ji-man). They're meeting with a Hungarian explosives expert (Foster Burden), and while they all seem to despise Jung-chool, it's interesting that he bristles when his commander Higashi (Shingo Tsurumi) partners him with Hashimoto (Um Tae-goo), whose impulse is to pounce on every bit of information.
Gong Yoo's Woo-jin is the conventional hero of the piece, and if this were just a movie about him trying to avenge a fallen comrade while also striking at the forces occupying his country, it would be a taut, entertaining thriller. Gong captures both the charismatic daring and grim determination of this sort of secret rebel leader, playing well off a fine cast. It's great fun watching the entire group operate, capturing the nuances that make them feel like individuals who might naturally have other lives fighting for a cause rather than soldiers, getting enough out of glances and idle comments that the audience feels how close-knit the group must have become without it deteriorating into soap opera. Those little bits that make the film seem lived-in and welcoming for an audience also mean that when things shift into a more paranoid mode, the question of double-agents and moles is not academic, and Gong handles that switchover with aplomb.
Still, there's a reason why he's booked after Song Kang-ho. It is no particular secret where Lee Jung-chool's heart truly lies, although Kim holds off on that just enough to make that opening sequence a little more tense. Looked at in retrospect - even just a few scenes down the road - it becomes emblematic of how complicated the spy game can be once the two sides have an idea of what they're up against; it's almost impossible to tell who knows what about his motivations on the first viewing of the film, making any operation that involves him a matter of operating on false assumptions and hope. Song takes this and turns in a terrific performance - the bitterness Lee feels at not being trusted by his Japanese superiors despite dutiful service contrasted with occasionally-funny frustration would be great on its own, but the exhaustion and torment he feels at having to be misunderstood and hated to do a job he considers crucial is a palpable weight underneath this, as is the genuine relief in the moments when he can do what he really wants, even if he had to lie about why.
Kim plays all of this out against a gorgeous period backdrop, although one that's carefully considered. The shadows of the title are actually used somewhat sparingly, although there's generally a certain honesty to the scenes set at night, like these moments when it's hard for others to see are when the characters can be closest to their true selves. Simple, evenly-lit rooms are generally a front for something else, though a straightforward one, while busy, hyper-detailed backdrops like Shanghai and the train from there to Seoul tend to reflect the complex layers of deception going on there. Mentioning that Kim Jee-woon is putting a bunch of characters on a train will bring forth happy memories of The Good, the Bad, the Weird for many, and while this bit of action on a train has a very different feel than theset piece that opened that movie, it still demonstrates that Kim is among the best in the world at creating a big action scene that can have a dozen things going on while still being easy to follow - there are two or three jaw-droppers here and a number of other scenes that use the same skill to crank the tension higher even if they don't result in gunplay.
Some may feel that the film goes on too long after the last of these pieces, grinding on for what seems like another twenty minutes or so. In some ways, though, that downshift in pacing may be necessary; when a movie is about dangerous activities and the filmmaker is able to present the exciting, thrilling parts so well, it's incumbent to paint the ugly and drawn-out bits as well, finding the right balance between an entertaining film that grabs the audience's attention and one that gives an honest depiction of the amoral, unbearable facets of the subject. Sometimes getting both to make an impression exacts a bit of a toll.
It's one well worth paying, though, because taken as a whole, "The Age of Shadows" is a great spy movie, a worthy addition to Kim Jee-woon's already impressive filmography. If it wins up being included on the final Oscars ballot, that will be an impressive feather in its cap, but it's more than worthy of world audiences' attention on its own, and Americans who have it playing in a nearby theater should absolutely take advantage of it arriving on the big screen soon after its Korean release rather than playing catch-up in four months.
http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=30786&reviewer=371