Say you, say me, part 1: 2009 Lost Memories

Why, you may ask, "say you, say me?" Well, the next two movie reviews are going to tackle two movies that have something in common: they are movies with Korean actors in Japanese-speaking roles, and the setting is either Japan or a colony of Japan. Can't make the connection? Neither can I. :p

First up is 2009 Lost Memories, starring Jang Dong-geun and Toru Nakamura. The premise of the film is very interesting.

Here goes. In 1910, Korea was under Japanese rule. This all changed when a man named Ah Jung-geun killed Prince Ito Hirobumi, then Governor General of Korea. This later lead to many uprisings that eventually led to the Annexation of Korea in the same year.

The film poses the question: what if the assassination attempt failed? An amazing sequence of parallel history shows us what could have happened. The movie then begins in Seoul, but as soon as I saw the city, everything felt different. When I saw the Japanese-style police cars and the suits, I knew that this was a different Seoul, a different world.

The immersion is what matters in a film like this, and although it does start very well, the immersion wasn't as good as it was at the beginning once you get to the movie's second half. Jang Dong-geun does a decent job speaking Japanese, but I kinda felt the accent still shining through. It is a challenge speaking a different language, so I do commend him on his effort. The rest of the actors there only have supporting roles, perhaps except for Jang's partner Toru Nakamura, who does a decent job whenever he is on the screen.

The action scenes were okay, although there was nothing special in them. No wirework, no bullet ballet, just people shooting each other a whole lot. The special effects are quite commendable for a Korean movie and are a service to the story.

There aren't many sci-fi films in Korea. Perhaps people were still reeling from the massive box office faliure that was The Resurrection of the Little Match Girl back then. I can only name Natural City and Wonderful Days as truly sci-fi themed films released since then (does Yesterday count? I'm not really sure...) 2009 Lost Memories is a great effort to make a Korean sci-fi movie that works. Well it did, earning a good deal of money, but the costs offset it. Hopefully soon Korea will start its true foray into sci-fi. I'm looking forward to what the results could be.