by Seung-Jae Lee
It probably reminds you of those words: darkness, heaviness, self-destruction, agony, hurt, fright, and endless emptiness, when you hear about a movie based on the superb cartoon "
Fighter in the Wind" by
Bang Hak-gi.
Unfortunately, however, "
Fighter in the Wind", a new release opening on August 12, does not satisfy the heavy words mentioned above. The movie has just sunken between the stereotypical plot patterns of an action film and an extremely petty romance.
Under Japanese colonial rule, a boy, Choi Bae-dal, cherishes his dream of being a fighter learning Taekkyun (Taegwongdo, a traditional martial art in Korea) from his servant, Beom-soo. However, as Beom-soo, who is involved in the independent movement against Japan, disappears, Bae-dal smuggles himself to Japan to become a pilot. In Japan, he suffers a lot due to the discrimination against Josenjin (Korean-Japanese). He happens to meet Beom-soo like a miracle and continues his training. However, after a ring of yakuza kills Boem-soo, he is determined to enter the mountains to focus on his training, leaving society behind. After completing the training, which is as harsh and painful as crumbling one's bones, he takes a journey to challenge rival players through out the nation, called "defeating a gym".
Choi Bae-dal (1922-1994) was a real figure that invented "Keukjinkongsudo (Karate)" from Taekkyun (Taegwondo). However, the movie does not utilize the core resource of "a real story from a real figure" to the fullest. Instead, it chooses to follow the stereotypical pattern of any banal action film: indignation over spite, witnessing the death of a master, preparing revenge, successfully completing revenge, experiencing inner conflicts, and finally, becoming a legend. Rather than focusing on exhibitions of the stylish action of Choi Bae-dal, the movie should have paid more attention to the authenticity of his life fully and deeply. The romance between Choi and a Japanese geisha, Youhko, is so far away from the realm of the dignity of life, but it is depicted like an immature first love in childhood that totally clashes with Choi Bae-dal's character.
Actor
Yang Dong-geun, starring Choi, participates in massive action scenes. They are destructive. Without relying on any special effects like wires and substitute actors, he exhibits the essence of reality action, such as attacking an opponent's temple with his heel. However, it would have been better if he had differentiated between dark and heavy emotions.
Jeong Tae-woo, who played Chun-bae, a friend of Choi Bae-dal, played an important role with his good acting by hiding his warmth underneath his loquacity and bragging. However, he now has a new assignment as an actor; he should work on making himself part of a movie rather than making a movie part of himself.
Jeong Doo-hong of Beom-soo should now seriously think about the phenomenon that the serious mood in the movie suddenly breaks when he starts giving lines, like he did in his previous work, "
Arahan Jangpung Daejakjon". Compared to the sharp and angry stare in his eyes, lines such as "Justice without a power is incapability, and power without justice is violence" are too naïve.
There were some complications in the making of the movie; the production changed, and the original castings for the main characters changed from Rain and Yumin to
Yang Dong-geun and Japanese actress Aya Hirayama, who starred in "Water Boys". Yang Yun-ho, who directed "
White Valentine" and "
Libera Me" took the megaphone. This movie is for people over 12 years old.
