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[HanCinema's Hall of Fame Review] "Moss": The Devil's in the Details + DVD Giveaway

In the spotlight this week: Kang Woo-suk's "Moss"...

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Based on the popular webcomic by Yoon Tae-ho, Kang Woo-suk's "Moss" is an epic rural thriller dedicated to mystery, corruption and cover-ups. This character-driven gem came out back in 2010 where over 3.3M filmgoers supported Kang's eerie adaptation. It's an compelling piece that's well-paced, rich, and clutches onto its secrets all the way to the film's final frame.

The foundations of a small rural village are riddled with rot and corruption. Two men look after this sleepy setting, the one spiritual, the other deviantly ambitious, and their moral compasses point in opposite directions. But after years of mutual collaboration their partnership comes tragically to an end; a timely death that leaves a moral void and brings with it the estranged preacher's son (Park Hae-il as Ryoo Hae-gook) who tries understand his father's rural life and death in the face of local resistance.

Things in the village, however, aren't what they appear, and immediately Ryoo is suspicious of the reception and reactions he gets from the village's influential foreman (Jung Jae-young as Cheon Yong-deok). Sensing the steel wool over his eyes, Ryoo decides to stay a little longer and investigate, much to the distress of the Cheon and his trio of thugs, and starts to discover strange facts around his father's sudden death that he simply cannot ignore or bury.

"Moss" is appealing largely for two reasons. Firstly, its literary online origins were deftly delivered onto screen, resulting in a tight narrative that progressed promptly (an important feature given the film's 163 minutes of screen time) and contained meaningful characters richly composed in cinematic space. Viewers will thoroughly enjoy the film's many moments of intrigue and suspense, beats that surely owe credit to Yoon and his initial vision (as well as Jeong Ji-woo's screenwriting).

The film can also be praised along more cinematic lines, with credit owing to the casting and performance of many of the main actors. Relationships are complex and often curious, but the real-world players who brought these comic characters to life did so with in such a way as to demand our attention and empathy. Cheon's three cohorts, for example, are not merely there doing lip-service this feudal lords lavish grip on power, they come with their own important backstories and demons. History and memories are key contributors/themes here, and as the "Moss" gathers momentum the past and its consequences crash with ironic and redemptive deliverance.

In such a character-centric tale such considerations are vital, and viewer's will find themselves quickly immersed in each character's being and how, exactly, they all piece together. The range of emotions on display is impressive, and there is often a stark twist in scenes that were dramatically executed to thrilling effect. Subtly looks and nervous glances are scattered throughout Joon's mystery, emotive gestures that constantly peck away at the viewer's mind to keep the film's mysterious wounds open and juicy.

However, whether by craft or coverup, the film does snigger at logic and probability in a few choice moments, leaving the keen viewer scratching their head at times and perhaps, although temporarily, ejecting us from what is otherwise a suspenseful spectacle. Such lapses (or well-time waving of creative license) are evident, but not terribly detrimental. Overall though, "Moss" is a captivating and dramatic affair that keeps its carrot shrouded till the very end, and even then viewers will be asked to question events and piece together the the deviling details of the mystery they thought was just solved.

 

- C.J. Wheeler (chriscjw@gmail.com@KoreaOnTheCouch)

 

Available on DVD from YESASIA

DVD 2-Disc First Press Limited Edition (En Sub)

 

Moss DVD Giveaway

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