Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Helpless (2012)

Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Director: Byun Young-joo
Starring: Lee Seon-gyun, Kim Min-hie, Jo Seong-ha
Language: Korean
Duration: 117 min.
Rating: 6.6
Summary:
A man frantically searches for his fiancée who vanished without a trace a month before their wedding ceremony.
Helpless is a film directed by Byun Young-joo, based on the 1992 novel Kasha written by Japanese author Miyabe Miyuki. It won the Best Director award at the 2012 Baeksang Arts Awards.

It stars Lee Sun-gyun in the role of Jang Mun-ho, a veterinarian whose fiancée Seon-young (Kim Min-hie) disappears while on their way to visit his parents. He eventually enlists the help of his cousin Kim Jong-geun (Jo Seong-ha), a disgraced police detective who lost his job for tacking bribes. While trying to track her down, the pair of them soon discover some shocking truths about her secretive past.

It's a film that starts off extremely well. With an incredibly suspenseful opening at a highway rest stop that recalls George Sluizer's 1988 thriller The Vanishing. The acting is also on point. Lee oscillates convincingly from states of confusion, frustration, distress, and anger. His performance is very intense at times but tempered enough to never appear over dramatic. While Jo also impresses, even though his character is pretty much stock, the typical hard luck ex-cop who is an ace detective but sucks at everything else in life, he still manages to make him consistently interesting to watch.

The production quality is excellent, to the slick levels we've come to expect from recent South Korean cinema. There's nice steady camerawork throughout from a variety of interesting angles, and a generally dark greyish palette used to maintain the psychological tone of the film. The score is also well done, minimal and non intrusive.

The actual mystery itself is cleverly wound and for the most part unpredictable. However, the story gets long winded, with too much reliance on flashbacks, TV cop drama style exposition, and the usual improbable coincidences and technically impossible investigative techniques to move things along.

It would have been a much stronger film if Byun cut 15 to 20 minutes of that stuff out, or replaced it with deeper character development, because as engaging as the acting was, they never felt well rounded enough. She does manage to pull it all together with style in the finale though. Going the slightly melodramatic route, but it plays well and it looks glorious. In the end, it's a better than average thriller with a few strong points, but nothing too remarkable.
Bonjour Tristesse
Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)

Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)

Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)

Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)

Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)

Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)

Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)

Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)

7 comments:

d_4 said...

Better than average makes it good enough for me. For those moments when you want entertainment but don't want to scoff at the ludicrous development a lot of movies have going on.

FrontRoomCinema said...

I am with d_4 here, a better than average score from BT means it is good enough for my lower standards!!


But did they sing Gangnam Style?

365 moviesandsongs365 said...

I added this film to my anticipated list, because I read a reviewer say it was equally as good as the mystery thriller Tell No One (2006). Now I'm not so sure I'll bother.

MRanthrope said...

bummer, trimming the 15 mins of fat might have made for a "killer" overall film eh? ha. This goes on the list still.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Nope. No singing... or dancing either.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I think it has a great opening and closing, but no it's not nearly as good as Tell No One.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

That's my impression yeah, but it's still a pretty decent watch. Let me know what you thought of it if you do catch it.

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