Our take
War movies aren’t all guns and glory on the battlefield– sometimes, to win the war, one gets pushed to betray each other for the sake of the country, or for one’s survival. This is what happens in Assassination, where a group of resistance fighters have to spy and lie in order to gain enough information to assassinate a high ranking Japanese officer. It’s the sort of wartime espionage thriller that Hollywood started to get sick of, but it’s the kind of plot that works with Korea’s 2010 mystery thriller streak, adding a historical epic touch to the genre that helped make Korean cinema popular. It’s matched with a complex script, stellar action setpieces, and excellent production design.
The story
In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.
Elsewhere
"A sensationally entertaining mash-up of historical drama, "Dirty Dozen" style shoot-'em-up, spaghetti Western-flavored flamboyance, and extended action set pieces that suggest a dream-team collaboration of Sergio Leone, John Woo and Steven Spielberg."
— Joe Leydon
The details
The Man from Nowhere
Jeong-beom Lee & Lee Jeong-beom
Joint Security Area
Chan-wook Park & Park Chan-wook
The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon
Wong Ching-Po
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Park Chan-wook
Jaane Jaan
Sujoy Ghosh
The Whistleblower
Larysa Kondracki
Europa
Lars von Trier
Grosse Pointe Blank
George Armitage
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
