For a while, tigers roamed Korea, garnering fear and respect, as the clawed creature resembled the peninsula. However, tigers roam no more due to Japanese occupation in the early 20th century. The Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale takes these historical facts to create a thrilling adventure drama– where man versus the titular beast are compelled to meet again due to political pressure, the government bounty, and personal revenge on both parties. The CGI is occasionally spotty, and the relationship between father and son isn’t as developed as the one between hunter and tiger, but the face-off between the opponents and their shared history makes The Tiger a good movie to watch.
In 1925 Korea, Japanese rulers demand the last remaining tiger be killed. The tiger easily defeats his pursuers until a legendary hunter takes him on.
Japanese-occupied Mount Jirisan, 1925. The last remaining one-eyed Korean tiger, dubbed by the locals as the Mountain Lord, eludes capture from the Japanese governor-general, who has been aiming to hunt them down to the point of extinction. Because of this, they try to recruit revered hunter Chun Man-duk, who swore off hunting after a tragic accident.
The aforementioned tiger. Writer-director Park Hoon-jung holds off the beast’s appearance until halfway through the film, to build up a sense of mythic proportions around the tiger (as well as the hunter) respectively. When it finally appears, the CGI team really pulled off the creature itself, the teeth, and the gore.
It’s so dramatic, even the tiger’s out there, looking at the distance, contemplating the hunter.
