Movie Info: Director: Hae-gon KimCast: Sang-woo Kwone, Seung-heon SongOriginal Title: SookmyeongProduction Country: South Korea 2008Review: Plot Synopsis : In 1991, on a calm summer evening in South Korea, the son of a well known news broadcaster turns up missing. The mother becomes frantic, while the father tries to stay level-headed. They soon receive a phone call asking for 100 Million Won in exchange for the safe return of their nine year old son. Over the next 44 days the despondent parents receive 60 phone calls from the mysterious voice. During this time the parents and cops play a nerve wracking game of wits with the abductor to get their son back.Movie Review : “Voice Of A Murderer” is the third full length film from South Korean director Jin-Pyo Park. As with his previous film “You Are My Sunshine,” “Voice Of A Murderer” is a fictionalized account of a real life incident. In this case, the movie recreates the tragic 1991 abduction of Lee Hyung Ho. Although “Voice Of A Murderer” did take liberty in re-telling the tale of Lee Hyung Ho, the movie excelled at conveying the discordant tensions that grips parents during times of crisis. The most notable aspect of the abduction of Lee Hyung Ho that was changed for “Voice Of A Murderer” would have been the occupation of the father, played by Kung-Gu Sol (Peppermint Candy, Oasis, Cold Winter Blues). In the movie Kung-Gu Sol’s character was a famous news broadcaster, while in real life the father was a successful businessman. Also, the actual ransom amount was 70 Million Won ($74,000) not 100 Million Won as stated in the movie. There were a lot of admirable performances to be found in Voice Of A Murderer. Kyung-Gu Sol gave a courageous performance as the father that would frantically do anything to get his son back. No matter how dire the circumstances were, an air of strength was palpable from Kyung-Gu Sol’s character. The only blemish in his performance would have been the final scene when his character talked into the television camera. Somehow the authenticity that existed all throughout the movie evaporated in that scene and a plastic type of melodramatic feel reared its annoying head during that final scee. Even with that stated, I walked away thinking this was Kyung-Gu Sol’s best performance since “Oasis.” The mother was nearly as impressively, played by Nam-Ju Kim. This would have been my first time seeing her perform and I do hope she gets to perform in many more movies. Her character teetered on the edge of a nervous breakdown and she played it oh so convincingly. On an interesting sidenote, her appearance and mannerisms were reminiscent of Bae Du-Na in “Take Care Of My Hubby” (although Bae Duna’s performance was pure comedy). Also, Kang Dong Won takes another step into the realm of dramatic films by playing the abductor. Only his voice and outline is visible in the movie.A small complaint with the film would have been the all too realistic manner in which the film portrayed the incredibly long ordeal. With each passing day, the film would state the number of days since the abduction, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3..Day 14, Day 15..etc. Around the 20th day the faithful manner in which the movie showed the parent’s ordeal chronologically became more of a nuisance. I did feel tempted to hit the fast forward button during these moments but ignored these impulses out of fear of missing something relevant (which didn’t happen). Jin-Pyo Park did attempt to break the monotony during the middle portions by showing the bumbling cops as they worked with the parents to capture the mysterious phone caller. An interesting sub-plot that ran through “Voice Of A Murderer” would have been the mother’s fleeting belief in faith as the adduction dragged on further and further. In this regard, her descent was similar to the Shin-Ae character in “Secret Sunshine.” It should be noted that “Voice Of A Murderer” came out months before “Secret Sunshine.” Voice Of The Murderer is a tense thriller that did fall into lull during the middle portions of the movie. A few scenes cut from the middle portions would have done wonders for the movie. Even with that stated I was on pins and needles for most of the movie. I would guess that native Koreans that are already familiar with the abduction of Lee Hyung-Ho may find the movie less compelling as they already know the outcome of the movie. For me, I watched the movie with this restrained hope that the child would be safely returned and somehow the abductor would be brought to justice by the police. In retrospect, I would imagine this is exactly what the parents of Lee Hyung-Ho felt and “Voice Of The Murderer” should be applauded for providing a window into the incredible toll the parents endured during such a tragic event. LANGUAGE: KoreanSUBTITLE: English DVDRiP avica. 124 min ca. 1400 mb
senha: malamute
