Jopog manura

This is definitely one of my top 10 favorite films. I guess it's the remarkable, sweet and subtle romance that somehow is so well placed that makes it so bright/clever. I'm very impressed by how the romance is evenly mixed with comedy and still so very touching. It very much proves a light and cheerful film can be very touching which western movies should take after more (and not being either cheerful/comical or sincere/romantic). I always thought I didn't like romance at all until some rare dramas made me understand I'm just very demanding on modesty, taste and ingenuity and this film certainly has such romance that passes my level-headed taste. oh and it does have very good action (fighting) and is overall very amusing.

A commercial hit back in its home market, Korea. From the looks of the sold out crowd in its early release here in Singapore, "My Wife is a Gangster" looks set to become a regional box office hit as well.

Take my word for it. Go into this film and have a great 2 hours of entertainment.

My Wife is a Gangster is unique blend of different genres; action, comedy, and drama. It's main focus is on comedy, so don't see this movie thinking it is wall to wall action. It does have a couple of great fight scenes - one in the rain, one in a field of tall grass, and one in the rival gang's hideout. The action choreography and camera work is done superbly, very stylish.

The story centers around a female JOPOK (equivalent to Yakuza in Japan). She finds her long lost sister only find she is dying of some kind of disease. Her dying wish is that she sees her sister get married before she dies. The poor unsuspecting husband, who by the way looks like Sammo Hung's Korean cousin, is put through so much tribulation through the movie, you can help but feel sorry for him!

The movie has some great comedy, which had me busting out loud. The movie also has some drama thrown in, which is done to great effect. Overall, this movie works and is unique in it's own right. 9/10

In contrast to the glowing reviews from other viewers, I would give this film a 6, maybe a 7, out of 10. While the fight scenes are well choreographed and entertaining, the humor in this film fits awkwardly with its melodrama. Humor there is and, when dealing with the misfit gangsters working for the protagonist, it is genuinely funny. However, Ms. Eun-Kyung Shin, in the lead role as the gangster wife, has the difficult job of trying to portray a character we are intended to feel sympathetic toward, in some scenes, while in other settings she presents as a vicious and ruthless sociopath. Her relationship with her husband exhibits tenderness a little too late for a credible attachment to develop. Her husband's nebbish character seems to capitulate more for the script than any believable budding affection, particularly after the abuse he suffers from her. We are asked to sympathize with the gangsters even though there is little reason to feel any sympathy for them, they are either clowns or killers. The fumbling attempts at injecting soap opera-like themes in the film gives the movie an asymmetry, not a richer story.

What makes Korean comedy so great? The Koreans possess the quality of humility. They laugh at themselves: their weaknesses, their vanity, their shortcomings. They laugh at their own humanity; and thusly, overcome it; to show us something more than merely human. Maybe it is a glimpse of the divine. Best scenes: the wedding, the recitation of the American (!) author.