Sur la trace du serpent

I saw a trailer on an obscure DVD (don't remember which though) half a year ago. The trailer made use of the Bee Gee's song that's in two of the scenes in the movie. Then I read most of this IMDb comments.

A month ago I found the DVD (I'm always searching secondhand stores) and yesterday I put in in my DVD-player. Watched the trailer on the DVD again. It was a different one. Not as catchy as the one I saw earlier that made me want to see (want to have) this film. Then I watched the opening scene/titles and the 40 steps scene. My wife and I where about to start watching another film (Wanted, 2008). I asked for her patience and showed her the 40 steps scene first. She agreed with me that that was a beautiful scene and she was positively surprised by it hypnotic style. Then we watched Wanted. (Which had cool special effects but didn't convince me in any way: could have skipped that one...) Half an hour ago I finished watching Nowhere to Hide.

I think it is a fascinating movie. Storywise it's not very deep or wide, but that's alright with me. The acting, the photography, the directing and so forth I find very very good. The 40 steps scene reminded me very much of the better Miami Vice (televisionseries) episodes: music framing something horrible, continuing through the whole scene (not fading right after the dramatic climax, but going on for minutes and breathing out inevitability).

Now (while writing) I am playing the movie again.

One could say I really like it. I agree with most of the very enthusiastic reactions I read on IMDb.

Cinema is images, usually 24 frames per second. Sometimes the story is predominant, sometimes not. What will I remember of this film in 10 years? Probably not much of the story line. But I'll remember: the super-saturated yellow of the autumn leaves; the rain falling on the 40 Steps during the murder scene; the starburst "wipe" in the first reel (I've seen iris shots, and Kurosawa wipes from left to right & right to left, I've seen wipes spiralling from a center point out,I may have seen top to bottom and/or bottom to top wipes - but never one like this); the inserts of what appeared to be color sketchings of characters inbetween live-action shots near the film's beginning; the strobe-like black & white shots at the disco and the balletic brawl on the rooftop among the billowing sheets.

Style over substance? Perhaps. But mighty impressive style.

I liked this film a lot. Myung Se Lee is one of the most stylish directors in Korea and "Nowhere to Hide" is at the top of his skill. The opening black and white sequence, which stops at the every hit, was enchanting and the rainy murder scene was just amazing. The comic book like action was very original and more beautiful than the ones in Wong kar Wai and John Woo's movies. The actings were also superb. Joo Hoon park, a super star in Korea, proves that he's still a king of comedy with his hilarious movement and dialogues. Sung Ki Ahn also shows that good actors don't need to talk much to show a great performance. I'd loved this movie even more if the plot was tighter but if the director intented to show rather than tell, what can I say?

This is an enjoyable, fast-paced action movie that's shot in a frenetic style that almost reminded me of "Run Lola Run". Joong-Hoon Park stars as Woo - the likeable yet violent, dopey yet determined Inchon detective who organizes a manhunt of a cold-blooded killer. The story is routine, yet the visuals and the characters in it are wonderful. Some of the images are beautiful (like the wait leading up to the murder at the beginning of the movie, and the snowstorm later on, and especially the fight during the rainstorm), some are hilarious (such as Woo's brawl with Meathead).

The only time the movie seemed to flag for me was when Woo's partner develops a conscience after killing a suspect in self-defense.

"Stylistic" is inevitably the word that comes to mind watching this film. Lee pulls out all the cinematic weapons in his arsenal in this humorous, almost deconstructionist romp through Hong Kong action cinema, film noir, comic books, and more. There are more homages, visual tricks, and musical gags than in almost any film I've seen. And that's a good thing because plot wise this is very generic. Some people are sure to decry the supposed glorification of police brutality. An alternate interpretation that is criticizing the police by showing their basic similarity to the bad guys is too facile to be taken seriously. But despite any possible qualms one might have with any messages being delivered, this film is just plain too fun and funny to not like.