Fighter in the wind

This korean movie claims to be inspired by the life of Choi Bae-dal, who founded the kyokushinkaikan variation of Karate, and the film explores the prejudice between the Koreans and the Japanese back then.

The setting is in post-WWII Japan, with Yakuzas and American GIs abound, not to mention the influx of Korean immigrants. This film narrates the life of Bae-dal in a fairly straightforward way, following his path to fame amongst fighters - taking on karate, judo and even kendo exponents.

Somehow this film parallels Stephen Chow's KungFu Hustle, which also narrates the life of a nobody to a somebody, with a pretty babe in tow for good measure, except this one is without the slapstick comedy.

The first half plods on, as our protagonist is still a greenhorn in the martial arts world. Once you've gotten past the first hour, things start to pick up when he trains himself to be the best of the best, but towards the finale, it somehow hints of Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai. Probably no fault of its own, as it explores the same theme amongst all martial arts - honour and justice.

The fight scenes, which looked spectacular in the trailers, actually offers nothing new. Most of it are quick cuts and slow motion, and given the premise, could've offered more in terms of actual fights.

This should appeal to those who wanna know more about the myth behind Kyokushinkaikan Karate. If you're looking for real Kung-Fu action, you'll probably be better off with a Jet Li martial arts movie.

I was impressed and satisfied with Fighter In The Wind. Most martial arts movies tend not to be very serious, but in terms of grit and realism, this was one of the few martial arts movies that maintained complete seriousness throughout.

Apparently, it is biographical of a real karate master, which I didn't realize until the end. It is also apparently based on a comic book version of the story, which in hindsight is easy to see in the colorful and visually well-arranged cinematography. Many different environments, landscapes and buildings are encountered in the course of the story, and they are all beautifully presented. The director is a master at his craft.

Baedal's geisha girlfriend, played by Aya Hirayama, is absolutely stunningly beautiful, and the movie is worth watching just for her. But it is a good movie in its own right, with a good portrayal of the Korean minority in Japan just after World War II. Although parts of the story and characters lack depth, I do find the movie generally satisfying, except in one respect: As the other commentators point out, it doesn't have a great deal of fighting, and the fights it does have are brief and relatively unimpressive - all the more so because Baedal apparently doesn't use any specific style. It doesn't ring true, either, that he gets to challenge every kind of martial arts school, from karate to judo and others. Would such schools accept challenges from someone with such an unspecific fighting style? I doubt it. But, I'm no expert on this.

In any case, despite these flaws, I think the overall style of the movie is very well made, and I enjoyed it a lot. I'd definitely recommend it to any fan of martial arts and action movies.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

i cant believe the comments made about this movie!this has to be Korea's best output in the martial arts genre since musa!!the fights certainly pull no punches you can hear heads and bones crunching!!i suggest you take another look and as you will see this a fine movie!!acting is good,the locations brilliant as the camera takes you around ghetto's to the wondrous scenes in the mountains,the training he puts him self through would make rocky balboa blush!!!the ice climb is excellent,you also get a feel for the period,this guy took no prisoners i can tell you,don't be put off from some reviews see this as a ruff n tumble session of extreme!!the last shot has to be seen to be believed!!!10/10 for a real gem of the martial arts kind!!!

OK, first things first; this is NOT a martial arts kung-fu beat em up movie (If you want that, go watch Ong-Bak!). Throw those expectations OUT and prepare to enjoy a very gripping action/drama with some of the most beautiful filmwork i've seen in a while. To keep it simple, this movie is very exaggerated biography of Choi Baedal (Later changed his name to Mas Oyama), founder of Kyokushin karate, starting from before WW2. The fight scenes are not like standard kungfu flicks. They don't fight for 5 minutes. It's realistic in this sense. They trade a few blows and one or the other falls down in severe pain. This movie screams of a comic book feel. Fight scenes are stopped in mid-action to emphasize the form and the impact of the blows, the color and framing of each shot is reminiscent of comics as well. It emphasizes Choi Baedal's super-heroish qualities. The storyline is very interesting, although it runs a little long. Overall, its a very beautiful film to watch. Its great to see a movie really focus on the philosophies and ideas of martial arts rather than just the fighting itself. It also deals with the fears mindset of a fighter. Its VERY sad, and can sometimes come off as corny, but the overall emotional impact is there. Watch it, and remember, its NOT a pure kung fu beat em up movie and you will enjoy it.

'Paramui Paito (Fighter in the Wind) is based on the events in the life of legendary Korean martial artist Choi Bae-dal. Or more precisely, the film is based on the comic book based on the martial artist's life _ a difference that can be felt throughout this entertaining but factually suspect movie.

The first of a handful of local films about famous Koreans who lived during the Japanese occupation period, ''Fighter in the Wind tells of the early part of Choi¡¯s life, how he sneaked into Japan in the late 1930s in hopes of becoming a pilot, joined the martial arts community there, and after training by himself in the mountains for 18 months, came down to become the top fighter of that country.

The film offers a seemingly sentimentalized version of the same story, especially playing up the outsider aspect of Choi's experiences, of his being a Korean in Japanese society. Given the story's xenophobic elements, which include evil yakuzas exploiting Koreans, it will be interesting to see how a Japanese audience responds to the film when it gets released there as planned.

''Fighter¡¯s best moments hint at the moral complexity of films like ''Raging Bull,¡¯¡¯ Martin Scorcese¡¯s boxing masterpiece. At first, Choi¡¯s motivation to become Japan¡¯s best seems to be connected to righting injustices felt by Koreans in Japan, but as he travels to martial arts schools enduring punishment after punishment, it becomes less clear as to what he is trying to prove.

But such insights are all too brief in the film, which is so heavy on the melodrama and action that it's difficult to take too seriously. By the end, the story resembles a kung fu film from Hong Kong, complete with a geisha girlfriend (Ara Hirayama), who tries to turn Choi into a lover not a fighter, and elder statesmen of the Japanese martial arts community who will go to any lengths to keep a Korean from becoming Japan's best. It's not the most inventive of plots, but the film keeps it entertaining throughout.

Singer and actor Bi (Rain) was initially cast for the lead role of Choi but had to pull out due to schedule conflicts. It¡¯s a good thing too, for the rail-thin pop singer wouldn¡¯t have been able to take the physical punishment the role required.

Instead, we get Yang Dong-geun, a burly actor who plays the part to near perfection. It¡¯s refreshing to see this young and talented actor take on a substantial role for a change, and he brings to ''Fighter the necessary savagery and physical presence to make it work.