Gong-mo-ja-deul

I went into this one having no idea what to expect from it. The first half an hour confused me. Things moved to the ship and it became intensely suspenseful, not necessarily in a fun kind of way, but in more of a disturbing/distasteful way. This is the kind of film that just gets better and better as it goes on and by the time of the multiple twists at the climax, I was loving it. Darker than darker, unconventional and always surprising, it is convoluted at times but that doesn't stop it from being a great little movie.

Traffickers is a 2012 Korean suspense thriller. It's got its problems, but it is workable & you'll likely keep watching it unless you're too squeamish for this sort of thing.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Here's your story: A band of smugglers reluctantly gets back together to do what they do best (and what makes them the most money), which is extracting and selling human organs on the Asian black market. They accomplish this task via their preferred method of arranging for an unsuspecting organ "donor" to take a cruise ship from Korea to China. During the journey, the gang harvests what they need from the unlucky target, disposes of the evidence, sell the goods in China, then return home for the payday. Things don't always go as planned though, and this trip will clearly not be without serious repercussions for many of those on board.

The movie begins with a short flashback scene that somewhat explains why these smugglers got out of this nasty business in the first place. Then, the rest of the movie takes place in the present where the main characters are slowly introduced & expounded upon through the first part of the film. The story does its best to make you identify with these people and those around them as best it can, and, it does this fairly well actually (although, at the end of the day, it is awfully hard to root for people who are killing other people in order to slice & dice them up for profit). For better or worse though, the ship has soon set sail, and we're underway towards the business end of this flick.

I guess you could say this film is somewhat graphic, but you'll see/probably have seen far worse. There are no explicit scenes of organs being ripped out, but the blood does occasionally flow, and there are a couple of boobs + perversion shots here and there. This is not a horror/gore film though, as it squarely has its sights on belonging to the suspense genre of films. It also contains a number of twists and turns as it goes along (some of which are predictable and some unexpected) until, and long after, it reaches is climax. And (SUPER SPOILERS), in typical Korean movie making fashion for a film of this nature, things probably aren't going to end very well for most of the characters involved with this story when all is said and done.

This whole endeavor is helped considerably by the main cast members; there's a good deal of recognizable talent in front of the camera, and they all put in the solid work you would expect. The story is not half bad either, and, this movie is indeed entertaining and does quite a number of things well. Somewhere in all of this is a really, really good flick to be had. Alas, there's ultimately just too much emphasis placed on playing up every conceivable story angle possible to make this a streamlined MUST SEE film. If they had cut that stuff down by 50% or so though, and this thing would have been near awesome. Nevertheless, I often love me some suspenseful melodramatic brutality (Korean style), and this movie certainly delivers on that front.

Bottom Line: While clearly not without flaws, I found this movie to be a worthwhile diversion if you're into this sort of thing. I feel it's in the 6-7 star range when taken as a whole. I'll give it 7 stars because I am kind (and drunk, again). Anybody want my liver & kidneys after (and NOT before) I die?

Traffickers (2012) (Korean Thriller) - This is a divisive film, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

A former human organ trafficker is coerced out of retirement. His target is a crippled woman on a boat to China, but her husband is determined to save her. This is well-acted, engaging, suspenseful, bloody, and throws out some of the most insane surprises in recent memory. Now, some viewers will write this film off as being somewhat outlandish, but I personally think that it works very well (it may take multiple viewings to properly assess whether or not it all makes sense). Some events also feel like contrivances at first, but most of these are cleared up as the film progresses. The entire second half is riveting. Even if the viewer doesn't buy what the script is selling, this is worth checking out. Just be prepared to love it or hate it.

While "Traffickers" ("Gong-mo-ja-deul") is not the brightest moment in Korean cinema, it is neither the darkest. This movie is the type of movie that will have to simmer for a little while as it sinks in, because it is a movie that gives you something to think about.

As such, then "Traffickers" may not appeal to just everyone in the audience, and can be something of an acquired taste.

The story is about a group of people who deal in illegally obtained organs taken from people against their will, with deadly results.

While there are many different layers to the story here, it does seem a little bit out of place, and as if director Hong-seon Kim is trying a little bit too much, and not fully accomplishing what set out for. However, as the movie progress, what previously didn't make much sense or came off as being strange and out of place, starts to make sense as the pieces of the puzzle start to come together. With a movie that works in this manner, perhaps a second viewing is to be done in order to fully grasp the whole thing.

The acting in the movie was good, and there was a great flow to the story, although it just didn't always make much sense at first.

It should be said that there are some fairly brutal and visually macabre scenes throughout the movie. But for a movie of this caliber and genre, it is a necessity. But be warned, some might find it a bit appalling.

"Traffickers" is enjoyable, although two hours were pushing the boundaries a little bit, and the movie would have fared better with a bit cut out in the editing here and there. And while things portrayed in the movie may or may not actually take place in the world, then "Traffickers" does give something to think about. So if you sit down with the intend to watch this movie on autopilot, you might be better off with something else, perhaps with a movie that doesn't really require conscious thought.