Nowhere to Hide

I saw Nowhere to Hide for the first time just 2 nights ago. I recently discovered the wonders of Korean cinema and I purchased it sight-unseen based on what I had heard about the film. After viewing it I've decided that it's a film in search of a loftier goal.

Visually, Nowhere to Hide is a stunning film. I'm tempted to call it experimental since the goal seems to have been more of an experiment in motion rather than a basic action film. From the opening black and white scene to the ending fight set to that "Holiday(?)" song, NtH is true poetry in motion creating an incredible atmosphere through motion.

Unfortunately I feel that the director, Myung-se Lee, sacrificed artistic storytelling for artistic visuals. The film is as average story-wise as it is beautiful visually with its standard "cops search for killer" plot that never goes beyond the standard fare. It helps that Joon-Hoon Park conveys such an interesting character but I felt that the film still lagged through the middle half.

In the end, despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed Nowhere to Hide. As it stands, NtH is certainly worth seeing at least once but, with more focus on plot, it could have been so much more.

"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.

Was BLOWN AWAY by the visuals - as pretty much everyone else seems to have been - but now that I want to buy it on DVD, it appears there are 2 versions: running time is either 97 min or 112 min. That is a BIG difference, and could go some way to explaining some of the negative comments above - ? You'll remember those seminal scenes for a looong time. Anyone who loves CINEMA should make a point of seeing it.

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.

That's the rating this film has received so far?! I guess this really is a love-it-or-hate-it film; but I watched it twice in two nights without the benefit of English subtitles, that should tell you something. Even without understandable dialogue it's funny, exciting, and even a bit challenging. It's nice to see a film with artistic merit that isn't afraid to be entertaining. The film's unusual fight scenes are really something to see; at times it appears that the director just let the actors fight while the camera ran, sometimes for up to a minute at a time without any cuts. I can't recommend it enough. I imagine being able to understand it could only be an improvement.