Jopog manura

"My Wife is a Gangster" (aka "Jopog manura") is an entertaining movie, as it has a good amount of action and a good amount of offbeat humor in it. And it is also spiced up with a good, wholeheartedly storyline.

The story in the movie is about Cha Eun-jin, a female gangster boss, whom is forced to live out her dying sisters last wish; that being to see her married. And while having no suitable romances, her henchmen are sent out to find a man for her to marry. She ends up tying the knot with a man unknowing of her true nature and line of work.

There is a good amount of action throughout the movie, with the fight sequences being quite nicely choreographed. And the action part of "My Wife is a Gangster" is a necessary aspect to the movie, as this is a gangster movie, after all.

And there is also a good amount of comedy throughout the course of the movie, especially in the parts where Cha Eun-jin has to become feminine and let go of her rugged, masculine, gangster mentality. And the situation with the gangster wife and the unsuspecting husband also does incur some hilarious moments.

What works in favor of the movie is the characters, as they are detailed, memorable and outstanding; and that goes from the main characters and right down to the goons in the gangster family. Lots of nice details and colorful characters throughout the movie. And actress Eun-Kyung Shin does a good job in the lead role.

"My Wife is a Gangster" is a good movie for an introduction to the wonderful world of the South Korean cinema, if you are not already familiar with it. It is an entertaining movie and can actually been watched more than once. I have seen it three times by now, since I stumbled upon the movie somewhere back in the mid-2000's.

First, let me explain that I don't speak or comprehend Korean. I also watched the only available version of this film, which just happens to be with Korean audio and no subtitles. Also, my knowledge of Korean history is pretty sparse, but serves me well enough.

With the caveats aside, I enjoyed this film as well as one can without understanding any of the dialog. I agree with the other reviewers who say this film is a good mix of action, drama, and comedy. Obviously, the action translates just fine. I understood a great deal of the comedy and was surprised to be able to get most of the dramatic happenings. That said, most of the drama was lost on me, I was only able to understand the basic gist of it.

This did not stop me from enjoying the film. I was surprised at how similar this film was to a Hollywood offering. The 'wife' does action well and the closing scene was a good laugh. Maybe if I understood the dialog I would have seen it coming, but it was a funny surprise to me. The hip-hop closing credit song surprised me. Funny how flexible western culture can be. I can understand how people of other nationalities can feel they are being 'invaded' and sense a loss of their own culture. Perhaps if I watch it again, the combination of reading other's reviews and having seen it once, I would get a lot more from it.

I am just starting to get into writing reviews and look forward to doing many more.

Separated during childhood both "Cha Eun-Jin" (Eun-Kyung Shin) and her older sister Yu-Jin (Eung-Kyung Lee) have tried to find each other ever since. Unfortunately, when Eun-Jin finally does find her sister she discovers that Yu-Jin has an advanced form of cancer and doesn't have long to live. Wanting to keep her sister's spirits up Eun-Jin hastily agrees to getting married despite the fact that she is an assassin for a local mob and has no interest in anything except her chosen profession. Since time is of the essence she pretty much has to settle for whoever will have her and in that regard she ends up marrying a man named "Kang Su-Il" (Sang-Myeon Park) who at first sight doesn't appear to be much of a catch. However, Yu-Jin sees him for the good man that he is and then as a dying request asks Eun-Jin to try to get pregnant. Yet Eun-Jin still has her profession to think of and the last thing she needs is a husband and a child. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie I will just say that this action film could just as easily be listed as a comedy because there are several hilarious scenes throughout the movie. On that note some of the comedy is a little raunchy but all things considered it wasn't too bad overall. In any case, I rate this movie as slightly above average.

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.

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.