Mong-ta-joo

One thing that surprise me about movies coming out of South Korea is the huge amount of revenge movies there are. It's not a handful of movies, there are dozens of movies. I think maybe half the South Korean movies I have seen have some sort of revenge theme.

This movie is riveting and like a murder mystery it sets all the pieces in places so that can pick them up and examine them.

Even then though, when you think you know what's going on there's a dawning realization that you've been wrong as the plot comes to fruition and the real truth comes to light.

It's a great movie with a magic ending and well worth the watch.

If you have seen a lot of kidnapping movies (The Man from Nowhere, Mercy, Taken), Montage is just about the same.

BUT, the story is well-presented and answers all the questions. It kind of refreshing to have such a clear ending.

The story tells us how a mother of a lost child is dealing with her lost and never lose hope to look for justice. And also the detective who's having a hard time accepting the fact that the criminal slipped of his hand.

Eom Jeong-hwa and Kim Sang-kyung performance were unquestionably good. Eom had played the same role before and so did Kim.

Overall, I give a 9 because it's been a while since I saw a kidnapping movie and I'm glad that it doesn't make me stop midway and start thinking "Where have I seen this before?".

Totally worth your time.

I am so happy that I watched this movie ...

Not only just the great story, great acting, and great directing. This movie somehow move you at some point. I was blown away by how this story well written and put some message in it. At the end I was shed a tears and share deep feeling with main character when she hugged the tree and call her daughter's name as well as when the kidnapper told his story. I mean WOW ... some movie like this is very rare ... so you should see it for yourself.

I praised the writer ... director and actors ... to bring the gems into cinema. BRAVO

This is my first review after rating thousands of movies. I'm very found of Korean movies after watching Oldboy several years ago. However, this is not a mainstream Korean movie, at least not in countries like Greece. Mont-ta-joo is a surprise for me since it is not as popular as other Korean movies (oldboy, memories of a murder, madeo etc.) but it is a great movie!

The plot of the movie is ingenious with several upsets and with great acting (and not overacting). During the whole movie I could not take my eyes from the TV, trying to realize who could the kidnapper be. This is not just another kidnapping movie; it presents the drama of the victim and her agony, while it reveals slowly evidence about the conclusion of the case keeping tension at high levels during the whole movie. It also presents the investigators of the case as real people making mistakes and being affected by the victims.

Debut project from the director/writer, another in the long line of Korean 'new wave' crime dramas.

Film opens with the premise that an unsolved murder case is about to be closed after 15 years without progress -- reaching a 'statue of limitations'. Two police detectives are forced to notify the mother they will be ceasing the investigation of her young daughter. With a few days to investigate, the detectives uncover some potential last- minute leads and rush to track down the killer. Meanwhile, the still- distraught, but resourceful, mother discovers some clues of her own. Do either routes succeed, before time runs out?

This all then leads into the bulk of the film, an investigation into the kidnapping of another child. As the story progresses, themes of guilt and redemption emerge, mixed in with complications that impede the investigation. Slowly and suspensefully, details emerge during present day alongside flash-back revelations.

Solid acting all around, albeit some overwrought melodrama intermittently spliced in.

Most of the movie felt relatively fresh, despite borrowing from familiar Western crime dramas from over the decades.

Recommended