Daeho

On the surface it's about hunting a large tiger. Under the surface the story is really about the resilience of the Korean spirit and the hardships they endured under Japanese occupation. How the Japanese forced many of them to turn against each other, and how families were torn apart.

Ultimately, the spirit of the people and of the homeland on which they were born and stewarded with their lives, wins out and are forever melded together.

In all, a well told story with great scenery shots and some well done CGI.

Were I teaching I would use this hugely entertaining Korean film to discuss story elements such as man vs man; man vs the environment; man vs himself.... I am sure there is at least one more component. Set in Northern Korea, with Japan occupying this small country, in 1925, Japanese and Koreans, military and civilian forces have their own, and varied reasons why, and why not to hunt down the one remaining tiger.

There are really only six characters of note in this film lasting 135 minutes before end credits. Father and son; the leader of the Korean hunters and his lieutenant; and one Japanese General and his Korean aide. The seventh and title character is The Tiger. The humans are so ably played and stereotyping avoided that it is surprise, the tiger is so immediately and continually seen as real, with feelings, and actions determined by emotions that we, the audience, can help but root for the tiger.

The Koreans know how to tell a story; they know how to pull out all the stops, and very often they take their story somewhere you were not expecting. A film like THE TIGER: AN OLD HUNTER'S TALE also benefits from the usual stellar photography, so we believe the location and how dangerous it is; and then with the music it is never over the top; needless and repetitive loud and signifying nothing.

THE TIGER is a film the makers can be proud of. I wish more foreign language films got a wider release, and Korean film especially because I have lost count of their varied and fascinating successes since I saw JSA, MEMORIES OF MURDER, and others, until I lucked out and found MUSA (the North America DVD suffers by losing a half hour or so of running time).

Rousing; uplifting and tragic; with the final sequence telling you, the audience what you might have already figure out. Great viewing.

Thanks for reading, Simon In BC, Canada

Inspite of owning a dvd of this movie, i kept on delaying to play it.

Man, what a shameful mistake i did.

Jus saw this epic movie recently n i am in love with this movie.

Unlike The Ghost and the Darkness, this one is more than just a creature film.

The father son relationship is amazing n well complimented by top notch acting.

The cinematography is splendid. The mountains, the forest, the snow, the fog, the trees and the dry grasslands, etc. All these images are captivating n characters themselves.

The flashbacks of Man-duk's and the tiger's early lives during happier times is poignant.

Hoon-jung Park (New World fame) is a director who seems really keen with details. As we watch The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale (2015), we witness a haunting tale of suppression and agony.

An old hunter Chun Man-duk (Min-sik Choi) lives with his 16-year-old son and takes care of him. Kingdom of Korea is rules by Japanese and they are hunting for the tigers in the mountains in extreme cold. Due to some events and turns, Man-duk has to return for hunting.

The screenplay is written perfectly and narration is astounding, however, one could deduce that movie is little long and some of the scenes could have been chopped easily to make it more crisp. It packs the real punch and throw it to the audience, we have a lot of tense moments which are truly crafted.

Technically, the movie is impeccable, the CGI is mesmerizing because scenes with animals never looked like CGI, a lot of attention has been given to the details.

Cinematography is exhilarating, each scene has been captured beautifully, the horror of wilderness and harshness of icy terrain will be in your mind even after long.

We cannot comment on Min-sik Choi acting skills as he has been there and done that effortlessly, here he again leaves an impression on our hearts as an anxious father. The casting is just incredible; everyone is a perfect cut-out for the role, they did it wonderfully.

A good movie with few shortcomings.

7.5/10

The special effects done in this movie by a Korean graphics firm (which also worked on Mr. Go) was on par with or better than many Hollywood CGI movies. I was impressed and touched by stunning visual of treacherous winter mountain in old Korea and sad and desperate struggle of its last wild tiger. I have to warn you this is an extremely sad movie. The tiger in this movie looks more mythical (resembles old korean painting of a tiger) than the one in life of PI which was also cgi-made. I recommend this movie to animal lovers, nature and adventure enthusiast, and Asian history and culture fans. more realistic and geared towards mature audience than Disney / Hollywood movies involving man vs wild.