Asura: A Cidade da Corrupção

I wanna say one thing first, It's the first film that created such a cult boom like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)" among South Korean moviegoers. That is enough value for this film in the South-Korean film industry. I will write down a more detailed review later.

I love these Japanese ultra violent films. They're great, aren't they, and a lot of blood gets spilt in this involving cop corruption crime. Only it's a lot of what I've seen before, with our lead, a bad cop who's walking a tight rope, gets in over his head, having to deal with Internal Affairs, and a corrupt mayor, where basically we know how his fate will ensue at the end of this two, quarter hour movie. Not only this, his wife is dying too, so we can sees little, the why's of his corrupt actions like beating a witness, lowlife, half to death, after accidentally sending a cop, going off a building when a fence gives way. We could of had better acting too, and script, some subtitles, I couldn't believe I was reading. I wasn't surprised again to see a car chase in this either, though that one in that great action film, The Raid 2, surpasses this, making this seem small fry. The first shot of the film, where the same shots used a couple of times, paints a bleak, barren city, as if it's a slum, even though an attracting shot. The actor, playing the mayor probably gives the only real standout performance. He's one suave son of a bitch. Not without interest, definitely. It just didn't rise to other films, or past what I've just said.

Asura city's foundations are completely mired in madness, just like the rest of humanity. The only difference is - Asura doesn't bother to hide it. The city has no rules at its foundation except the basest of human nature, exposed. That is its truth, its mystery and its unknown law. What every other city calls "order" is an attempt to impose something comprehensible and workable.

When you realize this, only one things can be worse - that everyone else also realizes this - that all their purpose is full of craziness and at bottom, utterly illogical. Together they bring out the worst in each other. Every diabolical villany is accounted for - in full, shameless display through snarling contempt and nonchalant ultraviolence.

Start at the very bottom of our base nature and progressively work downwards from there into the abyss. Relentlessly finding untraceable paths that are successively worse than the last, leading to only one conclusion.

You wanted to accept everything. Now accept that groups of men are so completely mad, that should their veil of civility be lifted, they are dancing with each in the darkest places of hell. Asura lifts that veil. Asura is a bonfire of all vanities - and the bigger the fire grows - the more darkness is revealed.

Genius yes, because the difference between insanity ahd genius lies in how others accept your insanity. Korean films are 1000 years ahead of Hollywood and 500 years ahead of European cinema.

The world of Asura is well explained, this is due to the groups and hierarchies that we see during the plot that is involved by the characters

-it's essential to a mafia movie, where the protagonist lives a constant duality that ends up making his morals take a back seat, sometimes focused on his feelings, but even with his experience he proves to be someone out of control and with ambition dependent on the course of his life, Han's complexion is complex and well developed we can be sure that jung woo sung has given himself 100% to the role with every one of his expressions/semblances/rises/ you see him making an effort at all times.

-prefect is ironic but a little predictable, the director gave the character this archetype to give us the feeling of being unpredictable but being able to know what he's up to in the future could have given a little more refinement to his appearances and background, but still Hwang did a decent job that at least makes us see him as an audacious villain

-But the highlight is the final 50% of the film where, incredibly, we see the best of the entire cast. This is once again due to the fate that the direction gave to the conclusion of the film, which demanded acting, expressions, fear, anguish, cowardice, mercy, regret and total mourning in a Tarantino style, but with slightly darker tones of color, but with too much of a wine red counterpoint!

-A phrase that the narrative always leaves at the beginning of the film and goes on until the grand finale is " There will be blood"

Annam Korea is the backdrop for this noir-esque masterfully shot crime thriller. Caught in a catch 22 of violence and deception, abuse begets abuse in the dog-eat-dog world of Asura: The City of Madness, where corruption is the day to day of cops and politicians.

Asian cinema is on a whole other level in terms of artful violence.