2009: Lost Memories

2009 LOST MEMORIES (2002): Fantastic action thriller set in an deliberately-created alternate future in which Korea is just another Japanese state, and Koreans have largely lost their identity. A Korean-blooded, Japanese-named cop slowly realizes that the terrorists he's paid to wipe out are actually Korean freedom-fighters trying to restore the timeline to its proper state.

This film gets slagged nearly everywhere, so I defend it whenever possible. It's a big, loud, arguably overblown "blockbuster" that deals with a very sensitive subject: Korean identity. People have, I believe, unfairly examined and criticized this film on two fronts:

one, it's inherent patriotism, which is an element of Korean cinema that seems to alienate so many non-Korean viewers and yet is a fundamental part of the culture, probably more so than in any other Asian country (let alone much of the world). And two, the historical events behind its "science fiction," which nearly everybody I've read gets wrong. The key plot device of the film is NOT simply that Japan won World War II, but that the legendary Korean patriot Ahn Chung-gun FAILED in his assassination of Japanese foreign minister Ito Hirobumi in China in 1909 (thus, sort of, the point of the title being 100 years later). This single event is extremely important to the Korean culture and not only is their a gigantic memorial named after Ahn, but also a form of Tae Kwon Do. Looking these two names up on the internet greatly aids in understanding the deeper messages this film offers. I give it a 9.

This movie is the newest success of the rising Korean film industry. It's got drama, plot, action, emotions, and nice acting all rolled into one, on the background of a fantastical assumption on a twist of real history.

Note on the title. The setting is the year 2009, and the film is based on the assumption that Korea is still a colony of Japan, as it had been for the past 100 years, because a single assassination attempt back in 1909, which succeeded in real life, failed and changed the whole course of history for the past 100 years in this alternative story. A Korean-born special agent tries to set the history right, and his colleague, a Japanese-born and a friend of his, tries to stop him.

Although made in Korea, dialogues are about 70% Japanese, and you have to have some knowledge in the history of the two countries to fully understand this movie, but the setting and basis is very imaginative and fascinating, that anybody can appreciate it. The two stars of the movie, Dong-Kun Jang and Toru Nakamura, who are Korean and Japanese in real life, are very fine, and make up a nice team. The action scenes, which are plenty in this movie, are nicely choreographed and serve to contribute to the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The Korean film industry is growing, so the next time you catch a Korean movie, it could be this one!

An interesting opening and superb ending make up for a few less than stellar plot transitions as Lost Memories is one Action Drama that I won't soon forget. The music really complements this film and allows the slow motion sequences to make an impact. As for action its fairly standard and the acting is good but not award caliber. A solid Action drama with a few brief Science Fiction moments. Mixing Both Japanese (mostly the first half) and Korean the rest of the way, Lost Memories2009 is amongst a growing wave of multicultural/national Pan Asian films that could find an audience outside of Asia with a bit more exposure.

If a 100 is Perfect 81/100

LOST MEMORIES is the second South Korean time travel movie I have seen. I don't know if there has been others, but I'm only familiar with this one and the romance IL MARE.

Time travel movies are risky, and the plot invariably gets badly convoluted in an attempt to explain everything. Some films just ignore explanations, but the good ones take the chance. LOST MEMORIES uses a more "parallel world" angle, but it's still all about time travel.

Don't let the South Korea/Japan collaboration fool you. The film is all South Korean, with nearly every single Japanese character coming across as incredibly evil. Cartoonishly so, in fact. If not for this, I would have given LOST MEMORIES a better grade. AS it stands, it's just too cartoonish, too crude, and too loud for its own good. Also, the music is quite terrible.

The best part of the film is the leading male, who seems to be channeling Chow Yun Fat. An incredible starring turn, and I look forward to seeing him in other movies.

6 out of 10.

The year is 2009, but it's a 2009 in an alternate history to ours, where Japan fought with the US in World War II and won... and still occupies and controls Korea. Most Koreans have accepted the state of affairs after 100 years, but there is still a small band of terrorists/freedom fighters that want to see Korea regain independence.

Our hero is a cop of Korean descent who now works in the Japanese Beaureau Of Investigation, comfortable socialising with Japanese friends and speaking the language as default. After a major attack on an exhibition centre, however, he begins to investigate the terrorists to understand their motives. As he finds out more about their fight, he begins to question the legitimacy of Japanese occupation, and starts to feel the Korean blood flowing stronger in his veins.

Clearly inspired by the box office success of SHIRI in 1999, the producers of 2009: LOST MEMORIES have conspired to produce a slick action thriller with production values that compete fairly well with Hollywood productions of only a few years back. Like SHIRI, the trade off for absorbing some of Hollywood's virtues seems to be acquiring some of its vices too - chiefly, a shallow script with major plot holes and a certain amount of xenophobia. These qualities are worse in 2009 than SHIRI, and to be fair worse than the better Hollywood productions too.

The script for 2009: LOST MEMORIES can hardly be called strong, but it is interesting and not overly predictable, despite the presence of large amounts of cheese (which maybe explains why it's so full of holes?). I did find myself checking the time quite frequently as I watched, but I got through all 130 minutes of the film without feeling too bored. It would have been much harder to say this if it weren't for the action scenes, however, which are of a very high calibre. There are just enough scenes of cool Hong Kong style gunplay to qualify 2009: LM as one of the better action movies of recent years. Also one of the more violent action movies - the body count is huge, and there is no hesitation about showing the damage a bullet can do to the human body.

The production values are mostly very high - some great sets and props (many of which get severely destroyed in the gun fights). Good cinematography, though that hardly needs mentioning for a Korean film these days. The soundtrack is perhaps a little OTT, but then so is the melodrama in the script. Acting is acceptable, though no performance approaches "great".

Overall I was rather disappointed with the film, having heard so many very positive opinions expressed about it. I liked the action, but felt the script could have been a lot better. It's a little too much like a Hollywood movie, which was probably what the producers were aiming for, but isn't what I want when I watch a Korean film. It's bound to be a film that people will be talking about a lot, and may influence the direction of the Korean industry, so any fan of Korean cinema should probably watch it if they haven't already