Mong-ta-joo

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.

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.

Child kidnap genre has been the most sought after in South Korean cinema, however, Korean writer director Jung Geun Sub makes his debut with "Montage", adding one more thriller orbiting around the child kidnap.

It has Uhm Jung Hwa ("Bestseller 2010") in the lead, playing a mother trying to solve the mystery of her daughter's murder before the statute of limitations expires, Kim Sang Kyung ("The Tower", "Memories of Murder") and Song Young Chang ("Nameless Gangster") play detectives. Ha Kyung (Uhm Jung Hwa) whose young daughter is kidnapped and killed, the perpetrator never being caught in the face of the best efforts of detective Chung Ho (Kim Sang Kyung. After 15 years, just five days before the statute of limitations and the case is about to be closed, Chung Ho finds a recently placed white flower at the crime scene, a location known only to Ha Kyung, the police and the killer. As the two of them race against time to revisit the case and follow the new clues, another girl is snatched under very similar circumstances under the nose of her grandfather Han Chul (Song Young Chang), making the search for the murderer even more desperate.

We have recently seen the statute of limitations' portrayal in Confession of Murder 2012 with some high octane action and utmost thrilling elements. However, "Montage" takes an entirely diverse screenplay which distinguishes it from an occasional thriller. Director, Jung Geun Sub keeps the action tone to a low level and weaves the suspense and hard hitting emotional drama. Story is real strength of movies, which is presented proficiently and characters' graphs have been crafted carefully, all the revelations are perfectly timed with weaving in different character perspectives and their investigations, showing a nicely judged use of flashbacks. The statute of limitations has been used immaculately with deeper and more satisfying frames, the film building up to a powerful twist that a lot of viewers won't see coming.

The narrative and main characters are quite conclusive with dramatic and emotional weight. As a débutante, Jung holds viewers' nerves and keeps the stress construction on a high level throughout the film minutes also it makes us sympathize with each and every character. Though the film has a distinct lack of action or violence, it's far more gripping than many other outings which substitute pointless set pieces for substance. Great performances from the leads also help, in particular the excellent Uhm Jung Hwa, as does the general lack of melodrama and pointless tears, the film coming to a rewarding and mature yet quiet conclusion that hits hard and true.

"Montage" ultimately translates itself into a surprising and different kind of thriller which keeps itself apart from recent clichéd thrillers. It perfectly delivers 120 minutes of enthralling and moving cinema.

A fantastic thriller for lovers of mystery & suspense with a convincing plot, grounded elements of suspense and some great performances. 7.6/10….

It had been a long time since I have seen such a well rounded thriller, where motives are not cliché and predictive. The acting jives extremely well with the dialog (albeit I watched with sub-titles) and the actors were awesome.

The mother's acting was so realistic that in empathizing with her, a layer of understanding is added to the storyline. The story neatly makes a subtle point about the similarity in human motives, and how where you stand in relation to it, determines your perception.

The use of time is very interesting in this movie, like an origami. It starts as a plain paper (linear), but takes on elaborate form. There are a couple of movies where this technique has been used, but in this case, the time/origami texture is seamless.

I am sure the above description might sound abstract and arcane, but if you watch the movie, you will understand what I mean. :)

A gripping and intelligent thriller, a must see.

Nobody does thrillers like the Korean, nobody. If there is a god (it doesn't) he gave a full list of plot twists to Korean people to use it fo 400 years.