Director: Lee Jeong Ho.
Starring: Jeong Jae Yeong, Lee Sung Min, Seo Joon Yeong, Lee Soo Bin, Lee Joo Seung, Choi Sang Wook.
Running Time: 122 minutes.
Synopsis: A father seeks revenge against the boys who raped and killed his daughter.
Not only is this yet another South Korean revenge thriller, but it’s also the third Korean adaptation of Japanese novelist Keigo Higashino’s work, following INTO THE WHITE NIGHT and PERFECT NUMBER. Based on his novel The Hovering Blade, it’s a book that has already been adapted in Japan in 2009 under the title of novel. Lee Jeong Ho doesn’t let that affect his work in any way, shape or form though. This is clearly an adaptation of the novel and not a remake of the already existing film. There are unavoidable similarities, but the way each director has approached each scene has a clear fingerprint.
The initial set-up of the plot is very simple and will have most audiences questioning whether this is a Korean revenge thriller they have already seen or not. A widowed father, Lee Sang Hyeon (Jeong Jae Yeong), finds himself in a living hell after his daughter is found raped and murdered. BROKEN deals with things a bit differently, though. This isn’t so much a story of revenge, as it is one of punishment. Every character, from the conflicted police detectives to the mothers of the young rapists/now murder victims, have a view on where juvenile delinquency ends and adult crime begins. There are constant debates between the police officers as to whether it is justice to let Sang Hyeon complete his revenge, or whether the two and a half to seven-year sentences the boys face are really acceptable.
It’s these issues that take the film along a different path. There is nothing exploitative or enjoyable in this film, as it’s the drama which anchors everything down. After Sang Hyeon kills his first daughter’s attacker, the rest of the film follows him tracking down the next culprit. Those expecting a roaring rampage of revenge will be sorely disappointed in how subtle the film actually is. Rather than a list of people to knock off in inventive ways, Sang Hyeon finds himself confused and wandering through a frozen landscape as his physical condition gradually deteriorates.
BROKEN certainly wants to elicit discussion and get the viewer involved. In one emotionally draining moment lead detective Eok Gwan (Lee Sung Min) visits a boy once put away for murdering a friend. Now free and enjoying a game of basketball, the boy and Eok Gwan sit down for a chat. Like many scenes throughout the film, we’re left both thinking and furiously angry. Anger is an emotion that Lee Jeong Ho magnificently passes over to the audience to experience in tandem with the characters. During one police meeting it is observed how “Children killing adults doesn’t make the news anymore, but adults killing children…”, clearly asking if anyone capable of such crimes should ever be considered a child.
With stunning performances – most notably from destroyed father Jeong – BROKEN hits many uncomfortable notes. There are moments where the film struggles for a satisfactory climax and relies a bit on convenience and melodrama to push things forward, but otherwise this is a thoughtful attempt at tackling what has become South Korea’s trademark genre overseas.
[usr=4] BROKEN is released in LA’s CGV Cinema on Friday 9th May, 2014.
