After an execution style murder in a popular Seoul area, cock-sure detective Woo and his somewhat more sensitive partner Kim look all over the city for the killer responsible. Myung-Se Lee's Nowhere to Hide is an incredibly stylized action film that's plot is no more than a narrative thread used for the primary purpose of connecting all the various stylized action sequences together. The film uses pretty much every trick in the book to create this wildly exuberant experience that uses a lot of experimental sensibilities. As much as I enjoyed this highly stylized endeavor, the film does go a little overboard at times with slow-motion sequences that become redundant and slow down the experience. On the other hand, Myung-Se Lee's use of still imagery was well-done, slicing these still images into certain scenes of the story which effectively heighten the urgency of the situation. Say what you will about the lack of plot points but it's clear that Myung-Se Lee has a lot of affection for the experience. Lee doesn't keep things painfully serious, even at times making fun of the typical genre conventions. For example there is one fight sequence between Woo and a criminal which takes place on a roof-top at night. As the men fight, Lee simply follows their shadows dancing in the moonlight with music hinting that this fight resembles more a ballet than two men engaged in a fight to the death, with the following interrogation sequence also being quite humorous. Except a few small instances where the film becomes somewhat sentimental to the police officers who spend their lives tracking down criminals, Myung-Se Lee opts to keep the film fast, entertaining and emotionally barren. 6.5/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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