The Good, The Bad, The Weird

Eastern Eye/Madman

R4 DVD

Korean with English Subtitles

Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, on which this film is obviously based, was an Italian film made in Spain. This film is therefore a South Korean western made in Manchuria based on an Italian film made in Spain. Well, why not? The Koreans have a thriving film industry and seem to have a pretty good try at any genre so I was interested to see how this turned out.

The lead characters are the bounty hunter, the hired killer and the ….raving idiot? They are all searching for a treasure map showing where Alexander the Great buried his fabulous treasure in the Manchurian desert. He must have been a long way off course, but historical accuracy is not a strong point of the film. It is set in the 1930s, a time when Korea was still part of the Japanese empire and the independence movement was just getting started. The Japanese Army also occupied Manchuria since it was a valuable source of raw materials. The Japanese and the Korean Independence movement would like to find the treasure as well. So would a number of gangs of criminals and bandits. The map changes hands many times.

The film has the classic Western touches – a train robbery, cavalry charge, gunfights, explosions and a final showdown in the desert. The heroes, of course, are bulletproof and never get hit, even when taking on machineguns or the Japanese Army. Many scenes owe a lot to other westerns – watch the film closely and see how many you can pick up. All are done with that slightly “wrong” touch that keeps the film funny and makes up for some of the extended violence. And it is a very violent film. The number of people killed by gunfire is far less than those killed by knives. Director Kim Jee-Woon glories in the blood and gore scenes. Some would simply be too long but he interjects little moments of comedy that take the edge off, and then keeps the fight going.

Song Kang-Ho (The Weird) is a good choice for the comedy bits as well as a major protagonist. Although he is a good fighter, his bumbling incompetence leads him into a lot of trouble. Jung Woo-Sung (The Good) is the cold, competent bounty hunter. Of all the characters in the film he is possibly the most believable. Lee Byung-Hyun (The Bad) is the killer. His youthful good looks and well-dressed style make him seem a bit like a fish out of water in a western but he is the perfect contrast with the other two.

One of the strong points of the spaghetti westerns was the dry, dusty realistic scenery. This has carried into this film. The buildings even have the same dried-out, ramshackle, paint-challenged look. Nitpickers will love the film, too. Kim Jee-Woon has happily trampled all over historical accuracy so we have trail bikes, Lee-Enfield rifles, jeeps and so much more. There are many Sergio Leone touches, like the up-the-nostril close-ups. Many other cliché shots are thrown in, like the lone rider silhouetted against the sky.

I loved the film. It’s not intended to be a spoof, just a rollicking good Western in the spaghetti western style. It works well and it’s heaps of fun.

Extras on the R4 version include Behind the Scenes, Cast and Crew interviews, deleted scenes and alternative endings.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.1 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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