Wild Card

Third Window Films

Web: http://www.thirdwindowfilms.com

Direct Purchase via Amazon UK

Wild Card is an unusual and compelling crime drama which is uniquely Korean and brings together a range of unusual motifs to make a different sort of detective viewing experience. On one level it is a crime drama, where two detectives Bang Je-su and Oh Yeong-dal are investigating a series of brutal murders. These seem to have characteristics of both serial killings (i.e. killings via metal ball) and gang related murders. As each crime unfolds, the brutality increases as does the public panic and the pressure on the department.

At the same time we should not think that Wild Card is just another serial killer/crime story. It is very different from films of similar ilk from the US. In a US film the emphasis would be on the violence with lots of gun action and underworld drama. In this film guns are of lesser significance as Korea tends to have a hard line about the use of firearms and the focus is on the interpersonal relationships between the police during the investigation. Indeed a fascinating subplot is examining the negative view of police using firearms in South Korea and the way in which police need to justify any use of firearms regardless of how dire the circumstances.

This does not mean there are not violence scenes, the climax of the film is rather breathtaking and powerful, however, the emphasis is on the texture and mood of the film, the intelligence of the plot and the development of the characters.

This makes Wild Card an “involving” movie experience; you become interested in the lives of the detectives, their fears, loves and hopes. You stumble with them in their mistakes and celebrate their captures.

All the characters are well developed, the young thugs have their own repugnant nuances and even the lesser significant underworld characters are well depicted if not slightly stereotypical.

Interestingly, the film does not really include a major “love interest” subplot. While Je-su’s attempts a relationship with Chae-young Han, an attractive woman who he meets by checking her ID each night outside her gym and then finally realizing she is a forensics officer, it is not really taken anywhere.

This is an above average crime drama which is an interesting and textured look at the South Korean detective experience, by focusing on the personalities and plot, I found this ended up as a superior crime drama which has a lot to offer.