During the 30’s in the Mandchourie region, Tae-Goo (”the weird”) steals the mysterious map of a Japanese man which would probably lead to a treasure. Despite the fact that he manages to take the map easily with his gun, the train in which he is travelling is stopped by rascals. Chang Yi, “the bad”, a merciless criminal, tries to stop the weird, without success. The latter runs away but he is purchased by “the good”, Do-Won, a bounty hunter who tracks down outlaws for whom the authorities have put a price on there heads.

Thanks to a particularly crazy screenplay, Kim Jee-Woon only puts back to life the spaghetti western which was made famous in our countries with Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood. Obviously, the title is a tribute to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The Korean cast is a perfect echo to the trio formed by Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef. We have Lee Byung-Hun who is a kind of dandy-killer, paying much attention to his appearance: a lock of hair in front of the eye and a good layer of mascara to give him a deep sight. Playing the weird, it was obvious to find Song Kang-Ho (The Host, Memories of Murder), an actor who manages to mix extreme stupidity à la Benny Hill with emotion and seriousness when there is a need to. Woo Sung is the most discreet (for sure, he is the good) and he gets most of his inspiration from the traditional cow-boy. The whole movie is about discovering who is going to be the cleverest, the faster, and also who is bluffing.

With the exception of some slow moments (to give the time to breathe a little), the movie moves on scenes of action is a complete joy. When Hollywood is always doing more and more things to amaze the audience (more special effects, more guns, more “what the fuck!”), the Korean movie director chooses to reinvent the old scene of action. We see this originality in the construction of the scenes. Instead of going too far with a quick editing and short shots, Kim Jee-Woon gives us sequence shots. They do not particularly last long but where another movie director would have cut, he shows us the action without brake. Theses staging choices are audacious and allow the audience to really take part to the events. Thus, through a window to the other side of the street, we can observe rascals throwing a hook on the roof of a house, where we are standing with the weird. Then, during the same sequence, we can see the rascals jumping thanks to the tightened rope then breaking the window and enter the house. The effect is visually striking and really frightening.

Concerning the “action”, we have our money’s worth. Gun fights never stop and there is always something which makes the film unique. As an example we will give the weird wearing the helmet of a diving gear to protect himself from bullets (a clever wink to the bulletproof vest of A Fistfull of Dollars?). There is also the aerial gun fight which takes place on the roofs with the fighting men using ropes and pulleys to propel themselves in the air. The ballet is amazing and sometimes, the camera seems all the more to be flying at the end of a rope! The climax of the movie is reached during a pursuit in the desert where all the characters are implied: Japanese men with cannon and machine guns, Chinese men on horses, our weird in a sidecar and other men on motorcycles. This happy shambles remains comprehensible and all the more audible thanks to the song “don’t let me be misuntderstood”, which, despite of being in disharmony with the time, really fit with the atmosphere of the scene. This final scene of action remains memorable because we feel like being in Mad Max with more fun! The horses receive cannonballs, the motorcycles collide, the blasts as well as the stunts do not stop; it is a complete show.

The Good, the Bad and the Weird, is not an “author” movie. To do short, it is simply the story of three men who run after the others. Though, it is hard not to like seeing those guys becoming very resourceful in order to find a treasure which is not the one expected, we know that right from the beginning. When searching a little more, we find some lines of thinking and mainly a reflexion about the history of Korea and especially the Japanese supremacy which the country underwent between 1910 and 1945. This difficulty is seen through the weird who emigrated and whose dream is to buy land in his country to rear cattle. The dark and melancholic side of the weird is typical of Kim Jee Woon’s movies and this is a counterpoint to the amazing show of the scenes of action.

Whether it is in 2 Sisters or Bittersweet Life, he always depicts lost souls who fight with their origins and their environment.

The blu-ray version pays very well tribute to the barren landscapes, very detailed. There is only an inner scene which has a strange dark blue grid though the colours should be black. The surround sound is very well used with many detailed effects on the background. The box beam is not very much solicited. Music is emphasized a little and takes part a lot to the entertainment.

Released in the UK by Icon Home Entertainment

Review translated by Camille