The Movie: The DMZ (데스트랩)
The Director: Oh In-chun
The Cast: Joo Min-ha, Kim Joon-seob, Hirota Masami
The Story: A female police officer steps on a land mine while chasing an escaped prisoner through the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
The Review:
After watching last year's release Wol-ha: Very Bad Moon Rising I was very interested to see what director Oh In-chun would be coming up with next. First off, I love the fact that the entire movie is filmed in one location and they use every inch of it to great effect. I was most impressed with the camera work as all kinds of techniques were employed which made for a nice variety of angles and perspectives to keep the viewers engaged. There is definitely an independent spirit embedded into the film that, to me, adds to the quality of the storytelling.
In the lead role, Joo Min-ha has the toughest task of most screen time and doing pretty much everything from the exact same spot. The emotion, desperation, all come through nicely yet she is still able to project her character as a very smart and capable officer who is able to navigate difficult situations and extreme danger. I would really like to see this character in more stories as she could be a very strong female presence which has become a very important aspect of the movie industry.
The only other characters in the movie are played by Kim Joon-seob, who is the on the run criminal, and Hirota Masami, who is a very mysterious woman who might be a spy or some other type of villainous character. There are very subtle hints from these characters and other parts of the story that we are seeing just a small glimpse of a bigger battle of good versus evil which also makes me want to see more from this world.
The Verdict:
The DMZ is a very well thought out movie that I enjoyed from beginning to end. The story is intense yet has a bit of comedy to keep things balanced and the cast puts in a lot of effort to get the most out of their performances.
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