The Chaser

With this début, Na Hong-Jin established in one fell swoop his name worldwide as a super-hard thriller filmer. The ambiance is absolutely Korean, with as most important trump cards the stubborn yet engaging characters, plenty of physical violence and a sweltering slum in Seoul in summer.
Former police detective Jun-Ho, sacked years ago for corruption, runs a small and failing escort service. When he encourages a flu-ridden prostitute to replace a colleague and she disappears just like her predecessors, he is forced to take up his old detective work again. He thinks that someone is stealing his women and goes looking for a competitor. When a culprit is found but there is no trace of the victims, a race against the clock starts. The woman who disappeared must be found before the psychopath's 12-hour custody ends.
Na tells a meandering story filled with whimsical suspense. Most tension comes from the corrupt, indifferent and harsh police force, all too well known to Jun-Ho. The motives and behaviour of the ex-cop himself are anything but spotless. This realism inevitably introduces social commentary to The Chaser. The film also is different in construction from the classic thriller, in which the culprit remains unknown until the very end and there is an obvious difference between good and evil. A confident high point in the grim policier genre. (GT)