Janggun-ui adeul

Der Film folgt der Karriere des in Südkorea legendären Rebellen gegen die japanische Okkupation, des Mobsters und späteren Abgeordneten Kim Du-han. In den koreanischen Gangs, die sich mit den Yakuza um den Seouler Distrikt Jong-no – quasi das Herz eines freien Korea – bekriegen, steigt er dank seiner Kampfkünste steil auf: vom zerlumpten, schüchternen Kleinganoven zum eleganten, unangefochtenen Kopf der Bande. Mit Kim Du-han steht im Zentrum dieses filmischen Wirbels aus Action und patriotischem Widerstandsepos freilich weniger ein skrupelloser Gangster Scorsese’scher Prägung als ein koreanischer Robin Hood mit großem Herzen für die Armen. (Barbara Kronsfoth)

By the time Im Kwon-taek directed JANGGUN-UI ADEUL (The General’s Son) in 1990, 18 years—and 40 films—had passed since he had last made an action film. Having developed a more contemplative aesthetic style that brought him increasing international recognition as one of Korea’s foremost directors, Im’s return to genre with his 93rd feature—and his first number one hit—came as a surprise to many. Its subject taps into a form of contemporary Korean folklore surrounding one of the country’s key post-war figures. Kim Du-han became Korea’s most legendary gangster, in part because his colourful “autobiography”, which celebrated his rise through the street gangs in colonial Seoul’s colourful Jongno district, formed the basis for a constant stream of popular comics and movies; the nation seemingly preferred patriotic myth over historical truth. Im Kwon-taek’s dynamic and entertaining contribution to the gangster subgenre takes its title from the (not undisputed) fact that Du-han’s father was an anarchist general fighting the Japanese occupiers in Manchuria before he was murdered—thereby suggesting that the Korean gangsters at home were freedom fighters of a similar kind. (Gerwin Tamsma) 

Im Kwon-taek: FAREWELL DUMAN RIVER (1962), FEMME FATALE, JANG HEE-BIN (1968), THE GENEALOGY (1978), THE HIDDEN HERO (1980), MANDALA (1981), GILSODDEUM (1985), SEOPYEONJE (1993), CHUNHYANG (2000), PAINTED FIRE (2002), BEYOND THE YEARS (2007)