Set in the late 1920s, The Age of Shadows follows Korean resistance fighters as they smuggle explosives heading towards Seoul in order to destroy facilities controlled by Japanese forces.
A complex film with Je-woon's unexpected vocation of classicism, the film reaches its particular peak of brilliance in the long stretch that takes place inside a train where persecutors and resistant converge. [Full review in Spanish]
Kim sometimes loses the rhythm of his spy thriller, but he's such a confident filmmaker-and his leading man such a magnetic presence-that he quickly gets its back.
Patriotism and self-interest clash powerfully in "The Age of Shadows," a stylish and morally complex thriller set largely in Japanese-occupied 1920s Seoul.
The action is lengthy but well constructed, particularly a sequence on a wood-panelled steam train, but the torture scenes and occasional severed toes may try some viewers.
The screenwriters, Lee Ji-min and Park Jong-dae, embellish this crafty scenario with no shortage of ingenious complications, effectively doubling the number of double agents at every turn.
It's a rich stew of a tale, with Korean resistance fighters, Hungarian revolutionaries, Japanese police officials and double agents. Running at 140 minutes, "The Age of Shadows" is worth every moment.
