Driving by his deep will of survival and clearing his name, Jong-seong, a young courageous Korean ghost agent, who in a mission in Berlin, struggles against being kidnapped and needed, as the Korean government searches for him.
The Berlin File benefits from gritty surroundings that add a cold war realism to this otherwise confusing tale of conflicted loyalties and secret agendas.
Even though there's moments of exciting action and the reassembling of a government hierarchy violently taking place in front of you, The Berlin File is strapped to its restraints by its slow, meandering pace.
As soon as "The Berlin File" takes flight with its exhilarating action set pieces, memories of any muddles evaporate amid the tension and vivid engagement with settings, from courtyards to fields.
The movie offers just about all you could ask of a genre flick: poisonings, defections, a secret North Korean bank account, gloriously choreographed fights that go insanely over the top, febrile tension and doomy romance (but no sex).
The plot may be a challenge to figure out, but this crisply directed spy thriller from Korea holds your attention through its overall smooth professionalism.
There is something sharp, exciting and more original tucked within "The Berlin File" - and it is in moments a sleek, crackling film - but it all feels somehow misshapen.
