A Violent Prosecutor

Byun Jae-wook is a hard prosecutor. His methods in the interview room are crude and nobody minds. A man dies during a demonstration and a suspect is detained. The next morning the suspect is found dead in his cell. Because Byun conducted the questioning, the crime is put on him. He is sentenced to fifteen years. He stays inside and starts working the file himself; he gets information from prisoners, acts as their lawyer and earns respect. Then a swindler comes into the prison. Chi-won is young and a master of lying. Byun makes a plan to get him out. Lee Il-hyung writes and directs; it is his first feature. Hwang Jung-min plays Byun and Gang Dong-won plays Chi-won. It is a Korean production. The film took a very large result at the Korean box office and entered the most watched productions of its year. What the narrative builds is a pair; the man inside plans, the man outside performs, and the two actors work separately. The narrative criticises the prosecution as an institution but does not show its hero as clean; Byun used the same methods before he was convicted. Gang Dong-won's character carries the comic weight and lightens the register. Its last section is built around an election campaign. The narrative offers revenge as a resolution and does not question it. Its limit is structure; the plot rests on coincidence and the last section is too easy. Who it is for: viewers who like Korean crime comedy and prison schemes. Who it is not for: the plot is strained, the register uneven, and the ending easy.