The Childe

A South Korean action film. Marco lives in the Philippines. He is half Korean; his mother is ill, there is no money, and at night he fights in illegal boxing matches. An offer arrives. His father in Korea is looking for him; the man is very rich, ill, and wants to see his son. A ticket is sent. Marco boards the plane and meets a man there. The person who introduces himself as a nobleman is smiling, talkative and insistent; when they land in Korea he does not leave him alone. From there the film becomes a chase. He is not the only one looking for Marco; a woman is following him too, and neither side says why. The reason has to do with inheritance. There is a reckoning in the rich man's family and Marco falls into the middle of it. What the narrative is interested in is not the action but the tone: the man chasing him jokes, sings and kills through the whole film, and that strangeness is its signature. The action is built on car chases and close combat; the camera moves and the violence is hard. Kang Tae-ju plays Marco and Kim Seon-ho the man after him; it is the actor's first leading film role and the opposite of his known image. Kim Kang-woo and Go Ara are in the cast. Park Hoon-jung wrote and directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes Korean action and mocking villains. Who it is not for: anyone looking for realism; the plot leans on coincidence and the last section carries a heavy load of explanation.