“But With a Dork”
Sunday, February 26th, 2006
For the second installment of what is to become a continuing series of Obscure International Movie Reviews, I’ll be talking not about a single film, but an entire genre. An entire genre that I made up. The “But With A Dork” genre.
These films take a common type of film, and turn the main character into a dork. Look at Spiderman. There’s a reason that his are the only superhero films I can stomach watching. If a character is cool and collected, and has all of the know-how and resources to get the job done, I couldn’t care less about seeing him do said job. But if you take that style and show me what would happen when a total nerd gets thrown into the same situation, then I’m genuinely interested in how they get through it.
But mostly, these films are great because they take ideas that have been done many times, but break the genre stereotypes, and make the stories their own.
Now, “But With A Dork” films are made all over the world, but in this review, I’ll be talking specifically about Korea, where a goldmine of dork films have been made.
I’ll start off with a few of my all-time favorite movies, starring the king of “but with a dork” films, Song Gang Ho.
Film name: Joint Security Area
Korean name: Gong Dong Gyungbigoyuk JSA
(military investigation… but with a dork.)
This is the sweetest, funniest, most innocent film about a grisly double homicide in a politically charged war zone you will ever see. The JSA is the border between North and South Korea. It is an emotional climate like none other. The men on each side are at the same time both bitter enemies, and brothers. There is a line which separates the two nations, where two soldiers spend every day staring each other down without a word.
One night, a horrible incident happens between the North and South soldiers, leaving two people dead, and the rest in the hospital. An investigator is sent in to find out what happened.
Now, throw away all the ideas you just had about long, boring political thrillers about investigators delving through layers of corruption and conspiracy, and imagine that the real solution (this is not a spoiler) is that the soldiers involved, are just complete dorks. Imagine a scene where the most tense confrontation between the two sides involves rubbing choco-pie in the enemy’s hair. It’s not a comedy, but like all great dramas, is incredibly funny.
(Also: Note that I love this film so much that my icon is a drawing of me dressed as one of the characters.)
Order it from YesAsia (The box is marked region 3, but works in region 1 as well.)
Film name: The Foul King
Korean name: Banchik Wang
(Wrestling movie… but with a dork.)
If there’s one thing I hate more than military investigation thrillers, it’s wrestling. But Song Gang Ho managed to win me over on that front as well. Long before Jack Black decided to throw a dork into the world of crazy-masked-wrestling, The Foul King was made.
It’s about a bored banker with a Bill Lumbergh-esque boss who gives him no end of grief. So to get back his last shred of self respect, he decides to take up wrestling. Now once again, I know it sounds like I’m describing a very cliche film, but only because so many films like this are cliche. But this is not the typical Hollywood Underdog story. That would involve the character actually learning something, actually winning a single fight, and actually accomplishing… well, anything. This man is a dork at the beginning, he is a dork at the end.
The one important thing to know about this film is that it is funny. Gut bustingly funny. Not so-bad-it’s-good funny, but full of brilliant comic timing, and smart laughs.
Order it from YesAsia (If you buy this movie make sure you buy the Korean release, the one with the cover shown here. The copy most readily available (the one on Amazon) is imported from Hong Kong, and has all of the dialogue dubbed over in Chinese. Same as before, the Korean release is marked region 3 but works in region 1 as well.)
Movie Title: Memories of Murder
Korean name: Salinui Chueok
(Se7en… but with a dork)
This brilliant film is based on an actual series of murders that took place in South Korea in the early 80’s. One of the first serial killers ever in the country. That early on, the police did not have the knowledge, or the resources to solve that kind of crime. The film is just as serious and full of “edge-of-your seat-thrills” as any other serial killer movie you can think of, but the characters are just really, really, bad at their jobs. And what they do get right is ruined by their lack of resources. The entire first scene involves the cop trying to chase the neighborhood kids out of a crime scene and stop farmers from driving their tractors over the evidence. The ways Song Gang Ho’s character comes up with to try and solve the crime end up being completely ridiculous and hilarious, but very believable. This is not a hard-boiled cop who can’t stop taking his work home with him, this is a total dork who we really root for. In this case, the addition of a dork actually makes the film more historically accurate. But I’ve never seen a film manage to so subtly pull off being both dark and scary yet sweet and funny all at once.
(also: this film features the best/worst drop kick ever to grace the silver screen.)
On sale at Yeon DVD.
Movie Title: Strike the Lighter (also known as BreakOut!)
Korean name: Lighter reul Kyura
(Under Siege….. but with a dork)
There’s many films about the one lone man who can stop the bad guys. Think Under Siege. Think Die Hard. In these films, the hero is a tough as nails guy who will risk any danger and put his life on the line, driven by one purpose.. to save the day. In this film…. he just wants his lighter back.
Bangoo has had a terrible week. Everyone he knows thinks he’s a joke, his parents think he’s a loser, he’s lost everything he has, and is stranded in the middle of nowhere. He uses his last few cents to buy a cheap, plastic lighter. It’s the only thing he has in the world. All he has left. Until a gangster steals it. A gangster that is just about to hijack a train.
Suddenly, that plastic lighter represents the last shred of dignity and self respect Bangoo has. If he has lost that, he has lost anything. So he is going to get that lighter back. Even if it means bringing down the mob.
It’s the type of film that says YES, if put in the right situation, an ordinary person might climb along the top of a speeding train to stop the bad guy, but also acknowledges that that person is going to spend a good minute and a half nervously staring at the ladder thinking “Oh, hell no.”
It becomes a nice little character piece about dignity. That’s what drives every character involved from Bangoo, to the mobster, to the politician being held hostage. Every one of them has their last shred of self respect dangling from one single, simple thing, and that’s why no one can give up.
For sale at Yeon DVD, but you need an all region player.
Movie Title: Jailbreakers
Korean name: Gwangbok Jultuksa
(The Shawshank Redemption…. but with a dork)
This is the only film on the list I don’t recommend you immediately run out and find. I only add it because it’s a clever take on my all-time favorite movie. If they re edited the first 30 minutes into a short film, it’d be great, but the rest of the film loses focus and starts to suck.
The basic idea is the characters tunnel out of prison just like Andy Dufresne, but since they are dorks, didn’t do nearly as much research or planning. And once they’re out, find out that they were set to be released the next day.
The greatest moment has to be when they get out and the Andy character strikes the Shawshank pose in the rain, and just stands there for like 5 minutes holding the pose while the Red character waits for him to finish.
For sale at Yeon DVD, but region 3 and not very good.
If you ever have the chance to see any of these films, do it. Heck, watch any movie with a dork. Anyone have any suggestions of other films that exist in this fake genre I made up?
