Director Park Hoon-jeong.
Renowned scenario writer in Korea.
Only 2nd directorial project.

Initially the plot sounded too familiar.
After my disappointment with how "Berlin Files"
seemed like a bad imitation of the Bourne series...
I had my doubts about The New World.

It seemed to either set to pay homage
or openly mimic a classic Hong Kong movie
titled "Infernal Affairs."

A cop is sent into a powerful underground organization
as a mole or a spy.

But that's where the similarity ends!

Hwang Jeong-min plays the heir apparent to
a criminal organization with an impenetrable
legal disguise as an actual legitimate conglomerate.

Lee Jeong-jae plays the closest friend
and associate and the right hand man
of Hwang's character.

But Lee is also an undercover cop
who had to give up his former, real identity
to get in knee deep
and provide the police with some leverage.

There is only a handful of officers
who know of Lee's true identity
whom he reports to.

One of them is Choi Min-shik's character.

Lee just wants out of the whole operation
and get his life back.

But he is not off the hook easily.

Tables continue to turn.
And there are surprising turn of events
that not even the most seasoned
cinema guru like myself never saw coming.

What makes the movie different and great.
Is that it shows
it's not where you are,
but what you do and who you are.

You could be working for the law,
but you do every dirty trick
including betraying your own kind
to get what you want against the crooks.

You could be against the law
but you may have stronger
and more ethical principles
and take care of your own.

When do you cross the line,
and where?

Where is the point of no return?

What justifies your choice?
Will you make a difference
once you take the plunge?
Will you still remember why you started it all?


Song Break:


When I first saw the cast,,,
My initial reaction was:
Hwang Jeong-min.
Okay.
Choi Min-shik... a guarantee that this is a quality movie...

And then... but then.

Lee Jeong-jae?!?!

I have never found any of his works
anywhere near borderline impressive.
His acting career, which got started
as an almost non-verbal role in
The Sand Glass... was his whole career highlight.

The fact that he got to star in so many movies
baffled me.

None of his performances were decent.
All of his movies and his roles were forgettable.

And now here he is.
Whether the director was a genius
who knew exactly how to bring out the best
in this disappointing perfomer,,,
or there was such great synergy on set...
I don't know what kind of magic happened.

But this is it for Lee Jeong-jae.
He has earned my respect and faith.
This amazing movie would not have been
amazing without him.

This is the greatest Korean movie for 2013.

After movies that relied solely on star power with
a flimsy plot like the Thieves
and films that target only teenage girls
like A Werewolf Boy and a fairy tale-like movie
catering only to children and grandparents
like Miracle in Cell No. 7... it is about time.

This is one movie that deserves
all the credit it is getting right now and some.

One thing sets apart great movies from good ones.

The great ones leave a lot lingering
long after you've watched it.

The residual effect.
Thinking about the movie.

About how so perfect it was,
and how you wish you could erase your memory
so you could go watch it again.

That's what's going on in my mind,
today, days after I've watched The New World.

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