Park Yeol (2017) Reviews

• Park Yeol Review: An excellent South Korean film which is perhaps the best biopic!

  Prashast_Singh2017-08-20

  Movie: Park Yeol (12) Rating: 4.5/5 South Korean filmmakers are known for their excellence in portrayal of realistic content. Thus their films are easy to understand and connect to. Over the past few years, their growing excellence has also contributed to the growth in the expectations from them. I had similar expectations when I was watching Lee Je-hoon's recent release PARK YEOL aka ANARCHIST FROM COLONY. I was left speechless by the end of the film. It was a story that was told so skilfully that I ended up enjoying & liking it fully to the core. PARK YEOL is an unexpectedly very entertaining film which never loses its focus. The screenplay is watertight and the editing, razor sharp. There aren't any dull moments or unnecessary sequences to deviate the film from telling the story. It manages to engage the viewer with its beautiful visuals, well-handled cinematography, brilliant action scenes, terrific & clapworthy dialogues, and above all, the extraordinary direction & execution. Lee Je-hoon breathes and lives the role of Park Yeol. He's stunning in his part and the sequences involving him are simply the best part of the film. Another major credit to the actress who paired with Lee, giving the most remarkable performance in the film after him. Other actors manage to hold the attention with their solid performances. Without wasting even a single second, director Lee Joon-ik connects us to the leading characters, especially Park Yeol and this is his biggest success. The film's pace is another major plus point as it never pulls you into boredom. The film's BGM enhances the viewing experience from time to time. The climax, however could've been handled a little better as it might seem a little abrupt, but it's absolutely fine since the way it's covered further is commendable. PARK YEOL is a film which isn't merely a film. It's a phenomenon which doesn't usually happen in case of most filmmakers. It's perhaps the best biopic ever, and you'll find my words true once you watch it soon.

• Dramatic biopic with a few lengths

  kluseba2018-01-08

  Anarchist from Colony is a drama and biopic about Korean anarchist Park Yeol , carefully directed by Lee Joon-ik who is known for his numerous intellectual historical period drama movies. There are several positive elements about this film. First of all, the acting is flawless. Lee Je-hoon convinces as wild idealist who meanders between determination, emotivity and madness. Choi Hee-seo convinces as his seemingly joyful girlfriend and soulmate who only masks her hideous past. The portrayal of the characters seems to be quite authentic as the viewers might feel both disgust and sympathy for certain actions of the two anarchists. The story is based upon true events as the two main characters got arrested for planning to kill the Japanese heir apparent in the late twenties when Koreans living in Japan had to face racism, persecution and even genocide. Secondly, the settings of the movie bring the early twenties in Japan back to life without too many visual special effects. The locations are simple but efficient, the costumes are varied and authentic and even cultural, political and social aspects back in those days are carefully interwoven. Even though this movie obviously shows us the Korean side of those historical events and shows numerous Japanese characters portrayed as closed-minded, megalomaniac and racist, the film also shows Japanese people showing respect to the two anarchists and insists multiple times that the Japanese government and monarchy was at fault and not the people themselves. From that point of view, the movie doesn't feel overtly patriotic and rather balanced which is a third positive element. On the other side, Anarchist from Colony is also far from being a masterpiece. With a running time above two hours, the movie feels plodding and stretched at times, especially in the middle section. A more vivid pace with some additional scenes related to the gruesome massacre of Koreans and other historic events would have made this film even more immersive. On the other side, cutting between twenty and thirty minutes of the lengthy scenes in prison would have improved this film's flow. In the end, Anarchist from Colony might interest you if you are genuinely interested in Korean history and if you have a weakness for dramatic biopics. At times, the film felt closer to a documentary than a regular feature. The acting performances, the detailed settings and the fact that the film avoided being too propagandist are this movie's highlights while the film is overall too long and quite plodding at times.

• Biography of Korean Terrorist

  annnafreankk2018-12-04

  An extremist Evil Nationalist that hated Japanese , even though the many goods things the did like schools and hospitals !

• one of the worst Korea movie i ever seen

  jim_gun2017-09-16

  there are 3 worst Korea movies i ever seen.. the throne,collective invention, and this movie because it was so long and boring. if you ever watched that two movies i just mentioned and feel so boring, i warn you don't watch this movie. just waste your time, i don't know why the rating is high. but nothing entertain from start until finish, just like watching Korea and japan documentary history, i regret watching this movie..