DVD Movie Review: The Age of Shadows

The Age of Shadows (UK Rating: 15)

Set in 1920s Korea, The Age of Shadows tells the tale of the Korean resistance fighters who fought tirelessly against the occupying forces of Japan. It's a complex tale of spies with wavering loyalties who repeatedly have to decide on what's best, or rather safest, for them, versus the loyalty to their home nation. The film opens with one such Korean resistance leader - Kim Jan-Ok - being chased down after being sold out to the Japanese police. After receiving some particularly grizzly bullet wounds, Kim is confronted by the leader of the Japanese police. A Korean Police captain named Lee Jung-Chool is struggling with betraying his country for the invaders and is challenged further when having a final heart to heart with Kim. It's these initial cracks in Lee's loyalty to the Japanese forces that affect the events that play out over the rest of the film.

While the film opens very slowly and has some issues with pacing - it runs for almost two and a half hours - it is utterly engaging. There are enough big scenes to keep adrenaline high when the film starts to flag. Best of all is a longer sequence where each of the Korean agents, Lee, and the Japanese forces are all playing a deadly cat and mouse game upon a moving train.

The cast is filled with some of the very best Korea has to offer. First up is Song Kang-Ho playing Lee, and even those who have never seen a Korean film will recognise Song for his role on the superb Snowpiercer, but his finest works are definitely from films in his home country, such as movies like creature feature, The Host. Song is always fantastic, and his body of work has been racking up award nominations and wins for many years. For The Age of Shadows he won two best actor awards alone. Starring opposite Song as Kim Woo-Jin is Gong Yoo, a Korean TV actor who has exploded into mainstream success after taking the starring role in the recently reviewed Train to Busan - seriously, it is the best zombie film in present memory, so go watch it! - and he almost matches the performances of Song, too. Even the Sagittarius Zodiarts from Kamen Rider Fourze, Shingo Tsurumi! About 1 in 1,000,000 readers will know what that is.

9/10

Exceptional - Gold Award

Every aspect of this film is absolutely magnificent. The story is captivating from opening to credits, the cinematography is a master-class in the art and the actors give some of the best performances of their careers. Considering some of the actors here, that's saying something. The Age of Shadows is a film that deserves numerous re-watches and continues to showcase the talent of Kim Jee-woon.