Turtle running

Running Turtle (2009)

Rating 3.50/5.00
Where 5 is the brilliant film that inspired this

This movie stars Yun-seok Kim (from The Chaser).That was reason enough for me to get hold of this. The film has some superficial similarities with Chaser and in a way there is character continuation - like Chaser, Kim's character in this film works outside the law to catch the culprit, like Chaser the hero is/used to be a small time corrupt cop. The similarities end there...Chaser was a far superior film in terms of the atmosphere it created, the characterisation, the sheer thrill..though the comparison is not fair. Its unjust because 1. I don't think this movie ever intended or aspired to be like Chaser, 2. This is a comedy (mainly) with some thrills and subtle melodrama thrown in while Chaser was a thriller and a very good one at that. So why the comparison? Because everyone should watch Chaser :)

Kim plays a rural detective who's suspended when a small time pimp he catches (for his own corrupt reasons) dies of a heart attack during interrogation - that scene is funny! Kim then, desperate not to tell his wife about the 3 month (without pay) suspension, tries to borrow money from his colleagues but noone would lend him a penny, so he does what anyone would do - steals his wife's hard earned savings (she works nights straightening socks) and bets it all on a bull butting fight. He wins! And that's when tragedy strikes - the bookie (and his dearest friend) is robbed of all of Kim's money by a Samurai like fugitive (he can beat up 10 people and not suffer a single blow). The film is about Kim's pursuit of this fugitive and how his persistence and his camraderie with cops and crooks alike, helps him through this journey.

Worth a watch just to watch Kim ji.

How Korean films are ignored on imdb here