Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• Making of Documentary (1:17:00 in 480i)

• UK Trailer (1:32 in 480i)

• Teaser trailer (1:18 in 480i)

Bitrate:

 

Description: Gu-nam is a desperate gambler and debt-ridden taxi driver in Yanji City in a region that has adjoining borders to North Korea, China and Russia. His wife fled to South Korea six months earlier and he hasn t heard from her since. In order to repay his debts and find his wife this mild unassuming man accepts a contract killing from hit man Myun-ga.

Crossing the dangerous Yellow Sea to Seoul he seeks out both his target and wife, but soon finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy of lies and betrayal. Before he can fulfil the contract, he witnesses others murder his target. Fleeing the scene, he is not only being pursued by the police, but those responsible.

 

 

Written and directed by Na Hong-jin, “The Yellow Sea” follows Gu-nam as he descends into a nightmare that he helps create. The story takes off in Yanji, the capital of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, a wedge of China that borders North Korea and Russia. Initially, Gu-nam, an ethnic Korean (or chosun-juk), spends his time losing money at mahjongg, driving a cab or passed out in his squalid apartment, where a web of broken glass covering a framed wedding photo of him and his wife hints at the tragic misunderstanding that sets the story in fast, fast motion. His wife has left to find work in South Korea, and Gu-nam, bereft, angry, self-pitying, has built up a debt that he seems unlikely to work or gamble his way out of.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

Audio :

Supplements consist of a lengthy (1 1/4 hours) 'Making of Documentary' in SD that has input from the cast and director in Korean with English subtitles. It seemed excessively long although the initial production details, story analysis, were interesting. There is also a UK Trailer, a Korean Trailer and a Teaser trailer also in 480i.

BOTTOM LINE:
Gruesome (you may wish to turn your head away a couple of times) but compelling story. The Yellow Sea has that harsh edge that seems to frequently come from modern Asian cinema. This is often excessive. There is plenty to like and entertain and the plot is well realized by the filmmakers. The Blu-ray, audio and video, augments the intensity and it's quite an exhausting ride. Fans of this brand of thriller should be right at home with The Yellow Sea.