The Man From Nowhere

I never expected a South Korean movie to be as good as this movie. “The Man From Nowhere” rendered me a little less sceptical of the film industry in that part of the world. The two hour long movie left an imprint on my mind, and I'm sure this isn't going away soon. The movie was written and directed by Lee Jeong-beom, and was released in US and Canada on the 1st of October, 2010, and was the highest grossing film in Korea that year.
The story line of “The Man From Nowhere” is a bit complicated. Simply put, it's about a pawnshop owner Cha Tae-Shik (Won Bin), a mysterious introvert who has a rather hazy past. He becomes fond of his little neighbour Jung So-Mi (Kim Sae-ron), whose mother was an addict involved with drug embezzlement. After the mother steals drugs from some really powerful drug lords, she gets killed and her daughter kidnapped. The story revolves around Cha setting out on a murder-spree in an attempt to save the little girl.
As the police get involved, we learn more about the mysterious and usually silent Cha, a little at a time. He was in fact a special agent in a confidential mission but quit the forces after a severe personal tragedy. Once you've seen that part, you can grasp the man's mysterious character in its full essence, and it would subtly explain why he did what he did. With the progress of the story, it turns out that drug dealing was not the only issue portrayed in the movie.
One of the best attributes of this movie is its cast. Each of the main characters was wonderfully chosen, and made the movie all that better. The duo of Won Bin and Kim Sae-ron was incredible -- while one played the role of a sombre loner, the other was the liveliest person with childish joyfulness. Won Bin spoke little throughout the movie but his expressions were equivalent of a thousand words. Among the other characters, I liked that of Ramrowan (Thanayong Wongtrakul), the most dangerous member of the gang, who turned out to have a relatively soft heart by the end of the movie. And the final blade combat scene between Won Bin and Thanayong Wongtrakul is not one to be missed!
The original Korean film is called “Ajusshi.” I watched an English dubbed version of the Korean movie, and I'm sure there was a lot lost in translation. But “The Man From Nowhere” was still an absolute stunner. It had the correct blend of action and drama necessary for a gripping story. Two hours of my life I'm satisfied to have put behind this movie.

IMDb Rating: 7.8/10