Asura - The City of Madness
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Asura - The City of Madness |
| Original title | Asura ( 아수라 ) |
| Country of production | South Korea |
| original language | Korean |
| Publishing year | 2016 |
| length | 131 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 18 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Kim Sung-soo |
| script | Kim Sung-su |
| production | Han Jae-duk |
| music | Lee Jae-jin |
| camera | Lee Mo-gae |
| cut | Kim Jae-Bum Kim Sang-beom |
| occupation | |
| |
Asura - The City of Madness is a crime film by the South Korean director Kim Sung-su from 2016. The film was released in Germany on April 28, 2017 directly on Blu-ray and DVD .
action
Asura is set in the fictional city of Annam ( 안남 시 ). South Korea suffers from corruption. In Annam, new development projects are supposed to improve the outdated infrastructure, but form a source of income for the corrupt mayor Park Sung-bae. Policeman Han Do-kyung works for Han and kills witnesses who try to testify against Park. As a result, the prosecution's charges fizzled out. One day another policeman is killed. Since Han quarreled with him, it puts him in trouble. He puts the blame on a drug addict junkie and gets the support of his colleague Moon Seon-mo.
But prosecutor Kim Cha-in finds out about him. He finds evidence that Han is responsible for the disappearance of the witness. Prosecutors want Han to hear Mayor Park as an informant and provide evidence. But Han is hesitant at first. His dying wife is Park's half-sister. That makes them brother-in-law. When Park visits Han and his wife in the hospital, Han takes a picture on his cell phone when Park talks about his relationship with Tae Byung-jo, who was supposed to be his political opponent. Both actually work together. But when Han receives a present from Park, he deletes the recording.
Prosecutor Kim Cha-in is unhappy with the failures. He threatens to send a sex tape to Han's wife. So this changes sides again. At the same time, Park withdraws his trust. This is how Han actually betrays Park's people to the prosecutor. When Park learns about his work with the prosecutor, he offers Han to help him. He has eliminated all witnesses who have anything against Han so that the prosecution can no longer put him under pressure. But Han remains skeptical as he fears that one day he will also be thrown away. He staged a meeting between Prosecutor Kim Cha-in and Mayor Park Sung-bae. This escalates. Han is able to kill his old friend Seon-mo and Mayor Park, but, like everyone else, succumbs to his injuries. Everyone involved dies on the scene.
reception
Asura was released in South Korean cinemas on September 28, 2016 and had over 2.5 million viewers.
Variety's Maggie Lee explains that Asuras are demigods engulfed by negative passions who regularly fight each other. There couldn't be a better allegory for the protagonists of the film Asura - The City of Madness , whose desire for power and money turns the world into a hell. The film continues a trend in South Korean cinema in which politicians are portrayed as criminals, as previously in The Unjust , Inside Men and A Violent Prosecutor . Hollywood Reporter's Justin Lowe draws a positive conclusion and notes the brutal fighting. Furthermore, the film is mostly dark. Cinematographer Lee Mo-gae draws with a palette of blue, black and gray, which underscores the characters' hopeless despair. According to Shim Sun-ah from the Yonhap news agency , the four main characters are brilliant and with their energy they have created an exciting and brutal work. However, the narrative seems a little awkward. The real hero of the film is cameraman Lee Mo-gae, who captures the atmosphere of the film well. James Marsh from the South China Morning Post only gives 2 out of 5 stars. The film focuses only on brutal action choreographies as well as screaming, hitting, shooting and stabbing and does not offer the actors an opportunity to prove their real skills.
Awards
- Award in the Best Cinematography category for Lee Mo-gae
- Award in the Best Lighting category for Lee Sung-hwan
- Jung Woo-sung's popularity award
Busan Film Critics Awards 2016
- Award in the Best Actor category for Jung Woo-sung
- Award in the Best Cinematography category for Lee Mo-gae
Buil Film Awards 2017
- Award in the Best Director category for Kim Sung-soo
The Korea Film Actor's Association
- Most popular movie star for Ju Ji-hoon
Web links
- Asura - The City of Madness in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Asura - The City of Madness in the Korean Movie Database (English)
- Asura - The City of Madness in the online movie database
Individual evidence
- ^ Asura - The City of Madness. In: Splendid Film . Retrieved November 16, 2018 .
- ↑ Asura: The City of Madness (2016). In: Korean Film Biz Zone. KOFIC, accessed November 15, 2018 .
- ↑ Maggie Lee: Review: 'Asura: The City of Madness'. In: Variety . September 14, 2016, accessed November 17, 2018 .
- ↑ Justin Lowe: 'Asura: The City of Madness': Film Review. In: The Hollywood Reporter . October 14, 2016, accessed November 17, 2018 .
- ↑ Shim Sun-ah: (Movie Review) 'Asura: The City of Madness': raw and tense. In: Yonhap . September 23, 2016, accessed November 18, 2018 .
- ↑ James Marsh: Film review: Asura - Jung Woo-sung, Hwang Jung-min in bloody tale of corruption and betrayal. This tale of political corruption and crooked police is overpowered by highly choreographed ultra-violence and smug machismo. In: South China Morning Post . February 22, 2017, accessed November 18, 2018 .
- ↑ Pierce Conran: A TAXI DRIVER Tops Buil Film Awards. In: Korean Film Biz Zone. KOFIC, October 17, 2017, accessed on November 17, 2018 .