Believer (South Korean film, 2018)

Movie
German title	Believer
Original title	Dokjeon ( 독전 )
Country of production	South Korea
original language	Korean
Publishing year	2018
length	123 minutes
Rod
Director	Lee Hae-young
script	Chung Seo-kyung, ; Lee Hae-young
music	Dalpalan
camera	Kim Tae-kyung
cut	Yang Jin-mo
occupation
	Cho Jin-woong : Jo Won-ho; Ryu Jun-yeol Seo Yeong-rak; Kim Joo-hyuck : Jin Ha-rim; Kim Sung-ryung : Oh yeon-ok; Park Hae-joon : Park Seon-chang; Cha Seung-won : Brian; Kang Seung-hyun : So-yeon; Seo Hyun-woo: Jeong-il; Kim Dong-young: Dong-yeong; Lee Joo-young: Joo-yeong; Jung Ga-ram : Dong-woo; Keum Sae-rok: Su-jeong;

Believer (Original title: Dokjeon ) is an action thriller by the South Korean director Lee Hae-young from 2018. It starred Cho Jin-woong , Ryu Jun-yeol , Kim Joo-hyuck and Park Hae-joon . It is the last film by the actor Kim Joo-hyuck, who died in 2017. Believer is a remake of Johnnie To's film Drug War (2012).

action

For two years the drug investigator Jo Won-ho has been trying to bring down Mr. Lee's drug cartel. But nobody knows who Mr. Lee is. As bait, he makes a deal with the drug dealer Su-jeong. But his plan goes wrong and she is murdered. One day, Mr. Lee's confidante, Oh Yeon-ok, Won-ho is looking for. She never saw Mr. Lee either, but worked with him. After Mr. Lee tries to kill her, she wants to help the police arrest her. They investigate the building that exploded, which was supposed to kill Yeon-ok. There they find a survivor in Seo Yeong-rak. He wants to cooperate with the police after hearing that Mr. Lee is responsible for his injuries and the death of his mother.

Yeong-rak is high up in the cartel and Mr. Lee probably didn't know he was there as he was working on a deal with a Chinese drug dealer. Yeong-rak provides information to the police. Mr. Lee never shows himself in person. But one of the demands of the Chinese cartel boss is to get to know him. Won-ho and Yeong-rak adjust the schedule and try to mislead both the eccentric drug lord Jin Ha-rim and Yeong-rak's colleague, Park Seon-chang. This also works at the beginning. However, the Chinese drug dealer Jin Ha-rim is skeptical and is monitoring them. He can find out that they are police officers. But the police and Yeong-rak can hold their own in a firefight and kill the Chinese traders.

Eventually, a drug dealer named Brian wants to meet with Jin Ha-rim. Won-ho poses as this. On site, Park Seon-chang asks Yeong-rak to follow him. Seon-chang wants to kill Yeong-rak. Meanwhile, Brian reveals himself to be Mr. Lee. Suddenly, one of Brian's employees interrupts the meeting and says she has a message from Mr. Lee. It's a severed arm. As a result, Won-ho becomes skeptical about why Mr. Lee should send a message to Mr. Lee and sees Brian as a liar. Suddenly two more people appear and open fire. Brian's people are incapacitated and take Brian to Seo Yeong-rak. He reveals himself to be Mr. Lee and seriously injures Brian. He eventually tells Won-ho where Brian is. Won-ho can arrest him. They also find Seon-chang who is missing an arm. However, there is no trace of Seo Yeong-rak.

Brian is convicted of drug lord Mr. Lee. But Won-ho is dissatisfied, since he is sure that Seo was Mr. Lee all along.

reception

Believer opened in South Korean cinemas on May 22, 2019 and reached over 5 million viewers.

The film received mostly positive and mixed reviews. According to Noel Murray from the Los Angeles Times , Believer focuses more on the development and motivation of the characters in comparison to the template Drug War . Cary Darling from the Houston Chronicle speaks primarily to Ryu Jun-yeol, who, through his innocent appearance, fills the role more mysteriously and at the same time more threatening than the same role in the counterpart Drug War . James Marsh of the South China Morning Post awards 3 out of 5 stars. Richard Kuipers from Variety sees the film primarily as action-packed full of brutality. Technically, Believer is doing everything just right. According to Shim Sun-ah, the film is too clichéd, but director Lee Hae-young manages to build up tension and violence.