Swiri (1999)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Je-gyu Kang

Writer:

Je-gyu Kang (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 1999 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

North Korea's 8th Special Forces hijacks a shipment of CTX, a potent new liquid explosive, and threatens...

Plot Keywords:

Korea | Terrorist | North Korea | Agent | Explosive

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Suk-kyu Han	...	Jong Won Yu
Min-sik Choi	...	Mu-young Park
Yunjin Kim	...	Myung-hyun Lee / Bang-hee Lee (as Yoon-jin Kim)
Kang-ho Song	...	Jang-gil Lee
Johnny Kim	...	Dae-Ho Jung (as Derek Kim)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeong-min Hwang
Hyeong-seong Jang
Su-ro Kim
Seung-Shin Lee
Yong-woo Park	...	Sik

Also Known As:

Shiri (Hong Kong: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and some language.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | South Korea:15 | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) (cut) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

"The Hill of Shiri", Joongmoon-Dong, Seogwipo, Cheju Island, South Korea

Company:

Kang Je-Kyu Film Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

German film fans were astonished when this film passed the ratings board FSK (known for its extensive dislike of excessive violence) uncut with a "Not under 16" rating. It was expected that the film would not get a rating at all and had to go for a JK approval from SPIO (Head organization of German film business).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Choi Min-sik (actor Mu-young Park) keeps using the term "Nam Han" (which translates to 'South Korea') instead of the term "Nam Chosun" (which translates to 'South Chosun' - a term used by North Koreans)

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Eodiseonga nugungae museunili saengkimyeon teulrimeobshi natananda Hong Ban-jang (2004)

Soundtrack:

When I Dream

Korean terror and drama

It's not surprising that American viewers would find Shiri to be effective in terms of action and mayhem, but less compelling as a drama. No matter how well they are composed, scenes of ultraviolent shootouts and car crashes are not particularly unique or original, and the relationships don't seem relevant to the story until near the end.

To dismiss Shiri as an action film, however, is to ignore the main theme of the story. Shiri speaks much deeper, to the contrary states of contemporary life in Korea. Like the main character, Hee, the Korea we see in the film struggles between its love of beauty and its rage, between its dreams of peace and annihilation. Hee, like the shiri fish swimming back and forth freely across the divide, embodies this duality. Intimacy falls victim to questions of self-identity. The themes come crashing through, holding up a mirror to North and South alike. Shiri bravely shows personal sacrifice and heroism in terrorists, humor in intelligence agents--all without straining believability of the characters. Thumbs up to the brave filmmakers who took the financial, artistic, and political risks to make this film. For those open to this inside view into Korean culture, Shiri will be sure to satisfy.