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Cast: Sang-kyeong Hwang, Ki-yong Jang, Hye-su Kim, Hae-il Park
Set in 1937 Gyeongseong (old Seoul) when Korea was under Japanese occupation, it follows the story of Lee Hae-myung, a Korean civil servant with an extravagant lifestyle and a dress sense to match. But things change when he falls in love with bar singer Jo Nan-sil, who turns out to be a member of the Korean independence movement.
Modern Boy is certainly a mixed bag, it is a noir-type thriller, a period piece and it is also a love story laced with black humor. That might sound like a formula that would result in a mess but Director, Ji-woo Jung makes it work. The film stars Hae-il Park as Hae-myeong Lee, a playboy who works as a civil servant for the Japanese government in South Korea. Hae-myeong could care less about the politics and his only concern is staying in fashion with his fancy clothes and chasing the women. All that seems to change when he meets Laura, a Jazz singer who has more than one secret that Lee is going to find out about soon enough. When an explosion happens in the building he is working in and the bomb is from a box that Laura gave to the him he goes back to their place to confront her about it but he discovers that she is gone. He then decides to track her down and try and save their romance. The advertisements for the film made it seem more like a comedy with lively music which is right but only partly. The film like I stated before is a mix of genres that maybe in other hands might of turned into a disaster but here it works well, the pace is fast, the music upbeat and the romance fits in well with the story. I can't say this will be a film for everyone but if you enjoy Asian cinema and are looking for something different from their Horror and Martial Art films that I have to recommend picking this up. One thing the film could of benefited from is some editing, I thought the 121 minutes run time was a bit much and the story would of flowed better in some spots with some trimming but even with the minor flaws I was entertained the entire time and as the film moved along I was taken in by the story as well. You can say that Modern Boy is different and you would be right but it is also refreshing at the same time. If you're a fan of Asian cinema or just looking for something different to watch then I recommend picking this one up, in the end I think you will be glad you did.
Virgil Films and Entertainment
*** 1/2 Out Of *****