1st watched 3/26/2009 7 out of 10 (Dir=Si-Myung Lee): Well done political fantasy thriller from Korea that creates a scenario where Korea in the year 2009 is part of Japan. This happened because a Japanese ambassador wasn't killed in 1909 and the U.S. dropped an atom bomb on Germany instead of Japan, who in this film they were allies with in World War II. This made-up history is presented just as the movie begins and then we are introduced to two friends in the Japanse Bureau of Investigations(JBI for short) who are hunting down a terrorist group who basically want Korea to be it's own nation. Initially, we think this group is "all" bad --- but the main star played by Toru Nakamura starts uncovering things that bother the JBI. A group that they work closely with houses an artifact that looks kind of like what's on the Korean flag that appears to be the focus of the terrorist group instead of just the "terror." He is taken off the assignment because of what he's uncovering and he also starts realizing some things about his own past that link him to this group. The story gets more complicated and bizarre when we find out the artifact has the ability to allow people to time travel. Now, I'm not going to tell a lot more because it will ruin the story for those who want to watch it. Despite the movie's length of almost 3 hours it keeps your interest even if you can't speak Korean(as long as you can read the subtitles). The end does take awhile and this is really the only downfall of this otherwise well-done and well-played action thriller that also is played out very well. For those interested in good foreign films don't miss this one!!
Review of 2009: Lost Memories
