This film is part of Rentals
The Age of Shadows
Kim Jee-woon’s stunning, seductive and serpentine action thriller set during Japan’s occupation of Korea.
Director: Kim Jee-woon
Overview
Acclaimed director Kim Jee-woon (A Bittersweet Life, I Saw the Devil) returns to South Korea, following his Hollywood Arnie vehicle The Last Stand, for this a stunning, richly textured thriller set in the 1930s during Japan’s occupation of Korea. That ever-present star of Korean cinema Song Kang-ho (The Host, Thirst) plays an embittered police captain, Lee Jung-chool, charged with rooting out subversives for his Japanese masters. When local resistance leader Che-san (Lee Byung-hun) suspects Lee might be primed for turning, he tries to enlist him as a double-agent. What follows is a sprawling, suspenseful and serpentine action film that also resurfaces a painful and rarely rendered period of Korean history.
Anyone familiar with Kim’s previous works will unsurprised at the intricate brilliance of his action set pieces, including a breath-taking sequence aboard a train that recalls his earlier The Good the Bad and the Weird. Coming in the same year as The Handmaiden and Okja, Kim’s Age of Shadows represents a third homeland return for another of Korean cinema’s titans, along with Park chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho, all of whom met with varying degrees of success with their previous Hollywood-backed dalliances (The Last Stand, Stoker and Snowpiercer, respectively). As such it’s a pertinent reminder of the continuing power and potency of Korean film.
strong bloody violence, injury detail, scenes of torture
Related
Kill Kill
Action and Adventure 2023 105 mins Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
A pair of commandos square off against savage bandits in this breathless action thriller set on a moving train.
La Chimera La Chimera
Action and Adventure 2023 132 mins Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Alice Rohrwacher’s fascinating new drama finds Josh O’Connor’s fish out of water delving into the world of stolen artefacts.
High Ground High Ground
Action and Adventure 2019 105 mins Director: Stephen Maxwell Johnson
A young Indigenous man teams up with a policeman to track down a warrior outlaw in this piercing exploration of justice and morality within the Australian settlement.
Vesper Vesper
Action and Adventure 2022 114 mins Director: Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper
In a desolate post-apocalyptic future, a young teenage survivor has to avoid scrutiny from her uncle (a menacing Eddie Marsan) and the ruthless authorities pursuing her in this dark and dangerous fairytale.
Embrace of the Serpent Embrace of the Serpent
Action and Adventure 2015 124 mins Director: Ciro Guerra
The spirit of Werner Herzog and Apocalypse Now imbue this majestic Oscar-nominated odyssey through the heart of the Amazon.
Arctic Arctic
Action and Adventure 2019 98 mins Director: Joe Penna
Mads Mikkelsen astounds in this gripping tale of one man’s gruelling fight for survival against the elements.
The Lives of Others The Lives of Others
Drama 2006 138 mins Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
The winner of Best Foreign Language Film at the 2007 Academy Awards is a rich and intriguing political mystery.
Elle Elle
Drama 2015 131 mins Director: Paul Verhoeven
Isabelle Huppert gives an unforgettable performance in Paul Verhoeven’s provocative thriller about one woman’s response to a violent attack.
The Wages of Fear The Wages of Fear
Crime 1953 153 mins Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic, nail-biting suspense thriller won both The Golden Bear and the Palme d'Or in 1953.
You Were Never Really Here You Were Never Really Here
Thriller 2017 90 mins Director: Lynne Ramsay
Lynne Ramsay journeys with Joaquin Phoenix into the mind of an ex-soldier gun-for-hire whose own demons are as brutal as the actions of his adversaries.
Iceman Iceman
Thriller 2017 96 mins Director: Felix Randau
Revenge is served ice-cold in this visceral thriller, in which a neolithic hunter seeks vengeance against those who decimated his tribe.
Revenge Revenge
Thriller 2017 108 mins Director: Coralie Fargeat
Coralie Fargeat's gloriously bloody tale of one woman's retribution; a razor-sharp feminist subversion of the revenge-thriller.
Broker Broker
Drama 2022 129 mins Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
A young mother leaves her baby at a church, unaware that black marketeers intend to sell it on to the highest bidder, in Hirokazu Koreeda’s Cannes-winning drama.
Parasite Parasite
Comedy 2019 132 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon Ho's Oscar®-winning box-office sensation is a darkly comic, twisty rollercoaster ride.
Barrio Boy Barrio Boy
Romance 2022 83 mins Director: Dennis Shinners
A Latino barber embarks on an erotically charged odyssey of self-discovery over one hot summer in Brooklyn.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Tim Mielants
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
Luxor Luxor
Romance 2020 86 mins Director: Zeina Durra
Andrea Riseborough stars as an aid worker processing the trauma of working on the frontline on the Jordanian-Syrian border.
Who We Love Who We Love
Drama 2021 94 mins Director: Graham Cantwell
Bullied for her sexuality, Dublin schoolgirl Lily turns to her gay best friend for support in this vibrant coming-out, coming-of-age drama.
2073 2073
Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia
Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.