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[HanCinema's Film Review] "Inside Men"

In recent years the domestic political situation in South Korea has taken a turn for the worse. The two major political parties have never gotten along that well, but public expressions of bald contempt are now all too common. I bring this up mainly to explain why "Inside Men" exists in the form it does. "Inside Men" is a classic Korean-style gangster drama disguised as a political thriller. Even so, several factors give away the film's true form- the violence, the sex, and the general motivation.

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Let's start with the violence. It's um, well, I wouldn't say graphic but definitely the kind of brutal stuff that may make you want to turn away from the screen. In the world of "Inside Men", failure to be on the right side of a gang political deal is a recipe for brutal reprisal. A lot of the time the barbarity isn't even all that personal. It's just, oh hey, we caught you trying to put one over on us. According to gangster political rules of engagement that means we get to saw an appendage off unless you bribe us with information.

Sex is the same way. While the bad guys are obviously intended to be political conservatives, weidly enough, they come off as evil less because they support bad policy and more because they love sexy parties with topless women. I've written it before and I've written it again- it's cheating to present the bad guys as evil because they're sex fiends when writer/director Woo Min-ho is, himself, showing off these topless women in an obvious attempt to titillate male viewers.

If "Inside Men" were just a gangster movie I might not mind all this so much. The thing is, even though nearly every single character is equally sleazy and equally motivated by petty revenge, the political thriller skin gives "Inside Men" pretensions of some sort of meaningful social statement, when there really isn't anything of the sort. Accusing your political enemies of being sexual deviants isn't biting high-brow commentary. Any idiot can pull off defamation.

Bizarrely enough, lead actor Lee Byung-hun himself is well aware of this fact, having been victim of a blackmail attempt where two low-level idols threatened to trash his reputation absent a payout. Finding out that Lee Byung-hun's scandal went on at about the same time he made this movie puts a rather weird spin on the story. Among other things I can see why Lee Byung-hun requested leniency for his persecutors. Let he who is without sin throw the first stone, you know?

Back to "Inside Men". Do you like Korean-style gangster movies? Is your opinion of political conservatives so low that you consider them to be on the same ethical level as mobsters? If your response to both those questions is in the affirmative, then you'll find a lot to admire in "Inside Men". Personally, though, I find this level of base discourse to be about as damaging to the political process as actual scandals. For that reason, I can't personally recommend the film.

Review by William Schwartz

"Inside Men" is directed by Woo Min-ho and features Lee Byung-hun, Cho Seung-woo and Baek Yoon-sik.

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