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Korea · 2014
1h 51m
Director Shim Sung-bo
Starring Kim Yoon-seok, Park Yoo-chun, Han Yeri, Lee Hee-jun
Genre Drama, Thriller
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The captain of a South Korean fishing trawler is offered his biggest payday yet. All he has to do is pick up a bunch of Chinese refugees off the mainland of China and bring them to South Korea. He takes the job and initially everything goes well. However, the plans are thrown into disarray when tragedy strikes.
Shim directs well, but he lacks the verve for this to sail through on its visuals and although the denouement returns to the unconventional (discounting the unnecessary coda), the climax reduces the impact of what was otherwise an enthralling voyage.
The film fails to lift off from this sturdy aesthetic launching pad; it never allows the characters, however stock, to evolve in their respective dealings with one another, which is the primary source of tension and escalation for a thriller set in a confined place.
The Hollywood Reporter by Clarence Tsui
It's a gripping ride through the storm...with powerful imagery, a simple and accessible story and a stellar performance from Kim Yoon-seok.
Shim’s direction grows more confident as he expertly delivers genre thrills and moral dilemmas.
This directing debut by helmer-scribe Shim Sung-bo echoes Bong’s trademark cynical vision of human nature, but the characters lack dimensionality and psychological depth.
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