I knew nothing about Na Hong-jin's "Chugyeokja" ("The Chaser" in English) when I started watching it, and that made it even more intense. This story of a detective-turned-pimp who decides to look into the disappearance of his prostitutes makes Seoul look like one gritty polity. All manner of nasty things take place throughout the movie, but none of it is gratuitous. Quite the opposite, everything is there to show the unpleasant existence that the characters lead. And boy are there some unpleasant things here! This movie has no place for subtlety.
The movie reminded me of another South Korean crime drama that I saw recently: "A Hard Day". What I conclude is that the bottom half of the Korean peninsula turns out some of the most intense movies in the world (I suspect that the upper half only makes propaganda movies). There are lots of intense movies made throughout the world, but South Korea's crime dramas are possibly the most extreme. I doubt that you've seen anything like "The Chaser". I recommend it.
The movie reminded me of another South Korean crime drama that I saw recently: "A Hard Day". What I conclude is that the bottom half of the Korean peninsula turns out some of the most intense movies in the world (I suspect that the upper half only makes propaganda movies). There are lots of intense movies made throughout the world, but South Korea's crime dramas are possibly the most extreme. I doubt that you've seen anything like "The Chaser". I recommend it.