I Saw The Devil Review

    There have been only a few revenge films that have truly showcased the effects on both the mentalities of both the pursuer and the man being perused. In Kill Bill, we got a pop-culture, glorified, tongue-in-cheek portrayal of a revenge film. In Oldboy, we got what in terms is the sickest form of getting revenge and ultimately, how the far the sadistic depths of revenge can go. What separates “I Saw the Devil” from those revenge films, is not only the glorification of revenge or the inhumane depths of revenge, but it portrays the endurance of both people in terms of inflicting as much pain to each other as possible until there is no separation of “good” or “evil”. It crosses the boundaries of being absurd with its violence and delivers a message of somber feelings and regrets that director Kim Jee-Woon expresses gleefully and unapologetically with his dark tale of woe and confusion.

    In the middle of a snowy night, a young girl is brutally and unmercifully killed and decapitated by Kyung-Chul (Mink-Sick Choi) a serial killer who has a fixation with killing women and sometimes raping them. However, we learn that the woman is the wife of Kim Soo-Hyeon (Byung-Hun Lee) a chief police agent who soon discovers this unfortunate news and vows to catch the killer and make him suffer to his last breath. A plot as old as the hills, we can come to expect what will happen frame by frame, however, what makes “I Saw The Devil” a unique feat for film is it takes unusual twists and turns and becomes something more engrossing no one could expect. In this grueling two-hour feature, our hero meets his killer by the 30-minute mark and instead of killing him easily, he decides to put a tracking device in him and follows wherever he goes, inflicting pain on him little-by-little as a form to break him down. However, as this cat and mouse game comes near its end, it’s a real horrifying conclusion that both disturbs and haunts the viewer with its message on revenge and both the consequences and effects of it.

        If any there have been any performances in 2011 that have both fascinated and disturbed the audiences, “I Saw The Devil” is certainly one of them. Both the main leads do an excellent job at representing each side of the spectrum of good and evil. While Byung-Hun Lee is the one person we the audience are rooting for, as he embodies all the qualities of a caring, emotional and sympathetic person. As he continues his thirst for vengeance, so does the audience’s involvement in his character arch that it becomes a thrilling ride. However, it is Mink-Sick Choi that steals the show. Every moment he is on screen, he becomes more despicable, crazy and more evil. He plays a killer at heart and doesn’t hold back on his brutality. He is the definition of a “monster”. And it’s so surprising to see him play a role this over-the-top when he played the role of the protagonist in what is probably one of the best known revenge flicks; “Oldboy.” As the supporting cast isn’t memorable or important in the story, they do their jobs well and don’t try to upstage the main performances by the two main leads.

       The more subtle brilliance of the film is how no matter how graphic or chaotic it becomes; it never descends into absurd exploitation. Director Kim-Jee woon maintains a sense of dread and fear among the film as each confrontation between the two men becomes more sick and twisted with every bloody beatings they inflict on each other, it blurs the line between right and wrong that it raises the film to a whole new level. With the cinematography being the most beautiful at its most graphic scenes, it paints a bloody portrait of revenge as definitely, “a dish best served cold.”

A by Amritpal Rai