The Man From Nowhere

The Plot
A quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug and organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend. 
(Credit : imdb)


The Cast
Won Bin...as Cha Tae-sik
Kim Sae-ron...as So-mi
Kim Tae-hoon...as Kim Chi-gon
Kim Hee-won...as Man-seok
Kim Sung-oh...as Jong-seok
Thanayong Wongtrakul...as Ramrowan
Kim Hyo-seo...as Hyo-Jeong (So-mi's mom)
Lee Jong-pil...as Detective No

Foxi Feels

Ladies and gentlemen, Won Bin ssi is back!

As my inaugural k-boy, I watched him grew from a shy boy in Friends to a bumbling thief in Guns & Talk; from a suave rich kid in Autumn in My Heart to a pampered and rebellious little brother in Teagugki and My Brother respectively.

I was intrigued with his intelligence in charting his career instead of taking the easy way out and resorting to being a mere cutie-pie idol in dramaland - opting to concentrate on making movies and a very selected few at that.

Won Bin and his girls

The character he played in Autumn in My Heart won him his besotted legion of fans all around the world, but is a far cry to his real off screen persona. His movie and drama BTS captures and interview sessions showed just how quiet, shy and down to earth he was back then.

Then, while he served his time in the army, I ambled aimlessly in an idol-less world; and even had to resort to one-drama/movie-stands with Gong Yoo and Jung Woo Sung....until Jang Geun Suk came to heal my wounds, that is :)

I have yet to see him in his come-back thriller, Mother, but opting to see his 'The Man From Nowhere' first is certainly not a wrong choice. And if Mother was good (and so the critics says), then The Man From Nowhere was just monumental. (And when I watched the promotional interviews he did for the movie, he seemed even more shy and quiet than before).

Scraggly haired Tae-sik in the rain

Truth be told, TMFN is just like your average good-guy-seek-revenge Hollywood fare. You can even liken it to most Chuck Norris, Van Damme and Segal knife wielding and ass kicking action busters. Some has also put it side by side with Luc Besson's The Professional (starring Jean Reno and then 12 year old Natalie Portman).


Also known as Ahjussi, TMFN is probably made different due to the sheer raw acting by all parties in the movie and the impeccably executed action scenes. You may want to compare Won Bin's acting to the western action heroes' typical wooden performances, but I suggest you watch the movie again.

Speaking without words

While Won Bin's character called for him to be silent and broody most of the time (in fact, this is one Korean movie, where the supporting casts had more dialogue than the lead), he 'spoke' with his eyes, the tilt of his head, the clenching of his fists and the soft hint of a smile on his lips (his 'six packs' 'spoke' to me too...blush).


And his tears...owwhhh.... can any actor be any more manly than Won Bin crying...?




Besides, comparing Won Bin to bland (sorry, I mean, blond) Norris, wooden  Van Damme and expressionless (not to mention portly) Segal (even in their hey days)...tsk tsk, is that even fair play?


And while you may say that the plot is clichéd and predictable, the storyline was made plausible and sinister by the the imagery of the three subject matters of story - drug trafficking, organ harvesting and child mules - and the worrying fact that these subject matter are currently true trades of the world. Nope, make that four subject matters to include 'government endorsed' killing. To me, murders, in whatever form or function, can never be justified.

Unlikely couple

The storyline centres around little So Mi, the only friend of retired government assassin, Cha Tae-sik, who got herself caught in the line of fire between her mother, a drug trafficking lord and a two-man small time but ruthless drug trade players. The two-man show, who happened to be a two-brother outfit, also dabbled in organ harvesting.

To cut the long story short, little So Mi got kidnapped forcing Tae-sik to wake up from his reclused, comatosed existence and went on a one-man vigilante rampage to save his little friend.

The show was sleek and brisk, without compromising character development. And beautiful may not be an apt description for bloody action scenes, but TMFN fight scenes just simply up the ante of normal action flicks, leaving you breathless yet cringing in virtual pain.

The supporting cast deserves a round of applause too, and apart from Won Bin, about whom I shall stop drooling on, three members deserves extra adulation.

Streetwise cuteness that
won't give you tooth decay

The first, of course, is little Kim Sae-ron as So-mi. That girl can surely make you cry - "Even though it hurts right here"; and while she is cute, she is definitely not the 'sickly sweet' type. Streetwise would be a better description of her So Mi.

Crazy villain rolesalways get the best line

Second is Kim Sung-oh. Simply put, having not put on his Secret Garden Secretary Kim persona just yet, he played Jong-seok (the younger brother of the two-man drug team) at its dorky yet evil best! Favourite quote - "No...!! It's Dolce and Gabana...!!"

I do hope that these people know
that Thais are not Vietcongs?

Last but not least is Thailand's surprise export, Thanayong Wongtrakul. Where did this man come from? Like Tae-sik, his Ramrowan character had lines that you can count on your left hand. Yet, the depth and the emotion that the man brought to his role, makes you forgive his ruthlessness.


And has English ever sound sexier than spoken by this guy? - "He didn't flinch."

Ok, ok, I just can't help myself - Won Bin! His first action tough guy role is definitely a welcome change. Being 32 when he took on the role of Tae-sik, he can certainly move on from his cute little brother acts and take on the more serious adult roles. Though we fans certainly would not mind a series of him in dramaland (where he can get the girl this time around), his latest two movie choices are definitely not all that bad.

You dare compare me to Van Damme?

All in, TMFN has enough eye candy for the chics and lots of blood and action to satisfy the namjas. And to put icing to the cake, the movie is closed with the achingly beautiful Dear, sung by indie band, Mad Soul Child.


Highly recommended! Now, while I close the review with a movie trailer to entice you, I will go out to find an Ahjussi for myself.


Anyeoung!

Bloody and brutal, yet beatifically beautiful.

Watch The Man From Nowhere online
(Mysoju.com)

Mad Soul Child - Dear

(Download OST)