"The Man From Nowhere (Ahjussi)" Movie Review (**Spoilers ahead**)

      He was just an ordinary pawnshop owner, living in solitude for a long period of time. His only connection to the real world is the ten-year-old girl named So-mi. To Cha Tae-sik, So-mi is the only thing that keeps his soul intact. This was until So-mi's mother made a very big mistake. She got herself involved with drug syndicates and ended up dead and mutilated. Now So-mi is taken hostage and will only be released if Tae-sik agrees to run an errand for her abductors. He agrees, thus, starting a game of cat and mouse. He never really realized how deep the situation is and what those people would do for money.

            This movie is the best in all of the action flicks that I've seen. It started a little weak but everything was worth the wait. The plot was presented perfectly, exactly in a way where they wouldn't reveal the whole story in one scene. 

              I've been a fan of the lead actor Won Bin ever since his appearance on "Autumn's Tale" so I only want to watch the movie because of him. At first I got disappointed because his face was covered with his hair for almost seventy-five percent of the film. But a few minutes after you started watching, you'll realize that you're not watching because you want to see Won Bin. You're into the movie because of it's story. It keeps you intrigue and asking every single time. Is he going to die? Can he get to So-mi before she gets killed?How is it going to end for him? That's what i was thinking while watching and every single question was answered with satisfaction. There was not a scene in the movie that was not necessary. Every scene was there for a reason and it was all justified in a delicate manner.

            

             I am not a fan of action films but watching this movie made me want to see other action flicks just so I could compare. The result- "The Man From Nowhere" is a movie like no other. I can never look at action films the same way before because this movie is just way different.

Cha Tae-sik's wife holding an ultrasound picture of their baby

              In an interview with the movie's lead actor Won Bin, he said that he actually had to learn three types of martial arts for the film. Knowing that he already holds a black belt in taekwondo , he still went out of his way to learn other types of martial arts just so he can portray his character very well. Won Bin is an ex-military in the film who used to be assigned in military's top secret operation's. His character is a master in handling military weapons and is skilled in martial arts. His life ended when his wife and unborn child was killed in a car accident. This caused him to withdraw from everyone else and live on his own.

So-mi ignores Tae-sik

             


My Favorite Scenes (SPOILERS AHEAD!!)




"I don't want to hate you"


            This scene was a tearjerker for me. I clearly understood how the little girl felt when she said these lines to her "ahjussi". So-mi was upset and confronted Cha Tae-sik why he ignored her when she was caught stealing. She told him that her mother once instructed her to pretend that she doesn't know her parents if she ever gets lost. But then, she also told him that what he did to her was even meaner than the words of her own mother. So-mi said she wanted to hate him but she can't because if she does,she wouldn't have anything in the world that she'd like so even if he had hurt her so much she will never hate him.




"You're still gonna die"

          This one of the most ingenious scenes an action film can ever have. Cha Tae-sik found out the syndicate's "drug lab" and there he saw the other abducted children forced in labor and dealing with the actual drug substance. First, he makes sure that the children are safe and then goes into torturing the bad guy. Tae-sik ties him to a chair and then, started putting nails on his leg- literally. He does this while on the phone with the bad guy's older brother, bargaining for little So-mi's life. After the phone call, he sets up an improvised bomb made out of a lamp, a plastic bag of drug powder and a flammable gas.(Here's how it looks like- the lamp is placed at the edge of the table. Tae-sik, then, cuts the hose of gas tank releasing a flammable gas. When he pierces the plastic bag, the powder will start to spill until it can no longer hold the lamp. It will shatter to the floor and will make an explosion). Unfortunately, the bad guy didn't apologize for his mistakes. Instead, he threatened Tae-sik that his brother will kill So-mi if he doesn't keep him alive. He goes saying ,"Do you really think you'll see her again?,". Then , Tae-sik answered him, "Maybe not, but you're still gonna die. (then pierces the plastic bag).   


"The Pawnshop Owner"

           In this scene, Cha Tae-sik headed to the syndicates den with the hopes of being reunited with little So-mi. But his hopes were shattered when they gave him a vial containing a pair of eyes. He was told to believe that this was the little girl's eyes. Enraged, Tae-sik cries for a brief moment. Then, still teary-eyed, he looked straight in the enemy's eyes. "Gold teeth," he said,"I accept gold teeth. I'm a pawnshop owner and I collect everything(something like that) the shoots the guy beside him, causing the blood to splatter on his face. After that, all the other gangsters started attacking him. One by one, he killed them, shot them and stabbed them with his tiny , little knife. This only proves that Cha Tae-sik is a military weapon's master. This scene is very highly commendable because you can see that Won Bin didn't use a double. His face was in every single shot. The only effects they did was of course the blood and the fake gunshots. Other than that, everything is for real.




"One more bullet"

               Now we have come to the moment we've been waiting for- how Cha Tae-sik kills the main enemy. After killing a lot of people in a few minutes, he runs after the guy who in the parking lot. The gangster boss tries to run away but he never really had the chance. Tae-sik shot the car's tires causing to a forced halt. Tae-sik then, takes his time walking towards the car. He knows that his "victim" is not going anywhere so he slowly, step by step went to the roof of the car. When he was already there, he took his chance and shot the guy. But the car was bullet-proof so he had to move to the car's hood. He positions himself in front of the windshield, facing the bad guy. He points the gun at the antagonist and started firing. The bad guy started to panic. Yes, the car is bullet-proof but continuously shooting the glass will eventually cause it to break. Finally, after fifteen rounds, the windshield had a hole in it. The gangster boss began crying and cursing. He even tried to get out of the car but Tae-sik shot his left shoulder. "One more bullet..." he said then, kills the guy. After having his revenge, he walks away, loads his gun with bullets and points the gun to his temple.




"Ahjussi"

So-mi (Kim Sae-ron) hugging Tae-sik

           Just when he was about to kill himself, Cha Tae-sik heard somebody calling "ahjussi". When he turned, he was surprised when he saw little So-mi (yes, she's alive and the eyes on the vial were originally the eyes of the surgeon who's supposed to take her eyes out). Afraid and crying, she started walking towards him, but Tae-sik stops her saying he's bloody then hides the gun out of the little girl's sight. So-mi didn't really care and ran hugging him anyway. "You came here to save me, didn't you, ahjussi?," So-mi asked, crying. At this moment, Tae-sik cried. He had the expression that says, "at long last it's over" . 

           At the final scene, Tae-sik and So-mi- accompanied by the police- went to the store where So-mi used to shoplift. He buys her a bagful of everything she needs for school. He asks her if she'll be fine now that she's alone. So-mi gives him an amusing answer making Tae-sik smile. So-mi laughs saying it's the first time she saw him smile. After that, he apologizes for the day that he denied her. He said, "Sometimes,you just walk away from a person because you're afraid that you're getting closer with them. So-mi, being a ten-year-old, was unable to understand. "What does that mean?," she asked him. Then, Tae-sik smiles again and says, "I don't know either,". In the end Tae-sik asks So-mi one more favor, "Just this once, can I hug you again?". And with open arms, So-mi hugs his crying "ahjussi".




          As my final words, I would say that this movie is way above any other Hollywood films I've seen. The only movie that can ever come close to this film is the Bourne series. Even Lee Byung-hun's "Iris" and "I Saw the Devil" can't even be compared to this film. All in all, A Man From Nowhere is a movie you can recommend to your friend and family with confidence because you know that this movie won't let you down. 


(P.S.  According to the movie's translation, "ahjussi" is a korean word for "uncle". But the word can also be used by young people to address or refer to an older male stranger. At other times, it also means "a man from nowhere".)


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