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 s much as the Koreans have an innate antagonism
towards
Americans, they dislike the Japanese even more. As such, even when
"Fighter in the Wind" is harsh on the Americans (if you watch
enough Korean cinema you'll eventually get used to the Korean notion of,
"the only good American soldier is a dead one"), they're even more
ticked off at the Japanese. Considering that Japan conquered Korea and
crushed their culture for a good 40 years before and during WWII, one can't
really blame them.
"Fighter in the Wind"
chronicles the adventures of one Bae-dal (Dong-kun Yang, "Wild
Card"), a real-life figure who was immortalized in comics (or
manga) for his incredible feats. In the film, Bae-dal is a naïve Korean
boxer who, after an advertisement literally falls into his lap, decides he
wants to become a pilot. Never you mind that it's the middle of World War II
and the job is for the Japanese Imperial Air Force. Alas, being that Bae-dal
is Korean, and the Japanese looks down on Koreans, Bae-dal and buddy
Chun-bae (Tae-woo Jeong) are tossed into the Kamikaze program as fodder for
the war effort. It's there, while about to be shot for refusing to get into
a plane and kill himself, that Bae-dal first meets Kato (Masaya Kato, "Aragami"),
a Japanese officer who royally trashes Bae-dal in a fight.
Fast-forward to the end of the war, with Japan now in
shambles and under American occupation. Bae-dal and Chun-bae are making a
living on the streets and hawking Chun-bae's newest invention (something
call a "pachinko" machine), when they run into trouble with the
local Yakuza. Bae-dal is once again humiliated in a fight, and is rescued
by Beom-su (Doo-hong Jung), a Korean expatriate who had fled the Japanese
occupation of Korea years ago. Beom-su, who has already lost one hand in a
fight, tries his best to teach the somewhat empty-headed Bae-dal to use
his fists for good. But after Beom-su is killed by the Yakuza, Bae-dal
retreats into the mountains, determined to become the best fighter in the
world in order to beat those stinking Japanese and prove the superiority
of being Korean. Or some such.
"Fighter in the Wind" is one of those
movies you can't really take seriously. It's blatantly nationalistic, and
to try to attach some intelligence to it is to attempt the same with a
Michael Bay film. Like fellow countrymen Je-gyu Kang ("Taegukgi"),
writer/director Yun-ho Yang ("Libera
Me") wears his nationalism on his sleeves for all to see. The
only Korean character in the entire film that comes even close to being
less than heroic is Bae-dal's best friend Chun-bae, who we first see
trying to shake down his fellow countrymen in dark alleys.
Although Bae-dal is our hero, the script does a very
peculiar thing and almost completely ignores Bae-dal's background. It's
never explained how Bae-dal grew up to be a dense young man with nary an
intelligent thought to offer the world, and who runs around occupied Korea
looking like a street urchin. Granted, the filmmakers may be banking that
most Koreans will know who Bae-dal is, and hence be familiar with his
legend. Then again, this is only a good idea if you don't care about
selling your movie to the rest of the world. Also, not knowing where the
hero has been prevents us from understanding where he's going, and why.
Not that it really matters, I suppose, because soon
Bae-dal is suddenly in the mountains by himself trying to break a rock
with his hand. Yes, you heard me. At one point Bae-dal is in the mountains
freezing to death, living in a shabby hut, and spending his days with his
filthy hair draped over his face and his free time trying to karate chop a
rock with his bare hand. I absolutely kid you not. It's all very
melodramatic and silly, and the fact that it's all shot with a perfectly
straight face makes it even funnier.
On the plus side, Dong-kun Yang is very good as the
unintelligent Bae-dal, even if the character happens to be completely
nonsensical. A lesser actor wouldn't have been able to endure the physical
punishment the character takes, nevermind selling all the mystifying
training regiment he goes through in the mountains. This guy's morning
exercise makes Rocky look like a couch potato. And through it all, one
never gets the feeling that Bae-dal is improving because he's improving as
a martial artists, but rather he's getting better because he's just too
dumb to realize it's time to pack it in. Whatever the case, Yang does an
admirable job throughout, and you can't help but root for the dope.
Having mastered snow, the mountains, that blasted
rock, and the art of not combing one's hair or taking a bath for a really,
really long time, Bae-dal spends the rest of the film's second half going
about Japan challenging its top karate fighters. Not surprisingly, the man
at the very top is Kato, Bae-dal's arch nemesis, who hatches some
nefarious plans to stymie Bae-dal's rise to the top. As Bae-dal goes about
knocking off one Japanese master after another, news of his success flies
through Japan at the speed of sound. Who knew some unshaven and smelly
Korean guy from the mountains going around beating karate instructors was
deserving of newspaper articles and radio broadcasts?
The fighting in "Fighter in the Wind" is
pretty good and convincing. At least it is when director Yun-ho Yang isn't
blurring the scenes, shooting everything in slow motion, or freeze-framing
for the sake of freeze-framing. Under the choreography of Doo-hong Jung
(who also played Beom-su), the fights look realistic and exciting. On the
other hand, the script stumbles a bit, especially with the Japanese love
interest played by Aya Hirayama ("Waterboys").
This particular angle is mostly superfluous and one suspect it was tacked
on by Yang just to prove that not all Japanese people are evil. Although
it's curious that the only three decent Japanese characters in the whole
movie consist of two young, pretty women and one kid. Even so, the cute
Yoko's only reason to exist seems to be to cry and pine for the wandering
Bae-dal.
On the whole, "Fighter in the Wind" is
probably too long at two hours, and as if the whole Yoko subplot wasn't
gratuitous enough, the film goes on a 20-minute tangent towards the end
that destroys any semblance of pacing. Still, the action is gritty and
well choreographed, and Dong-kun Yang, as the eternally disheveled
Bae-dal, is quite good. If you can tolerate the film's ham fisted attempts
at nationalism and its obvious dislike of the Japanese (not to mention
every American soldier the film comes across), "Fighter" is a
reasonably entertaining way to knock off 2 hours.
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