Nowhere to Hide (1999)

Brutality meets artistry. . .

First off, the posted run-time of 100 minutes means that this is the shortened version. The true length should be 112 minutes. I'd suggest tracking down a copy of the all-region Korean version if you want to see the uncut film. I've not seen the shorter version, so my review will be of the 112-minute version.

I have to start out by asking "Did I see the same movie as other people?" Not because I disliked the movie, but because on the box and on this site and in other reviews I've seen the action compared to "The Matrix". I have to admit, I saw nothing even resembling that film here. No kung fu, no wires, no bullet time, no CG, no slick choreography. Other than the fact that some of the fight scenes are done quite artistically, there's nothing that is reminiscent of "The Matrix" here. That is not to say that it is a bad movie, quite the contrary. I just think it is unfair to put that tag on a movie. It'll only attract people that will be disappointed. Now, onward and upward.
This is a solid movie. It was recommended to me by a friend whose tastes I respect. And he didn't disappoint. The story can be described simply as two detectives track down a murderer. But, once you see the first main scene (which is quite violent) juxtaposed against the simple, sweet melody of the Bee Gee's "Holiday", you know you're in for something different.

What separates this film from the standard fare is that the characters have heart. They bring you fully into their world, no matter how simple or sad or angry. They have personality and dimension. Welcome doses of humor are found throughout that keep the film from sinking under a heavy weight that seems to hang over our main character.

And while the action is not "The Matrix", it is definitely a thing of its own. The fight sequences could be described as artistic, but not in any poetic way. The director uses camera tricks (frame rates and shutter angles), color, still frames, shadows, and various other tricks to show us action that would seem otherwise familiar. The artistic approach certainly doesn't take away from the sheer brutality of some of the violence. Don't let the pretty appearance fool you into thinking that the film somehow glosses over the bone-crunch factor. The director just shows it to you in a new way. In fact, he does this in many places throughout the film.

In one scene where the characters are staking out a nightclub, the director employs a technique that is genius and fitting, regardless of whether it was done to save on budget or not (which I'm not aware of). But, the same scene shot in a more standard fashion would seem out of place in the film.

Sure, we've all seen this story a million times. But the package it comes in is new and refreshing. Our main detective is the antithesis of the supercop. Lumbering and oafish, and possibly not the brightest bulb in the bunch, he still possesses a charm and street smarts that more than make up for it. The humor plays well. And by the end you really feel like you've got a grasp of who these characters are-and that makes a difference. August 12, 2008

Imagine Leni Riefenstahl had made a gangster film...

'Nowhere to hide' is the most visually original film I have seen in years. going way beyond the Oriental action movie pyrotechnics that have shaped Hollywood imitations since 'the Matrix', director Lee Myung-se tirelessly creates something startlingly different in each scene, each frame even. The scene that triggers the main narrative, for instance, the murder of a drug baron, is filmed as an extraordinary cinematic poem, using Eisenstein's Odessa Steps sequence from 'Battleship Potemkin', completely draining of it its kinetic energy, as the rain falls slowly, a mournful Bee Gees cover over the soundtrack, the action choreographed in slow-motion fragments, the actual act less a brutal crime than the culmination of a dance in colour and movement. this destabilising of the action occurs throughout - slow motion so slow it becomes a photo-story; definition so pixelated it becomes animation; editing so fractured it becomes abstract. When Lee isn't making the crime narrative unexpectedly beautiful - one roof-top, laundry-lined, nocturnal fist-fight is turned into a flickering shadow-show; a Kitano-like sequence of rare calm priveleges a snowball-fight between two detective friends as they wait and wait - he is making it comic: the influence of Sergio Leone and his imitators loom large in the exagerrated, implausible and bathetic treatment of violence.

The problem with so much restless originality is that the plot gets somewhat lost, the genre becomes destabilised too effectively. the hero, the archly-named Detective Woo, is the kind of gleefully fascistic cop who makes Harry Callahan and Aldrich's Mike Hammer look bureaucratic, wielding baseball bats with aplomb, torturing suspects by hanging them from their feet off rails. There are a few cliched attempts to give 'depth' to this lunatic, by suggesting his alienation from his family, or the poignancy of his friendship with his sidekick. what actually happens is that Woo's authority is undermined not by his psychosis, but that his power is only assured when backed by a group of gangster-like heavies; on his own he is notably inept, no match for the silent, charismatic, deadly Gian Maria Volonte-lookalike, whose elegant swiftness is much more appealing. 'Nowhere' is the kind of film you desperately want to love, but, because it doesn't really gel, you can't. November 5, 2001

Disappointing

I missed this film when it played in some theaters in Los Angeles a few months back, but not because I didn't want to see it. I remember this film getting a tremendous number of rave reviews, with comparisons running the gamut from John Woo to Wong Kar-Wai to Run Lola Run. Having seen it, I simply do not understand all the hype. This is not a terrible film, and it has some moments of genuine beauty and off-the-wall humor. But it truly is style over substance, something that wouldn't be a problem if the style were interesting. But it's really not. Nowhere to Hide uses a whole bag of tricks--black and white film, freeze frame, even some animation. But to what end? I was surprised at how uninvolved I was in the story and I kept thinking "All that hype for this?" On a positive note, the acting is very good and the characterizations are unusual in a good way. But this isn't something that you need to see. August 27, 2001

Nowhere to Hide

Very good movie, excellent use of filming techniques, soundtrack was a little bit off at times but still worth the watch, and one thing, it does ran like cats and dogs with sun shining in the background, visit korea sometime! August 14, 2001

One of the best crime dramas I have seen!!

Every now and than comes a movie that just excites you from the opening credits to the ending credits. This Movie is one of them!

I remember seeing this movie at the video store and wonder: "what the hell is this about?" I put the dvd in the player, pressed start and the rest was magic! I loved it so much I watched it twice that day, and ordered it the next day.

If you are a big fan of film editing, this movie will amaze you! I have not been so excited from a movie by how it was cut! You have to see it for yourself, to see what I am talking about.

The story, plot, characters, sound, lighting, edit, and music are purely great! Myung-se Lee seems to be on the right road one day to be consider great among his peers, if he keeps up with this kind of direction for his movies.

As for now, I am becoming a great fan of his movies.. and cannot wait to see what he'll do next! August 4, 2001

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