The Spy Gone North (공작 | 北风) Movie Review | by tiffanyyong.com
Recommended Audience: Fans of Hwang Jung-Min 황정민, Lee Sung-Min 이성민, Cho Jin-Woong 조진웅, Ju Ji-Hoon 주지훈, Yoon Jong-bin 윤종빈 and Korean historic movie fans
The Spy Gone North (공작 | 北风) Movie Synopsis
In 1990s, South Korean military intelligence agent with code name ‘Black Venus’ is assigned to infiltrate North Korean nuclear facility. Disguised as a South Korean businessman working on a collaborative project with North Korea, he manages to win the trust of North’s ruling class, but a larger political scheme lies ahead.
The Spy Gone North (공작 | 北风) Viewer Rating: 3/5 ***
The Spy Gone North (공작 | 北风) Movie Review:
The Epiphany Duplet loves Korean historic films. Taxi Driver and 1987: When The Day Comes were unnerving, and when we enter the cinema, we thought we would be receiving another dose of suspense and finger-biting political thrill. It was interesting how the recent works, both Herstory and The Spy Gone North avoided the winning formula and provided the audience with a fresh perspectives.
I remembered Hwang Jung-min from The Battleship Island and The Wailing, his role as the spy “Black Venus” seem ‘boring’ to the audience initially, with almost no violence in the film. But as the plot continues, he was able to bring viewers through his dilemma, his concerns and his doubts as a spy with his micro-expressions and natural charm. In contrast to his straight-forward character, Cho Jin-woong as the director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), surprised me with his multi-faceted character.
A huge departure from his charming and comedic character in Along with The Gods II, Ju Ji-hoon is now a cold and ambitious North Korean military officer. While he did not play as big a part in the film, his character still provide some insights to the audience, that perhaps, the power game was not within the veteran after all.
My favourite character is perhaps Lee Sung-min’s Rim Yong-un, Director of North Korea’s External Economic Council based in Beijing. As the representative of North Korea, he came across as intimidating, or even villainous to the audience. The director gave us another surprise with the humane side of the man from North Korea. I was glad to see that this isn’t one of those shows which tried to stereotype the North Koreans.
I’ve got to be honest here. The film started off pretty slow ( I doze off a little) during the narration. The film demands concentration as we figure out the characters. I like how the film didn’t try to dramatize the “spy-work”. There were loads of thinking, planning and talking. However, it all paid off, and the silent yet emotional end was definitely worth the time.
Do You Know?
Some parts of the film that are set in Beijing and North Korea were filmed in Taiwan.
Behind The Scenes and Interviews
The Spy Gone North (공작 | 北风) is out in cinemas on 6 September 2018.
xoxo
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*Disclosure: Invitation by Clover Films. No monetary compensation was received for the movie review.
1/2 of #TheEpiphanyDuplet, Tiffany Yong juggles her ABCs – Acting, Blogging and Coaching/Consulting as she is fuelled by passion and drive to succeed.
It is not easy to make a living in Singapore just purely based on Acting, so with Blogging to help her with her online presence, and Coaching kids drama, private tutoring and freelance social media consulting to finance her life, she is currently leading the life most people hope to have: Living the Dream!
This sounds really interesting, I’d love to give it a shot
I would love to watch this movie. Seems like suspense and thriller to me.
This movie looks very intriguing. This is the first time I’ve heard of it but I like the overall theme and would watch it.
Wow I never heard of this. You summerize it perfectly and I’m defeintwlt going to check it soon. Thanks for sharing!
This looks like a great movie. My husband would love this for sure. Can’t wait to watch this.
Thank you for sharing your movie review. It should be informative for those who attend movies.
The Spy Gone North sounds like a film that once it gets going keeps you on the edge of your seat, and keeps you guessing with plenty of twists along the way. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
This is my first time hearing about this movie. However, t sounds like it would be a good movie for anyone that likes watching anything military related.
Never watch a Korean drama before! Seems like a good movie and I need to check it out!
This sounds like a nice Korean movie to watch. I’ll go ahead and check this out.
I have never know that Korea has this kind of movie and it sounds really interesting movie to watch, I will go ahead and check this out.
I have never heard of this movie and it looks like an interesting movie to watch, I will definitely check this out.
Definitely watching this movie! Jiu Ji Hoon is one of my favorite Korean actors, and this movie has a stellar cast. 🙂
This looks like it’s a really great movie, with an awesome plot line! I’ll definitely have to give it a watch one day soon!
This looks like an action-packed movie. I love Korean movies/ shows and i’ll add this one to my list.
will recommend this movie to the husband!
Interesting, I’ve never heard of this movie before but it looks like a captivating watch.
Not my kind of film, but my sister will love this! Thanks!