Well Go USA is proudly releasing Ryoo Seung-wan’s latest period espionage thriller, Escape From Mogadishu this week wherever movies are sold. The film, which based on real life events surrounding the Somali Civil War in 1991, marks yet another level in artistic and creative growth for Ryoo who made his feature debut more than twenty years ago starring alongside his brother in gritty crime noir, Die Bad, and diving further into a variety slate of action titles like 2002’s No Blood No Tears, martial arts comedy Arahan, 2008 spy romp Dachimawa Lee and revenge thriller The City Of Violence to name a few.
Depending on where you look, you might get lucky to find all, or at least some of these films on disc in some form or fashion, as necessary as it is. Alas, with streaming staking its claim over much of the commercial film market these days, and provided that platforms hold onto these titles long enough before circulating them, if you’re looking for more Ryoo for your buck to endulge in beyond Escape From Mogadishu, then you’re definitely on greener grass, especially if you’re subscribed to Amazon Prime and/or Netflix and ad-supported streamer, Tubi. The only headache of course is that every now and then you’ll come across a title which reads “Currently Unavailable” on one of these platforms, to which I add: Don’t sweat it. These films pop up eventually and it helps that we can set reminders, plus it also helps that sites like JustWatch are keeping track as much as possible with these releases.
At any rate, here are some outstanding Ryoo Seung-wan titles you can scroll through and stream along with Well Go USA’s Escape From Mogadishu as of this article:
Cinema Service
Arahan (or Arahan: Jangpung Daejakjeon) is probably the one Ryoo Seung-wan movie I can’t shut the fuck up about, and you needn’t look further than here or here for proof. Starring Ryoo Seung-bum as a happless rookie traffic cop who finds himself thrust into the mystical world of ‘ki’ and standing face-to-face with a reawakened and rejuvenated supernatural evil, Arahan is a film that sits right up there with some of your favorite kung fu classics and contemporary fantasy flicks. It brims aplenty with deadpan humor and charm to boot with a protagonist inherently worth rooting for, and stunning martial arts sequences that absolutely thrill to the end.
CJ Entertainment
Ryoo Seung-wan’s The City Of Violence delivers even more of what you love if you’ve seen his work before this title. The film joins the director himself alongside actor and stunt professional Jung Doo-hung, who also appears in 2002’s No Blood No Tears, and in 2004’s Arahan. Jung and his astute action team coordinated the exhilirating fight scenery that are centerpiece to the revenge narrative here, starring Jung and director/actor Ryoo in the respective roles of a cop and his old childhood friend who pair up to hit the streets and investigate the murder of another friend from their upbringing. The plot does spoil itself a bit early on, but there’s plenty of cinematic glory to indulge in a film like The City Of Violence, one that Screen Anarchy’s Josh Hurtado partly described in our “Revenger Roundtable” piece a few years ago as “an anger fuelled brawlapalooza packed from stem to stern with flying fists and feet”. And, well… he isn’t wrong!
CJ Entertainment
Indeed there was a period when Korean cinema began embracing “Bourne style” action cinema and direction. Ryoo’s own 2013 espionage thriller, The Berlin File, set in Germany and telling of a North Korean agent faced with a possible double cross by one of his own following a weapons deal gone awry and with more on the line than he realized, certainly dabbles into this type of action, although thankfully not to the point where you’re watching thirteen cuts at six different angles to catch a single physical movement. The comfort here is director Ryoo’s partnership here with Jung Doo-hung on the action, providing a formidable foundation for the caliber of drama brought to the table by leads, Kundo star Ha Jung-woo, actors Han Suk-kyu and Gianna Jun, and the incredible Ryoo Seung-wan in one of the most menacing roles of his screen career.
CJ Entertainment
Invariably – and apart from all the Ahn Kil-kang sightings you might be able to spot in many of these and others of Ryoo’s films – talking about Ryoo Seung-wan’s career ultimately means enveloping actor Hwang Jung-min into this volley of praise going into this list. Hwang continues to prove himself as one of today’s strongest leading men in film, listing Ryoo’s 2010 crime thriller, The Unjust, on his resumè and starring opposite Ryoo Seung-bum in the respective roles of a police captain and public prosecutor, who both find themselves on a deadly collision course as courruption stirs within the justice system following the murder of several young girls, and the death of an unproven suspect.
This film was a rightful box office hit at the time of its release, loaded with interwoven intrigue and suspense to carry viewers on, and with plenty action and thrills to top it all off. The film also stars Ma Dong-seok, Yu Hae-jin and Kim Min-jae among others.
CJ Entertainment
It would be five years later before Hwang and Ryoo would get to reunite as star and director again, albeit this time for a more upbeat cop thriller with tons of kinetic laughs in the more tonally antithetical Veteran. You can instantly see how much Hwang gets to cut a little more loose here, this time playing a dogged detective who isn’t coy about handing out a little pain during the occasional arrest. His approach to the job, however, is just one aspect of the scrutiny he’s now forced to contend with when a friend in financial turmoil is left comatose, and the one suspect he can’t get close to is an arrogant, young, violent, coke-addicted millionaire head of a conglomerate who thinks he’s above the law.
Also starring Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Hae-jin along with Kim Min-jae and Chun Ho-jin, and a cameo appearance by a recent “Eternal”, Veteran is all about rooting for the good guy to deliver the bad guys their just desserts!
CJ Entertainment
If there was ever a movie so engrossing with its imagery and tone, it’s definitely just about any wartime movie whose director has just the kind of strength of vision that’s meant to leave an impression on audiences, however daunting. The Battleship Island, Ryoo’s 1940s-set period epic reunites The Unjust and Veteran star and director – Hwang and Ryoo – for a story that spotlights the harsh and inhumane, forced living conditions of the more than 400 Korean slaves kidnapped by the Japanese and taken to Hashima Island where a splintered father and daughter must fight to stay together, all the while a dangerous and deadly conspiracy unfolds within the leadership of the Korean rebellion. The result is an unnerving, dramatic thriller with tons of suspense and peril for a film that casts a rare light on a point in history Westerners like myself are seldom exposed to.
Showbox
Just as there were supposed to be sequels for The Berlin File and Veteran at one point, I’m always going to wonder what the future held for a character like Ryoo’s own “Dachimawa Lee”, spawned from a 35-minute shortfilm 22 years ago to a full-fledged feature spy comedy in the vein of Austin Powers and The Naked Gun. Topped with gonzo laughs and sprinkled with kinetic action direction by Jung Doo-hung and his team, Dachimawa Lee: Gangnam Spy stars Lim Won-hee as a Korean spy forced to contend with amnesia, incorrigible bandits and betrayal in his midst, all while on a globetrotting mission to keep a golden buddha containing a list of all Korean agents in the field from the hands of the Japanese.
The inaugural shortfilm is available to watch online and I highly recommend fishing for it and checking it out along with Ryoo’s 99-minute career-making action comedy overture.
ShowEast
2005 was an interesting year in a point in time for me. I didn’t really know much about the film scene in terms of festivals and events, though I just liked skimming the webpages to see what was talked about. I look back on posts like this one from wayback when Screen Anarchy was called Twitchfilm, and one particular critic in 2009 called his product review of Ryoo Seung-wan’s Crying Fist “simply one of the best DVDs of the year”, having already seen films like Arahan and The City Of Violence by then, and I am reminded of the beauty, energy and vibe of Asian cinema with Ryoo standing as one of the handful of directors that inaugurated my interest.
Featuring Choi Min-sik and Ryoo Seung-bum in the respective roles as a washed-up silver medalist and troubled youth, both faced with tragic and traumatic turning points in their lives as boxing becomes their one conduit for a second chance at something better, if not redemption, Crying Fist is absolutely the kind of film that deserves a physical re-release with tons of in-depth features. It’s a legit milestone in Seung-wan’s career, and a must-have for anyone who loves world cinema and still collects physical media…and for that matter, a must-stream where and when possible.
