The Chaser (Chugyeokja) – a two-hour thrill ride that encapsulates the Korean police thriller
Director Na, Hong-jin’s debut feature showed the depth among Korean directors in the thriller genre. Park, Chan-wook’s Oldboy and Bong, Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder had already brought the Korean thriller into the spot-light, both highlighting the under-bellies of Korean society and the police’s inability to address issues in a society that to the outsider looks largely safe. Much like Bong’s afore-mentioned second feature, Na took inspiration for his film from a horrifying real-life case. Loosely based on the murderer Yoo, Young-chul’s crimes in Seoul a few years before, this 2008 film allowed Na and his co-writers to create a world in which police incompetence and hubris leaves little protection for those at risk. In a society where the lines between honesty and dishonesty are often blurred, someone refusing to follow kow-tow to society’s implicit rules can operate between those lines with little fear of being stopped.
Om Joong-ho (Kim Yoon-seok) is a disgraced cop turned pimp who is losing money and employees. Some of these women, he suspects, are running out on him for pastures greener, and it is something he wants stopped. Having sent one of his ‘girls’ to a job in the suburbs, he begins to suspect that perhaps this customer may be a rival pimp and decides to confront him. By the film’s end he has taken on the title role of the film – becoming the eponymous Chaser – as he seeks to track down a violent killer who preys on sex-workers and the elderly indiscriminately.
That a pimp could be a film’s hero says a lot about the world that the film portrays. While Kim, Yoon-seok plays it typically straight as a down-on-his-luck protagonist that really has good in him if it can be uncovered, villain Je Yeong-min (Ha Jung-woo) has no redeeming characteristics. From very early on it is clear that Kim’s pimp is out of his depth – his former colleagues don’t respect him any more than the few ‘girls’ he still protects. Against this he face against his will a vicious, gleeful force of nature who will destroy anything in his path. Many people say that the best villains are the ones who could have (i) gone good or bad – Michael B. Jordan in Black Panther or (ii) might even see themselves as a hero – Gene Hackman in Unforgiven. Ha’s killer is neither of these things. He sees the world as something to serve himself and luxuriates in every grinning act of violence he commits. This is an echo of the film’s inspiration – serial killer Yoo, Young-chul once said in answer to why he committed his crimes that “women shouldn’t be sluts, and the rich should know what they’ve done”. It’s a vicious railing against society’s ills that only seeks to trash at the surface for physical pleasures without actually pausing to wonder at root causes. It’s a characteristic which allows the director to construct a world where almost everyone is a villain and even daylight only brings a grey tint to proceedings.
The typical South Korean thriller motifs of useless cops, women being badly treated jostle alongside the chase itself. In addition, there is a nod to how rich and influential citizens are consistently protected to the detriment of others. In this film’s case the capital’s mayor requires so much protection (from protesters brandishing faeces) that the police aren’t able to investigate Je Young-min properly. He’s released even after admitting to killing nine people due to the lack of physical evidence – the police dismiss the character’s claims due his suspected mental health, another issue that is rarely addressed effectively in Korea. This is one of a few instances where critics point to contrivances that allow the film to continue, but the point made on mental health is a solid one. The real nub of why this happens may be in just how little some in Korean society think of the law enforcement officials of South Korea. Cops are almost always portrayed as either incompetent or weak, with a few mavericks – a possible nod to the ex-cop turned pimp – responsible for keeping society from dropping off the edge of a cliff into the East Sea. In a society where everyone is expected to conform, the maverick is both an inconvenience and the only one who can get things done.
If you can look beyond the occasional head-shaking piece of plot, The Chaser is one of the tautest, fastest thrillers to come out of South Korea in the last ten years. It certainly represented a fantastic calling card for director Na who has since brought us the crime drama The Yellow Sea and supernatural thriller The Wailing. For me, it also encapsulates why thrillers are among the very best genres out there for story-telling. Na can give us a fantastic, edge of the seat thrill-ride, allow Ha, Jong-woo to give a break-out, award-winning performance as the psychotic villain, and also reminding us of the problems that Korean society faces. For a debut feature it is a near tour-de-force.
