The Swordsman
       
                      
Director: Choi Jae-hoon
Year: 2020
Rating: 7.5
Country: Korea
This Korean film shows that Taken can be set in any country and in any time period. There are few things that people of different political persuasions agree on anymore, but a father rescuing his daughter from sex traffickers may be one of the few. Sex traffickers have become the boogeymen in cinema when it has become harder and harder to find villains that some religion, race or ethnicity doesn't get upset about. But sex traffickers? Kill them all. Director Choi Jae-hoon (The Killer) sets this version of Taken during the Joseon era when swords were the weapon of choice. In my opinion, watching a man kill dozens with a sword is much more visually interesting than simply shooting them with guns that never run out of ammunition. After the film opens with a swordfight, the director steps back and spends the next hour building slowly to the inevitable bloodbath. He creates the historical setting, character development, introduces all the many side characters and makes the audience care about the outcome. We get invested in this small tough girl and her protective father. When the action finally kicks in, it is highly satisfying and well-choreographed.



But let's go back to that beginning. It is 1623 and the ruler of Joseon is about to lose power in a coup. Prince Gwanghae is a true historical personage who was in a tough spot between the Ming's, the Manchus and the Japanese - not to mention the different factions within Korea. When he is arrested by Min Seung-ho (Jung Man-sik), Min tells the Prince that he has to step down because he has killed his siblings (true) and is not a strong leader (debated by historians). But before that happens, his personal bodyguard Tae-yul (Jang Hyuk - the killer in The Killer) refuses to yield - told by Min that it is useless to die, he still won't surrender and a fine duel follows that we don't see the end of till later. Tae-yul though is considered the best swordsman in Korea.



Jump ahead a bunch of years and Tae-yu is now living in the secluded mountains with his daughter Tae-ok (Kim Hyun-soo) scraping out a living hunting and making things that can be sold. He is also going blind. So, a little Zatoichi floats in. Down from the mountain, things are not going well for Korea. They are basically ruled by the Manchu's who are demanding tribute in the form of women. Absolute bastards. I guess it is still ok to portray the Manchus as villains. Tae-yu and Tae-ok go down in hopes of getting an ointment that will save his eyesight. Things go haywire and Tae-ok is taken as one of the girls bound for China. You can imagine what happens after that. You can basically follow the trail of dead bodies to the conclusion. As a historical note, Prince Gwanghae lived in exile till 1641 and was replaced by his nephew Injo who history has not been kind to. Very enjoyable sword fighting film. This won the New York Asian Film Festival Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema. Daniel, you are missed.