Korean Movie – Adjusshi (The Man From Nowhere)

In Hangul (Korean), Adjusshi means mister, or older man, in the case of the Korean action thriller of the same name it describes Cha Tae-sik perfectly.  A lonely pawn shop owner, he does not get close to anyone except the daughter of a neighbor named So-mi. Which is where the Korean version of this film get’s his name, because the man never tells So-Mi his real name, so she is left to call him ,“Mister” Who befriends him to temporarily escape the brutal world of her mother.  Who is a prostitute, dancer, and heroin addict.  After So-mi’s mother Hyo Jeong steals a package of drugs from her employer, she gives a camera bag to Chat Tae-sik without his knowledge for safe keeping.  Under torture Hyo Jeong reveals where the drugs are and is then kidnapped along with So-mi.

Cha Tae-sik is then assaulted and left for dead, and must try and find out who his assailants are and attempt to rescue So-mi and Hyo Jeong.   Complicating matters, the police also want to question Cha Tae-Sik in the disappearance of his neighbors.  The police as shocked to discover that they have no records that he ever existed.  Who is “The Man From Nowhere” and were did he come from?

The movie takes on twists and turns until the shocking and climatic ending.

I really enjoyed the film, the story, acting, and fight scenes were top notch!  This is definitely a rollercoaster of a thriller, with enough plot twists to keep you entertained throughout the movie.  The only drawback was the only version that I could find was the English overdubbed version released in the United States.  If you can, I would definitely find a version that you can watch with the original Korean language track and English subtitles.  I find the overdubbed voices to be extremely flat, and not carrying the emotions of the original actors, which definitely takes away from the film and almost adds a comedic element to a film that really is not supposed to have one.

This is definitely a foreign action film I highly recommend!  Though I will warn you there is quite a bit of violence, not as much as Old Boy, but definitely more visceral fight scenes then you may be used to from some of the Chinese Martial Arts faire.  The movie can be rented from the iTunes Music Store, or Amazon Video.  The DVD or Blu-Ray can also be purchased from Amazon.