While my inbox is mostly filled with music, I do get opportunities to screen some movies regularly that would normally not come up on my radar. One of them is the 2022 film Hunt, which is the directorial debut from Lee Jung-Jae (“Squid Game”). Set in the 1980s, it’s a story deep in the middle of the cold war between North and South Korea. The movie is quite gripping, reminding you some things never change, no matter what part of the world you are in, along with visual details excellently executed in the film.
The cinematography of Hunt is fantastic, instantly pulling you into the topsy turvy rollercoaster this story goes through. You never know who to trust in this movie, but that’s the point. When you’re dealing with politics and what powerful world leaders are trying to influence, there’s no trust as multiple people may want the same results. It’s more about how they go about getting those results is the question, as different people will find different groups or specific people as dependable as others. The journey is as influential as the plotted result.
If you go to the movie’s official site, there’s a press kit you can download that has so much great information about the making of the movie and an interview with the director, Lee Jung-Jae. CLICK HERE to view it.
Here’s an excerpt from that interview:
How did you come about wanting to tell a story about beliefs and principles?
Lee Jung-Jae:We often come to believe distorted truths through skewed perspectives in the media and
in education, which brings us into conflict with the opposition. There are people in the
world who profit from our conflict, and it’s obvious what they get out of it, but what
about the rest of us? It is important to continuously ask ourselves if our beliefs are rooted
in honor and love.
For more information on Hunt and how you can watch it, visit magnetreleasing.com/hunt, as it arrives on DVD and On Demand on February 28.
SYNOPSIS: After a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho (LEE Jung Jae) and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do (JUNG Woo Sung) are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy, known as Donglim, who is deeply embedded within their agency. When the spy begins leaking top secret intel that could jeopardize national security, the two units are each assigned to investigate each other. In this tense situation where if they cannot find the mole, they may be accused themselves, Pyong-ho and Jung-do slowly start to uncover the truth. In the end, they must deal with an unthinkable plot to assassinate the South Korean president…