The Man From Nowhere

The 2010 Korean blockbuster and award winning film Ajusshi (international title: The Man From Nowhere) is a dark, violent and thrilling film that, maybe unexpectedly, contains a big amount of heart and sincerity. The film starts off brisk and even at a runtime of almost two hours, Ajusshi/The Man From Nowhere moves quickly through punch after punch. Won Bin helps make the two hours pass by quickly with his reserved portrayal of a lonely man quietly holding in his painful past. You immediately connect with him and with his friendship with neighbor, the little So Mi. Kim Sae Ron is a fresh little talent that also equally gets you to care about her character right off the bat. The film is definitely not for the faint of heart. It has a dark, grimy, seedy backdrop of the drug and human trade in Asia. The rage and vengeance that grows in Tae-sik as the movie rolls along adds even more to that foreboding and often bloody atmosphere. But that’s what makes the unexpected heart and sincerity all the more, well, unexpected. You’ve got to have a deft hand to be able to balance what would appear to be such contrasting themes, to have such a hopeful and touching undercurrent run through a film set in the midst of drugs and violence. But writer and director Lee Jeong-beom does just that. The excellent cinematography, most especially in a scene where the camera is step by step with Tae-sik as he jumps out of a window and lands right on the ground below, resonates to give the film its gritty essence. An excellently shot and well choreographed knife fight is also a highlight (and the bloodiest) of the film. Ajusshi/The Man From Nowhere has thrilling chases, exciting fight and action scenes, juicy and affecting twists and that heart-tugging sincerity that just explodes at you in the film’s final scenes. It only takes one little flashback to help you understand the friendship Tae-sik has with So Mi and what compels him to go to great and bloody lengths to save her. Never have I shed a tear at the end of a bloody action thriller that isn’t about a war. And I’m not afraid to admit that. The final scenes in particular were some of the best MaGMCs (Make a Grown Man Cry Moments) I have ever seen. And that is a testament to the writing, directing, and the stellar performances from Won Bin and Kim Sae Ron. I dare anyone not to feel a little tug on their heartstrings at the end of the film. Ajusshi/The Man From Nowhere is a completely satisfying and thrilling ride through revenge and hope and it is clear to see why so many people absolutely loved this film.

Such a great movie. I've watched it several times over the years. But watching it again now makes me sad -- knowing that the little girl in the movie is gone. RIP to that young actress.

There’s been a disturbing trend in action movies lately. Laziness. From movies with slipshot acting to movies with amateur writing, action movies seem to have been dumbed down to explosions and car chases – which isn’t bad if you do it right. A stupid movie has its own merits. But when you’re trying to make a movie and make is serious, this is not the way to go. Even though the action genre has been exploited time and time again, there are still films that capture a great balance of thrills, kills, and feels and The Man From Nowhere is a prime example. Won Bin stars as Cha Tae-sik, a lonesome pawn shop owner who isn’t very good with communication skills and mostly stays to himself. His only friend and confidant is a little girl who lives next door to him named So-mi. After So-mi’s mother steals drugs from a organized crime syndicate, they come after her. The only problem is that the drugs she stole are in a camera bag that she pawns to Tae-sik in an attempt to hide them. When the gangsters find out her location they torture her, kidnap So-mi, and confront Tae-sik. Tae-sik hands them the camera bag, thinking that So-mi will be freed, but they run off before he can get to her. This sets off a chain of events leading Tae-sik deeper into his mysterious past for the sake of saving So-mi. When I first read what the movie was about, I’ll be honest, It did not intrigue me. But I thought “Well, what the heck” and brought it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised. First, let’s go over the acting. Won Bin gives a glorious performance here that’s full of subtlety. Even though he doesn’t have the best social skills, this character is still human and Won Bin perfectly conveys Tae-sik’s thoughts without saying them. Kim Sae-ron is So-mi and while many child actors can’t pull off a convincing performance, this girl needs an Oscar. She brings life into a movie full of tense emotions and becomes the viewer’s only feeling of peace in the beginning. Yet she also retains a sense of maturity that her character has. This little girl is bluntly put – freaking awesome. There are other roles in this movie that are acted well but nobody’s performance holds a candle to Won Bin’s and Kim Sae-ron’s in my opinion. Secondly, let’s talk about how the film looks. I love this film’s director Lee Jeong -beom and his style in this movie. It’s shot well with fast pacing then slow pacing that mix together and fit in nicely with the tone of the story. It’s also very dark, with blue and grey overtones throughout the movie that puts an exclamation mark on the darkness of Tae-sik’s world. The lightest colors shown in the movie are shown when So-mi is there and it feels like it was filmed inside of Tae-sik’s brain, where So-mi is his only peace. I now would like to take a more in depth look at Tae-sik’s and So-mi’s relationship. Is the bond between them in the parental sense? Is it friendship? Are they mentors to one another? I think it’s all three. So-mi thinks of Tae-sik as her real guardian as her mother isn’t much of one. But she also thinks of him as a friend and teacher. You can take this also and flip it as I think Tae-sik feels the same way. Now, let’s talk action. This film rocks when it comes to adrenaline. It’s full of knife fights, shootouts, chase scenes, fists flying….You get the picture. Every scene looks painful and when someone is hurt, they bleed. I mentioned knife fights a second ago and this movie is well known for it’s climatic knife fight which go’s on for minutes. The stunts are done well and everything actually seems believable in the end which is unique in my experience with action films. So for as much as I have praised this movie, are there any flaws? Yes. Every movie has flaws. But this one has almost none to me. It’s unique in it’s execution and try’s to go outside of the cookie cutter action flick. It’s dark and tense but also somewhat heartwarming. It features great acting and stellar directing. All in all, The Man From Nowhere does not disappoint. Taken from my website : [...]

This movie is absolutely brilliant, seriously the rest of the reviews must be talkin about the wrong movie if they rate it less than a five. As a big fan of South Korean movies I always tend to know which ones are good and which ones are rubbish. The Man from Nowhere is an amazing movie with an amazing plot. Yes SOME of the storyline is borrowed from the movie 'Taken' but this movie is a million times better with much more action. Won Bin is an amazing actor, and this movie portrays how great he is perfectly. He sticks to the role well, and I am sure he is the reason this movie is such a big success. I don't want to give away anything like the other reviews have, but if you love South Korean movies, and you love movies that have great action scenes you should buy this. The fight scene at the end of the movie is breathtaking, and if an action movie found a way to make me cry, then you know it's gonna be great. Don't doubt yourself, watch this movie!!

This is just an outstanding movie. Terrific cast with the two leads were literally home runs in casting. A new benchmark was created with this movie; with Won Bin doing MANY of the stunts and choreographed fight scenes (including jumping out of windows and off buildings). You do not get the depth of production with American film like this anymore -- so it is quite an experience to watch a movie that is not made from the cookie cutter production machine that is like junk food for the addicted movie goer's brain to get a buzz off of (or so it seems). It comes with a good amount of extra's and has been copied in North American and other places to horrible results (putting in local actors and bending it for that mass consumption -- is Hollywood and Bollywood getting actually fearful of letting their client's consume the "real thing" for fear they will realize it has been an endless stream of junk they have put out year after year? In any case this is an outstanding storyline -- complex and compelling. Very violent and real as they say. It would have been almost too much for even myself -- except for the OUTSTANDING CHARACTERS and how they change and develop. I would be almost too worried about the violence but those characters would come out to add so my emotion and so on to it .. well it made the context of the story work as now balanced and watchable for most people. Terrific songs in it as well. .. Highly recommended.

Arrived within expected time. Was still in its plastic wrap. Worked no worries on our multizone DVD player.

Fan de films asiatiques, j'avais cependant des "a priori" sur le cinéma coréen qui ne m'avait pas emballé jusqu'à présent à l'exception des films de BONG Joon-Ho. The Man From Nowhere m'a réconcilié avec celui-ci. Il y a en effet des films qu'on prend plaisir à regarder sur le moment et d'autres qui vous laissent une empreinte marquante et vous bouleversent au plus profond de vous-même.The Man From Nowhere fait partie de ces films qui ne vous lâchent plus. C'est un film époustouflant, sordide et émouvant tout à la fois grâce à la performance de ses acteurs principaux Won Bin et Kim Sae-Ron. Sordide parce-qu'il évoque sans équivoque les trafics en tous genres que mènent les triades à savoir, stupéfiants, cartes bancaires, organes et exploitation des enfants où tout se vend et s'achète au mépris de la vie humaine. Emouvant parce qu'il s'agit de l'histoire d'une petite fille délaissée par sa mère junkie, livrée à elle-même, à la recherche d'une figure paternelle qui trouve en son voisin meurtri par un épisode tragique dans sa vie, quelqu'un à aimer. Ces deux êtres qui souffrent intérieurement vont trouver l'un grâce à l'autre la force de surmonter les épreuves et de laisser enfin éclater leurs émotions. L'ensemble est porté par une musique entraînante qui ponctue les scènes d'action dont la BOF n'est malheureusement pas distribuée en France. Un achat que je ne regrette absolument pas.

Film bellissimo, per me è una perla rara! Fortunata di averlo "trovato".....mi è piaciuto subito mentre lo guardavo già la prima volta, le scene d'azione sono davvero realistiche, super!...uno dei film più belli che abbia mai visto! I temi affrontati sono seri, organizzazioni criminali di droga con sfruttamento di bambini e traffico di organi, il tutto messo insieme in una storia di straordinario affetto tra un solitario ex agente speciale e una bambina (sua vicina di casa) che viene rapita proprio da questi criminali. La scena finale tra i due mi commuove sempre, forse è perché sono davvero amici e quindi tutto è più sponteneo!...Io lo guardo sempre in coreano senza sottotitoli per gustarmi al meglio tutte le espressioni visive dei protagonisti, specialmente dell'attore principale Won Bin. L'espressione dei suoi occhi mi hanno colpito subito, nel film non parla molto ma trasmette tutto con le emozioni, riesci a capire solo con il suo sguardo quanto ci tenga a quella bambina....davvero molto bravo! Per me l'attore Won Bin è sicuramente di un altro livello rispetto ad altri attori che ho visto finora. Molto bravo sia nelle scene d'azione ma soprattutto quelle più emotive! Mi emoziona sempre! Questo film, come altri coreani hanno emozioni e sensazioni superiori! I film "occidentali" oramai non li guardo nemmeno più a parte forse qualche rarità perché (mio modesto parere) non "sanno" di niente, sono vuoti, ripetitivi, remake di altri film ed emotivamente profondi quanto una pozzanghera. Questo film è il mio preferito, lo guardo sempre e mi trasmette SEMPRE qualcosa!... posso accantonare altro ma guardare questo fa oramai parte della mia routine! Ripeto...super consigliato. Da vedere!