“Illang: The Wolf Brigade” Teaser Poster
Kim Jee-woon (The Age of Shadows), the celebrated filmmaker behind I Saw the Devil and A Bittersweet Life, has released his next film, Illang: The Wolf Brigade (aka Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade), exclusively on Netflix for U.S. audiences. The movie is a live-action take on the popular 90’s anime feature Jin-Roh.
The original Jin-Roh was noted for its fluid animation, stylish action, and political allegory. The screenplay, penned by legendary Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii, also drew inspiration from the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale.
Illang: The Wolf Brigade (read our review) stars Gang Dong-Won (Master), Han Hyo-Joo (The Beauty Inside), Jung Woo-Sung (Asura: City of Madness), Kim Moo-Yul (Doomsday Book), Han Ye-Ri (Champion) and Heo Jun-Ho (The Merciless).
Catch it RIGHT NOW on Netflix…
Not a single Japanese actor on this film? Not even for a side character? SMH.
This movie is about reunification of Korean peninsula. Why would they cast Japanese?
Because it’s an adaptation of a Japanese anime.
They may have chosen to re-purpose it for a Korean setting, but anytime someone from one country takes a property from another country, I feel it is best to include an element acknowledging where you got it from and giving an actor some work, so they aren’t left out and it’s whitewashed. For foreign actors, even Japanese ones, they deserve to get seen overseas and the Korean film/music industry has a much wider reach than Japan’s. Hong Kong movies are much better at handling this type of stuff and aren’t afraid to have Japanese actors.
Also take for example Edge of Tomorrow. A very good film and although it did poor in theaters it did very well on home video and was praised by critics. It’s based on a Japanese manga, but they don’t mention Japan not even once in the film! They mention China and the most random European states in the story but not Japan. Never mind actually incorporate any actors in it even as extras.
In fact, in the promotion for the Edge of Tomorrow film. They mention the director, producer, everyone and their mother in the trailer and posters, but never once mention the author (Hiroshi Sakurazaka) or the manga (All You Need Is Kill). Felt like a gross misrepresentation by Hollywood to not even publicly give credit to what was at the time a pretty niche manga.
In this case, Jin-Roh i a relatively niche anime film. Just as Oldboy was a pretty niche manga. You ever mention “Oldboy” today and people think Korea first then the bad Hollywood remake second, but rarely do people know it too is based on a Japanese property. I just want people to incorporate enough acknowledgement of the source that it doesn’t become outright appropriation.
Looool. What a logic. Are you 15 years old teen girl? You looks like whining ‘Oh shit. Nobody mention my Oldboy manga. They have to put Japanese actor!!’. If it is necessary in plot wise, they have to cast them. If not, don’t. Stop whining like pressed teen girl. You looks so pathetic.
If Kim Jee-Woon thought he needs Japanese actor scene in this movie, He would. But he didn’t because it deal with chaotic situation after announcement of Korean reunification plan. There is no such a thing you have to cast actors from original country.
Also, the reason people don’t talk about Oldboy manga is because it’s forgettable manga. There are tons of case when adaption is better renown than original source.
You don’t have to have Japanese actors to play Japanese characters. There’s plenty of small or side roles (including Korean ones) they can play. This is sci-fi after all, there’s options. But this is just how I look at films, I don’t know about you bud. I want actors from the original culture to always be represented in some form or another when you adapt their work, particularly if you’re from a major industry or studio and have the money for it.
Expecting to have Japanese actors in Kim Jee-woon’s ‘Jin-Roh’ is like expecting Welsh actors to show up in Park Chan-wook’s ‘The Handmaiden’. They’re not needed.
PS In relation to your concern about the adaptation being ‘whitewashed’, I’m pretty confident that’s not going to apply in this instance. 😛
Welsh and Korean, is nothing like Japanese and Korean. There are routinely British actors in American films. There is nothing wrong with incorporating a Japanese actress or actor in a Korean one. But this is just my personal philosophy about having actors from the original culture to always be represented in some form or another when you adapt their work, particularly if you’re from a major industry or studio and have the money for it.
I’m actually looking forward to this Koreanification of Jin-Roh. From my experience I expect more from Korean live action movies than from Japanese ones (although there certainly were exceptions in history).
If you haven’t, you should also watch “StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops” from 1991, which is a quite decent Japanese live action spin-off of the original franchise. Intriguing imagery from the Taiwanese countryside, a sweet final shootout and a soundtrack by Kenji Kawai:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2TqWrO6Ym3guT7r7PxA7XL0uMKEU3udn
I’ll steal this. Fuck Netflix.
Seen it. I love the director’s previous work (A tale of two sisters, the absolute masterpiece A bittersweet life, the brilliant The age of shadows, the ultra cool The good, the bad the weird, the social satyres The quiet family and The foul king…and an…OK Schwarzenegger DTV), but…or is an atrocity, and a treason to the original.
I meant “but this live version is an atrocity, and a treason to the original.” Horribly bad main actor, very forgettable OST (the anime OST, vastly superior…is heard sometimes in the movie!), and the last part is the most ridiculous ending since at Blade runner’s theatrical cut.
By the way, the violence is 1000000 times more effective in the anime. Avoid this crap and watch for the first time or once again Okiura’s first movie (and his second one, entirely different, A letter to Momo, while you’re at it).