“One on One” Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Young-Min, Lee Yi-Kyung, Cho Dong-In, Yoo Teo, Ahn Ji-Hye, Jo Jae-Ryong, Kim Joong-Ki, Kim Jae-Rok, Joo Hee-Joong, Choi Gwi-Hwa
Running Time: 122 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Just like movies are a product of the time they’re made in, so the same can be said for reviews that are written of them. A review of The Matrix in 1999 described it as an innovative sci-fi action masterpiece, while a review of it in 2019 describes it as a tale of white male privilege. Time and experience dictate our perspective, and perspectives are usually much more fluid than we care to admit. Which brings me to One on One, a 2014 movie directed by Kim Ki-duk and starring Ma Dong-seok, which I decided to dig out of obscurity (based purely on its position in my alarmingly disorganised Blu-ray collection, not popular opinion) for a first time watch in 2019.
At the time of its release, just 5 years ago, One on One was quickly written off as an unremarkable and heavy handed follow-up to Ki-duk’s masterful 2013 production Moebius. One of Korea’s most controversial directors, a baffling story that emerged from the production of Moebius was how an actress quit just before filming was due to start, leading to Lee Eun-woo playing double roles in the finished product. As the #metoo movement swept through Korea in 2017, the anonymous actress came forward to elaborate that her departure was due to being raped by the director, when she refused to perform an unscripted sex scene. Since the allegations came out Ki-duk has gone to ground and not worked since, his case certainly not helped by his last movie that was also due to be released in 2017, Human, Space, Time and Human, which prominently featured scenes of rape.
While Ki-duk’s alleged misdemeanours have seen Korea’s original enfant terrible fall from grace, One on One’s leading man has experienced a career trajectory in the opposite direction. In 2014 Ma Dong-seok was still a couple of years away from his scene stealing turn in Train to Busan. At the time the muscular Korean was either playing supporting roles in the likes of Kundo: Age of the Rampant (from the same year), or headlining B-movies like The Murderer. Since gaining popularity many of his fans have been waiting to see Dong-seok unleashed in a gritty action flick a la The Man from Nowhere, but by his own admission his preference is in favor of action comedy over bloody violence which, let’s admit it, is a shame. As much as I enjoy his burly bruiser with a heart of gold persona, the realisation that the type of role I’d been hoping to see him in may already exist, led me to deciding to give One on One a shot.
The combination of a director known for his confronting themes and explorations of human natures darker side, and the curiosity of how he’d utilise an actor as physically imposing as Dong-seok, was too much to resist. Opening with the unmotivated murder of a teenage schoolgirl by a pair of contract killers, soon both the murderers and those that ordered the hit, find themselves being hunted down by a group of seven vigilantes who call themselves the Shadows. Led by Dong-seok, as the movie progresses they disguise themselves as everything from Korean army personnel to gangsters to riot police, each time abducting one of the perpetrators involved in the murder and escorting them to an undisclosed location.
Once there Dong-seok and his cohorts extract confessions out of each one of them, usually through brutal means of torture. For those who’ve been waiting for that movie where Dong-seok unleashes on people with a baseball bat full of embedded nails, sets to work on various limbs with a hammer, and pummels a guy’s crown jewels in such a way that any male viewer will be left wincing, then you’re in the right place. Dong-seok’s unrelenting violence against those who were involved in the murder eventually leads to fractures forming in the group, as others begin to question how far is too far. Combined with the fact that one of the targets who was released after confessing (Kim Young-min, Memories of the Sword) begins his own investigation into his mysterious abductors, soon Dong-seok becomes increasingly extreme in his quest to complete his mission.
Subtlety has never been a word you’d associate with a director such as Ki-duk, and One on One is a good case study to prove the point. It’s no surprise that some of his best works, such as Moebius and 3-Iron, are virtually dialogue free, as his scripts can have a tendency to show signs of clunkiness. Here the members of the Shadow group form a who’s who of characters with grievances against the world – the twenty-something that’s spent his life “studying like a robot” but can’t get a job, the average joe who’s been swindled out of his savings by a scam, and the woman who’s become dependent on the abusive relationship she’s in, to name just three. Ki-duk’s script doesn’t believe in the principle of allowing things to go unsaid, with characters airing their rage against the world at frequent intervals.
As unsubtle as it may be though, there’s also a feeling that the in-your-face approach could be the point Ki-duk was aiming for. The end credits are introduced with the question “Who am I?”, challenging the viewer to understand where they fit into the hierarchy of the society we live in, and it’s a question worth considering regardless of the way it’s been asked. Out of the 25 movies that he’s directed, One on One is arguably one of his most accessible in terms of its structure. While Ki-duk’s works frequently defy being labelled as any one genre, here he’s created what can most closely be described as a thriller. Dong-seok has an unknown connection to the murdered girl, however the focus is more on the murder being a metaphor for the injustices that the rich can inflict on the poor, with Dong-seok acting as a relentless force of nature rallying against them.
While the 2 hour runtime mostly sticks to a – put on a disguise, abduct next person involved in the murder, torture until they confess, then repeat – structure, Ki-duk uses the framework to pose some morally complex dilemmas. The more powerful the perpetrators become that the group are abducting, the more seeds of doubt are planted in certain members. Some members of the group begin to question how much injustice is simply worth tolerating and accepting as part of life, while Dong-seok’s insistence that the injustices of the world must be punished starts to put him at odds with others. Despite the heavy material, the themes of Buddhism that often crop up in Ki-duk’s work (none more prominently than in his 2003 classic Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring) are still on display, leading to a suitably fitting ending that offers both redemption and hope.
The theme of injustice between the rich and the poor has resulted in some of Korea’s best movies in recent years, with the likes of Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite and Lee Chang-dong’s Burning posing similar questions to what’s asked in One on One, albeit through very different genres. They’re the type of questions which are likely to be no less pertinent as the years progress, with the skill as a filmmaker being how to frame them in a way which still engages the audience, knowing there’s no easy answers. Ki-duk is a filmmaker who can never be accused of taking the easy approach in any of his productions, frequently accused of treading the line between being evocative and plain bad taste, and for me One on One struck the right balance.
Going back to why I watched One on One in the first place, as a follow-up to Pieta and Moebius, it’s easy to see why it was a disappointment at the time of its release. Even as one of Ki-duk’s lesser works though, I enjoyed the questions it posed, and the heavy-handed approach should definitely not be a surprise to fans of the auteur. Whether there’s still an audience for his movies is another question. Watching it as a Ma Dong-seok movie, I enjoyed it considerably more. As someone unwilling to compromise, he kind of reminded me of an R-rated version of his character in Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days. His roles in recent years have to some degree seen him pigeon holed, however here he gets to show his full range, and his imposing presence feels genuinely intimidating. If you’re looking for something a little grittier than the likes of Unstoppable or The Outlaws, One on One delivers the goods.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10
