“Libera Me” Theatrical Poster
Director: Yang Yun-Ho
Cast: Choi Min-Soo, Cha Seung-Won, Yoo Ji-Tae, Kim Gyu-Ri, Park Sang-Myeon, Lee Ho-Jae, Jung Joon, Heo Jun-Ho, Jeong Ae-Ri, Kim Soo-Ro, Park Ga-Ryeong
Running Time: 119 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Korean cinema was in an interesting place at the turn of the millennium. The 90’s was a tricky decade for the film industry, it’s first one as a democracy, and initially the outlook didn’t look promising for local productions which struggled to compete with glossy Hollywood blockbusters. However in 1999 a movie called Shiri came along, and suddenly a countries output which was little known outside of domestic shores found its breakthrough. An action thriller pitting South Korean agents against North Korean spies, Shiri presented a distinctly Korean story, and infused it with liberal doses of Michael Bay style shootouts and explosions. Shiri would open up the doors to international interest in Korea’s output, and by 2003 Korean cinema was well and truly on the map, its output termed as the ‘Korean Wave’.
Libera Me was released the following year after the success of Shiri, and follows the logic that action movies were the way to go, the more bombastic the better. Clearly influenced by the 1991 Hollywood production Backdraft, the plot sees Choi Min-soo (Sword in the Moon, The Terrorist) as a world-weary firefighter whose taken on a devil may care attitude since losing his partner (Heo Joon-ho clocking in a cameo) in a previous blaze, which he blames himself for. He’s forced to put his guilt aside though when a mentally unstable arsonist played by Cha Seung-won (Man on High Heels, Night in Paradise) starts running rampant through Busan, setting off a number Continue reading
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