THE ANARCHISTS A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2001 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Set in 1924 Shanghai during the turmoil caused by the political occupation by the Japanese of Shanghai and Korea, THE ANARCHISTS tells a gripping saga of a fight against repression. With an epic look and feel, the picture is reminiscent of THE GODFATHER, although there are John Woo (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II) style action touches as well. Directed powerfully by Yu Young-Sik, the story is very loosely based on a true story related to him by his grandfather.
Rejecting socialism as just another form of totalitarianism, the anarchists band together as political terrorists fighting against the Japanese. Bound not by blood but by a common political bond, they fight with little lasting effect against much, much stronger forces.
With strong, melancholic music, lush cinematography, beautiful costumes, handsome period sets and good acting all around, the movie is stunning as well as touching. Only the script, which meanders when it should stay focused, is a significant downfall. The movie would be substantially helped if it were to begin with a brief history lesson. After our screening, the director and the host filled in some of the complicated politics of that era, which helped provide some context for what we had seen. Without such explanations, Western audiences are likely to leave the theater quite impressed but a bit confused.
THE ANARCHISTS runs 1:40. The film is in Korean with English subtitles. It is not rated but would be an R for violence and brief nudity. It would be acceptable for older teenagers.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email? Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews