The Yellow Sea
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Theatrical Screenings
Kinoteka 4
Kinoteka 4
Film description
Gu-nam’s life is falling apart. His wife left for South Korea and has stopped contacting him, while he, a taxi driver, drifts through the run-down city of Yanji, on the border between China, Russia and North Korea. He is also a gambler with a mountain of debt hanging over his head. When a local gangster offers him a hefty fee to kill a man in Seoul, he hesitates for only a moment. He sets off on a journey, hoping not only to complete the task but also to track down his missing wife. However, his mission proves far more complex than he imagined. Before long, the hunter becomes the hunted, with dangerous men closing in on his trail. Steeped in a noir aesthetic, Na Hong-jin’s second film confirmed his fascination with the darker side of human nature and his masterful ability to play with audience expectations. The Yellow Sea is also a tour de force of narrative skill – exemplified by a breathtaking, wordless sequence detailing the assassination planning – packed with extreme action set-pieces involving knives, cleavers, and even bones (!), alongside high-octane chases that plunge the city streets into spectacular chaos.
text:
Marcin Krasnowolski
Na Hong-jin
Born in 1974, the South Korean director and screenwriter made his feature debut in 2008 with the thriller The Chaser, which became a box-office hit in South Korea and gained international acclaim for its bold vision and masterful direction. His second film, The Yellow Sea, co-produced by 20th Century Fox, was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011. Audiences had to wait six years for his next effort: the horror feature The Wailing, funded by Fox International Productions, which also premiered at Cannes and remains the biggest box-office triumph of his career to date. His latest project, Hope, laden with groundbreaking special effects, stands as the most expensive film production in South Korean cinematic history.
2008 W pogoni / Chaser / Chugyeokja
2010 Morze Żółte / Yellow Sea / Hwang hae
2016 Lament / The Wailing / Gokseong
2026 Witajcie w Hope / Hope / Hopeu
