ReviewFilm review: The Age of Shadows – 140 minutes of breathless action

Vibrant cinematography, an invigorating score, sumptuous production design and standout performances show why Kim Jee-woon’s film deserves its nomination as Korea’s 2017 Oscars entry

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Gong Yoo (left) and Song Kang-ho conspire against the Japanese occupiers in The Age of Shadows (category IIB; Korean and Japanese), directed by Kim Jee-woon. The film also stars Han Ji-min.

Published: 1:15pm, 18 Oct 2016Updated: 11:48am, 20 Oct 2017

4/5 stars

Following the disappointment of his Hollywood debut The Last Stand, director Kim Jee-woon returns home with a riveting espionage thriller that taps into Korea’s recent trend for patriotic Occupation-era period pieces. Packed with compelling performances and showy set-pieces, The Age of Shadows is a classic wartime spy caper, blending Asian and European action styles seamlessly.

Song Kang-ho stars as Lee Jung-chool, a Korean-born Japanese police officer in 1920s Seoul, whose loyalty to the occupying forces is tested when he comes into contact with a gang of resistance fighters, led by the charismatic Kim Woo-jin (played by Train to Busan’s Gong Yoo).

As Kim’s team attempt to smuggle explosives into Seoul from Shanghai, they prey on Lee’s latent sympathies for his countrymen. So begins a nail-biting battle of wits between the two men that evolves through a number of bravura action sequences, including a rooftop foot chase through a walled compound and a breathless game of cat-and-mouse aboard a crowded train.

Song is reliable as ever as the conflicted protagonist wrestling with his patriotic duty, while Gong continues to evolve into a compelling leading man.

Han Ji-min as a resistance member in the film.