New Delhi: Director Kim Hee-jin’s film opens with Song Joong Ki’s Loh Kiwan sweeping a bloody avenue clear. The subsequent second is on a flight to Belgium, and together with many like him, is advised by his agent to only reply I don’t communicate english, for a straightforward entry into the nation.
An adaptation of the guide “I Met Loh Kiwan” by Haejin Cho, tells the story of a North Korean defector looking for asylum in Belgium. Lost in translation and on hostile terrain Loh Kiwan is advised he must wait a 12 months for his utility for refugee standing to be processed.
From looking for refuge in a bathroom, and scavenging bins to search out meals to eat, he takes to promoting bottles to earn some cash to fend for himself. He hits all-time low when his pockets with an image of his mom and a wad of blood-stained {dollars} is stolen.
The wrongdoer is a younger Korean lady Marie Lee (Choi Sung-eun). Marie is a former Olympic shooter however is caught in a vicious nexus of medication and crime.
As he pleads for her to return his pockets, one sees the primary flicker of emotion on Marie’s chilly steely face. But in return for the pockets Marie has to as soon as once more turn out to be a pawn within the arms of a shady gangster (Waël Sersoub).
Marie, the motherless daughter of an prosperous Korean expatriate, is estranged from her father, and on a journey of self-destruction. If not in a drug-induced haze, she is a part of unlawful sharpshooting contests so as to add to her gangster boss’s unlawful wealth. Kiwan and Marie type an unstated friendship as he manages to get a job at a meat packing firm due to her.
Kiwan’s utility is rejected on grounds of being Korean Chinese, how does he show he is from North Korea. This is when the movie loses a little bit of steam and we get the unlikely and if not pressured romantic observe between Kiwan and Marie, as every seeks their sanctuary.
As Kiwan struggles to lastly get what he seeks probably the most, “the permission to not stay, but leave”, one understands that freedom is not one thing one can take with no consideration. His mom’s phrases “Live proud and strong with your name”, are what he holds expensive.
The movie squarely belongs to Song Joong Ki, who as soon as once more proves his innate versatility and skill to get underneath the pores and skin of his character. He tugs your coronary heart because the upright and compassionate Loh Kiwan. An outcast who desires the identical dignity to reside and earn his preserve. He breathes life into the movie when the narrative itself appears to be dropping steam, together with his impactful efficiency.
Choi Sung-eun, one of many promising younger stars in S Korean leisure, does her greatest as Marie. As Kiwam tells her “You scream a lot”, that is what Marie is requested to do for many of the film.
I Am Loh Kiwan tries to pack in lots in its 120-minute run time and doesn’t disappoint regardless of the few loopholes. Song Joong Ki is the guts and soul of this emotional drama.
