From the 1960s through the 1980s, South Korea’s blistering economic growth made it one of the so-called “Four Asian Tigers.” They also evolved from an authoritarian state into a full-fledged democracy, but that was a more difficult transition. The government in-fighting was so brutal that it even encompassed the real-life assassination of a president in 1979.
As this film opens, two rival South Korean spies must take subsequent presidential assassination threats seriously, but they each suspect the other of conspiring with the North Korean regime, in director Lee Jung-jae’s “Hunt.”
Park Pyong-ho (Lee Jung-jae) is responsible for foreign intelligence missions, while Kim Jung-do (Jung Woo-sung) oversees domestic operations. Park knows him well, because Kim was his interrogator during the late-1970s purge. Park was eventually cleared, but his body still bears the scars of their encounters.
Now that they are equals under the Machiavellian agency director, Park pretends there are no hard feelings, but they do not work well together during an attempt on the president’s life during the film’s opening scenes. When the existence of a mole within the agency comes to light, their manipulative boss stokes their feud, by having Kim investigate Park’s team and vice versa.
Cultural Export
This was the time when South Korea became a major global exporter of electronic and manufactured goods. In recent years, South Korea has also become a leading cultural exporter. Lee certainly contributed to that trend as the Emmy Award-winning star of “Squid Game.”Frankly, Lee is probably a major reason why the distributor picked up this 1980s-era spy thriller, which is his directorial debut, as well as a starring vehicle for the actor. It seems like there are dozens of top-notch Korean thrillers released every year. This is definitely one of them.
Screenwriter Jo Seung-hee has a wealth of hidden agendas and secrets loyalties in store for viewers. The entire third act is a feast of irony and role reversals, in ways that are impossible to explain without massive spoilers.
Breakout Performer
Directing himself as Park, Lee Jung-jae shows again why he has become an international breakout star. If you enjoyed Lee’s work as the slightly sleazy reformer in the Netflix series “Chief of Staff,” you will appreciate his work as ethically flawed Park. Watching him go toe-to-toe with Jung Woo-sung as the fiercely righteous Kim is great fun. In fact, Jung is particularly effective pulling off the reversal that completely changes audiences’ perception of his character.Fans of Korean film and television will also recognize many familiar faces in small but meaty supporting roles, such as Jeon Hye-jin as Park’s deputy, Lee Sung-min as Jo’s father (seen in flashbacks), and Jeong Man-sik, as an agent who goes rogue on Park during an operation.
“Hunt” is entertainingly twisty and turny, but it is also very dark, in the cynical tradition of John le Carre’s film and novels. “The Spy Gone North” and “The Berlin File” are still two of the best North-versus-South Korean spy films, but “Hunt” will definitely satisfy most fans of the genre.
Some historians claim James Jesus Angleton’s notorious 1970s mole hunt was as destructive for the American CIA as the actual Soviet mole. That might be debatable, but viewers can certainly see that dynamic play out in a Korean context throughout “Hunt.” It almost reaches absurd levels, but that is all part of the chaotic fun.
Enthusiastically recommended for fans of spy thrillers, “Hunt” opens Dec. 2 in theaters.
