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Sorry, I meant to rate Whistle Blower (Original title: Je-bo-ja) (2014) directed by Soon-rye Yim. Don't know how to delete this rating.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
jesse o
This reminds me, if only for the fact of the dedication of one journalist to uncover the truth about a very serious subject, of a South Korean version of Spotlight, even though this film was released a year before the Oscar-winner. That's really where the similarities end, of course, as this has to do with the claims of a scientist to have 11 cloned embryonic stem cells in order for them to be used to help the populace. Dealing with something as complex as stem cells, its research, its usage and its side effects means that the movie will definitely lose some people with a lot of the science talk behind the cloning of these stem cells. But, deep down, while the film is definitely about the stem cells, it is more about the false hope that Dr. Lee is giving people that really want his research to succeed, and one journalist's search for the truth in order to teach the people about a subject a lot of them are really ignorant about. The film works because there's so many twists and turns and not like M. Night Shyamalan twists, that make no sense within its own context. It's more like you get to see how the journalist, and his trusty co-worker, who's kind of the unsung heroine of the entire story, take two steps forward before Dr. Lee does something underhanded or manipulative that sets them back four steps. The film is pretty much like that from beginning to end and you might think that it might get repetitive for a little while and maybe it was, but I'll be completely honest with you, I was completely enthralled by this movie from beginning to end. The film isn't without its flaws, there's some manipulative scenes here and there, but I thought this was a damn good movie in spite of all that. Part of it is the fact that you do want to see this man brought to justice for building his entire career and enterprise on lies and selling false hope to people who legitimately need the treatment he hasn't made any progress on. But, at the same time, even with all of his manipulation of the media and questionable tactics, there's still a part of Dr. Lee that is legitimately trying to accomplish his goals of successfully cloning embryonic stem cells. His behavior isn't excused, but you can see how he would get caught up in keeping up this charade. Who doesn't want to be a hero and truly help people who need it? Again, doesn't excuse what he did, but I can see how he bought into that. It helps when you have Lee Geung-young playing Dr. Lee. I've watched a lot of South Korean films/television series, so I'm more than familiar with Lee Geung-young. And, I don't know why it took me until this movie to realize it, but this guy is a great actor. He's able to pull off ruthless scientist trying to protect himself and his own interests and sympathetic figure without really much trouble. And that's not to say the rest of the cast isn't good, because they're really damn good, but Mr. Lee definitely steals the show. The film is paced well, it builds up well to the climax and your eyes will be glued to the television as you watch this. At least mine were. I liked how the film also dealt with freedom of the press after the reporters and the station that employs them, NBS, start to face backlash from large portion of the public, who feel that Dr. Lee and his team should be left alone to work on the research that could, literally, save lives. You can relate to that as well, but finding the truth is also equally as important and people deserve to know that, they should be force fed lies. I thought they played with that in a really interesting way. Like I said there's some manipulative scenes here and there, like when Dr. Lee meets this man with cerebral palsy who tells him that he believes in the doctor and for him to keep strong. I felt that was a bit much, but I thought Lee, the actor, handled this scene expertly, so it didn't feel as manipulative as it might have in other films. And, thank christ, no melodrama. And this is a film where melodrama might actually be somewhat justified. So I really appreciate the lack of it in this flick. Like I said, it's not a perfect movie, but it's so fucking good, like seriously. The story is paced really well, it builds up a really tense tone, the acting is pretty damn great. So, yea, this is really good and I would easily recommend it if you ever have the chance to watch it.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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