The sole-surviving member of a band of 10th-century demon slayers known as the Chuyongdae is magically transported into Mid-Heaven, an ethereal realm where souls of the dead await reincarnation. Yi Gwak (Jung Woo-sung) encounters his lost love who has had her earthly memories erased and comes to her defense when the souls of his former comrades-in-arms enlist the aid of demons to threaten the realm and everyone that reside their. THE RESTLESS is a digital effects-filled, fantasy swordplay movie with a strong romantic angle that encompasses Korean director Jo Dong-oh’s loose interpretation of a popular Chinese supernatural fable from writer Pu Songling’s “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.” The same material provided the basis for Ching Siu-tung’s A CHINESE GHOST STORY trilogy but Jo steers his movie in a different direction with competent, yet less-satisfying results.
Jo was previously assistant director on the more grounded martial arts actioner MUSA and he re-teams with its star Jung Woo-sung for this film.
Overseeing the action choreography is THE CITY OF VIOLENCE star Jung Doo-hung, the man behind the impressive fight work in many of Korea’s top action films in recent years including NO BLOOD NO TEARS, FIGHTER IN THE WIND and TAEGUKGI.
Production design is significantly bolstered by Oscar-winning costume designer Emi Wada who has leant her boldly distinctive skills to Akira Kurosawa’s RAN, THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR, THE STORM RIDERS, HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, and most recently THE WARRIOR AND THE WOLF.
THE RESTLESS is a somewhat confusing, underdeveloped production with excellent visuals, flat acting performances and elaborate, wire-enhanced fantasy fighting that is well executed but unimaginative.
Jo relies heavily on numerous flashbacks to the “real world,” which still has orc-like demons running around, to tell his story that largely revolves around Yi Gwok and his relationships with a love interest and his fellow demon slayers, all of whom he meets in Mid-Heaven and now finds himself caught between. This is awkwardly offset with a bewildering, dreamlike journey through the realm where it is never clear where the protagonists are in relation to anything else or what they’re intending to do in order to fend off the invading demon horde led by Yi Gwok’s former commander and mentor Ban-chu (Heo Jun-ho).
As the endlessly angst-filled protagonist, Jung spends the vast majority of the movie looking excessively forlorn as he wears a perpetual deer-in-headlights expression of wide-eyed disbelief or shock at virtually everything he encounters. This is matched by co-star Kim Tae-hee, a TV actor making her big screen debut as the love interest who has lost her memories of him in the afterlife but is transfixed by his intense interest in her. To say the least, it gets more than a little tiresome to see the two sitting around commiserating together endlessly about their lost love. I can see what Jo was trying to achieve here by suggesting that forgetting to love or be loved is worse punishment than death but his way of expressing it is too heavy-handed and a momentum killer. The melodrama may play to local audiences but is unlikely to impress the international crowd.
It may have just been coincidence but Kim bares a slight resemblance to Hong Kong actress Joey Wang, the female lead in A CHINESE GHOST STORY. While I would definitely count this as a plus, I found myself more distracted by her co-star So Yi-hyeon, another young TV actress who portrays Hyo, the only female demon slayer and a would-be love interest for Yi. I didn’t see anything in her fighting performance to suggest she should take up action roles full-time but I wouldn’t mind seeing her try, preferably in hot pants and garters like Maggie Cheung in THE HEROIC TRIO. It’s a thought.
The demon slayer angle is interesting and I would have loved to see more of this aspect of the story. Some excellent make-up effects and costuming create truly menacing creatures clearly inspired by the LORD OF THE RINGS films but they end up little more than a mere distraction both in the real world and in Mid-Heaven. I couldn’t help but laugh at a FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING moment when the two heroes hid from the demons much the same way that Frodo and Sam hid from a Ring Wraith. In the same sequence we see black birds being used to summon the demons, again in a loose reference to LOTR.
The real conflict is between Yi Gwok and his former demon slayers, who possess some interesting super powers in death, in addition to fighting skills that would be comparable to your standard wuxia swordsman who can defy gravity and fight hordes of enemies at once. One can teleport. Another can swing through trees and ensnare opponents by shooting chained darts out of his back in what looks a lot like the abilities of Dr. Octopus from the Spider-man comics. This ability could also be likened to the long-haired sirens of Chinese mythology, who could manipulate their hair in a similar fashion and even kill with it. Yet another fighter shoots daggers or short swords from his back.
Yi Gwok may be the only human in a realm of demons and supernatural fighters but he isn’t defenseless by any means. The film never makes a distinction between wuxia and supernatural power derived from being in Mid-Heaven so it’s difficult to understand where Yi’s abilities come from. He’s able to dodge flying projectiles, perform leaping and spinning aerial attacks and use a rope dart like Batman uses a harpoon gun for scaling buildings. By the finale, he’s fighting his way through an entire army of demons seemingly numbering in the thousands and sending them all to oblivion in a dizzying series of twirling attacks as if this were your typical hack ‘n’ slash video game. Perhaps to drive home the point that this is like a video game, killing blows in this fantasy realm result in victims dissolving into a cloud of fiery ashes for an added touch of visual flair. It’s a great digital effect that’s used and abused to the point of turning action sequences into mindless showcases of excessive CGI where opponents simply throw themselves on Yi’s sword and burst into in a perpetual shower of glowing orange and black confetti. It’s scenes like this that could have benefited from a little humor to offset images that are hard to take seriously.
The use of upscale CGI during action sequences barely masks the poor creative use of competently choreographed fighting. That is to say, Jung Doo-hung has created decent fight work but its application is flawed. I lost count of the times that fighters would leap into the air suspended on wires to cross swords, catch somebody, dodge a projectile, or scratch their ass. It seems that in Jo’s world, you can’t so much as sneeze without taking to the skies.
Repetition and excess in the action and drama are indicative of the film’s major flaw which is lack of depth. Jo seems overly enamored with the superficial trappings of the Chinese and Western fantasy genres and fails to delve deep enough into his own creation to make something that is more than just a good-looking ripoff. I hate to say it but as much I admire Korean cinema and many of its creators, action filmmakers there have done a generally lousy job of creating their own local identity within the action genre. I cannot name a single movie that typifies Korean action cinema. Part of the problem is lack of demand from Korean audiences who seem to prefer other genres which boggles my mind.
Despite its flaws, THE RESTLESS is still an entertaining romantic fantasy-actioner with an interesting, if superficial take on Chinese folklore, excellent production design and polished integration of digital effects with epic-scale yet routine martial arts action. Because of its heavy slant towards melodrama in a fantasy context I would put this film in the category of a fairy tale which is pretty much what it has been marketed as. The setting and lore presented in the film may be more difficult for Westerners to grasp unless you’re familiar with films like A CHINESE GHOST STORY or Eastern concepts like reincarnation. Pacing drags in places, flashbacks can be a little confusing and acting performances are stiff apart from a couple supporting players but slick visuals, a steady amount of fantasy action and several attractive leads help in maintaining interest for the duration. Fantasy and fairy tales are uncommon themes in Korean cinema and this is decent first attempt from a new director.
Related Topics:
fantasy • Jo Dong-oh • Jung Doo-Hung • Jung Woo-sung • Pu Songling • The Restless (2006) • Wuxia
