A Company Man

This is going to be a heavy one.

Ji Hyeong-Do (So Ji-Sub) is a seemingly ordinary salary man; he starts his day with a balanced breakfast, he carries a briefcase and wears a suit to work. Everything about him from his hairstyle to his manner of walking makes him indistinguishable from the average Korean working man. However, Hyeong-Do's job is anything but ordinary. Working as a hit-man for a company specializing in assassinations Hyeong-Do has been with the company for a long-time. Having never failed a mission and always completing his assignments without question, his boss Representative Jeon (Jeon Guk-hwan) plans to leave the company in Hyeong-Do's hands. That is until Hyeong-Do falls in love with a woman named Su-Yeon (Lee Mi-Yeon), a single mom who is also the mother of Hyeong-Do's most recent target. Hyeong-Do is forced to choose between his duty and his heart. When he chooses wrong he finds himself hunted by the very same organization that trained him.

 

He was a model employee.

If you follow me on Twitter you're probably aware that I'm a huge fan of Asian cinema - Korean cinema and shows in particular. Undoubtedly my favorite Korean film (and one of my favorite movies of all-time) is 2010's The Man From Nowhere which has since become the standard by which I judge these films. While 'A Company Man' won't be taking the crown I'd put it right next to 'The Man From Nowhere' as one of the all-time greats given that this movie was filled with drama, suspense, action and very deep characters that made me care about them. The story hooked me in from the word go and I was captivated by this world and the very real sense of pain and loneliness that was felt throughout.

It's hard out here for a killer.

Actor/rapper So Ji-sub plays our lead Ji Hyeong-Do. With 20 years of acting experience under his belt he's no slouch and he does a fantastic job portraying Hyeong-Do. When we first meet Hyeong-Do he appears to be a ruthless assassin, even going so far as to kill an underling with no remorse despite the fact said underling has a family. Orders are orders after all. He is both feared and respected in his organization and his boss likens him to a perfect killer. He's almost mechanical in nature. However this is only on the surface. Beneath that Hyeong-Do is a very lonely man who feels isolated even when he's surrounded by other human beings and it seems his only human contact involves the people he's sent to kill. As time goes on and his missions become more and more complex, we see and understand why he's had enough of this life and wants to move on. He's a quiet character, but the nuances in his body language speak volumes about what he's thinking. Verbally or non-verbally, So Ji-sub commands these scenes.

Learning to be human.

Actress Lee Mi-Yeon plays Su-Yeon a single mother struggling to raise two children on a tailor's salary. Caught between a rebellious, teenage daughter who'd rather make a career out of running the streets and a son whose super secret job happens to be contract killing similar to our main character and Su-Yeon has a lot on her plate. When she meets Hyeong-Do, his support and quiet understanding eases her financial hardships, but more importantly the emotional weight she's carrying. He helps her rediscover what it means to dream again and even brings her closer to fulfilling said dreams. Su-Yeon in-turn helps Hyeong-Do rediscover his humanity and live for something other than killing.

 

Don't cross the boss.

Any corporate structure is bound to have a completed hierarchy and this one is no different. A Company Man has a large assortment of characters connected with the organization - some good, some bad. Jeon Guk-hwan (above right) plays Representative Jeon, the leader of the organization. He's easy-going and friendly, but don't let that fool you. It takes a special kind of crazy to operate a business where the main product is murder. He's the mastermind behind everything and there's no line he won't cross to keep the organization's existence a secret. Serving directly under him is his stooge Kwon Jong-tae played by Kwak Do-won. Do-won does a great job portraying Jong-tae as this character you love to hate. He's scheming, double-crossing, woefully inept, and is basically an amalgam of every bad boss you've ever had. Yoo Ha-bok plays Jin Chae-gook, who was Hyeong-Do's handler before tragic events force him to turn rogue and place him into direct conflict with our lead. There are other characters including Ban Ji-hoon (played by Lee Geung-young) who is a washed-up, old assassin who has nothing in his life but money with no one to spend it on and a fancy car with no one to drive around in. Ban Ji-hoon is particularly interesting because he is in many ways an uncomfortable picture of Hyeong-Do's future. The lives of these characters all intertwine to create a compelling crime drama told through tears, bullets, and bloodshed.

 

Giving one HELL of a two weeks notice!

Any Korean crime drama worth its salt better have some good action and 'A Company Man' is no slouch. The film does an excellent job of having fights play out in very close quarters which makes the action more visceral. Hyeong-Do knows how to throwdown and whether he's up against multiple opponents or people older and more experienced than himself he knows how to bring them down all the same. The fight scenes also have an emotional weight because many of Hyeong-Do's enemies are people he's known for years and in some cases decades. There are times when he asks them to stop fighting for their own sake and when they don't he has to put them down. In addition, there's an office shootout that will make fans of Max Payne 3 proud.

The film's impressive score is composed by Mowg whose resume consists of films from east and west including The Last Stand, I Saw the Devil, Memories of the Sword, The Fatal Encounter, and more than a dozen others. His music perfectly captures the tone of each scene and the ending track carries with it this real sense of finality.

What lay at the end of his road?

A Company Man weaves a powerful tale, but it's certainly not a light-hearted one. This isn't your typical bang, shoot em up action movie. It's a gritty romp through the dark world of contract killing where innocent lives are lost in a war between men who can only find peace at the end of a gun. From the opening hit to the final moment when the last shell casing drops, A Company Man gripped me from beginning to end and I highly recommend it.

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (2004 - 2005)

Let the die be cast.

Written by Natsuko Takahashi and Tomohiro Yamashita, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo is an anime loosely based on the classic French novel  "Le Comte de Monte-Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. This science fiction themed retelling opens on Luna which is enjoying a carnival. Two childhood friends, Viscount Albert de Morcerf and Baron Franz d'Épinay, are taking part in the festivities and endeavor to close their evening with a trip to the opera. While there, Albert catches a glimpse of the enigmatic Count of Monte Cristo, a charismatic figure who is the talk of the town and the focal point of many rumors. Some say he isn't actually a count but a ruffian who made it big in outer space, others say he's a conman, some say he's an alien, and there are even talks that he's a vampire or worse yet, something which is neither man nor beast. These rumors and the protests from Franz does little to deter Albert from trying to befriend the Count and when a messenger from the Count himself appeals to Albert for a meeting all seems to be going better than expected. However, it soon becomes apparent that Albert is a pawn in the Count's game of deception, ruin, and revenge.

Let the games begin.

Gankutsuou is quite different from most anime out there. First it's not based on a manga, game, or visual novel, but rather a French novel. The anime is also quite a ways more mature than many anime out there as it mainly emphasizes drama, social and political intrigue, and a fair amount of reflection on how people judge themselves and those who are different from them, as well as dealing with the demons from ones past, and the lengths men will go to for greed, power, and revenge. While it's not exactly action packed it's certainly quite sophisticated and it steps outside the box by centering much of the narrative around a villain protagonist.

The Count contemplates why it's hard being a pimp.

As anyone familiar with the novel is aware, the Count is not a good person. He isn't above using any means to achieve a certain end, whether the means in question include money, influence, or people. And he's not above destroying families if it means fulfilling his objective. Simply put, if the Count is out for revenge he's going to get it. What's especially interesting is how the Count takes revenge on those who have wronged him, often times by using the very things they cherish most to take everything away from them. Also of note is that the Count isn't comically or flamboyantly evil. He's affable, soft spoken, and far more refined than many of the characters who hail from high society. His outer character hides his villainous intent so well even the viewer will find themselves doubting whether or not he's one of the bad guys. Unlike many villains in anime who have cliche reasons behind their heel turn or some Freudian complex behind their villainy, the Count has a very striking background and one heck of a good reason for a heel turn if I ever saw one. I won't spoil it but I will say I found the Count very easy to relate to given his past, but I can't say I felt any similar connection to the other characters.

Franz (left) and Albert (right) The Ambiguously Bland Duo

Albert is the other main character in this anime and at the same-time he's also one of the larger detractors from the story. Albert's character arc is a coming of age story and while that is a fitting position for him to be in on the other side of the coin, Albert seems to only serve to test the viewer's patience. He's very naive in the ways of the world and human nature and while a certain level of ignorance among society's upper crust is to be expected, one would never think Albert could be this unwise in the ways of the world given how much he travels and how often he parties. We start to understand why this is as Albert is the type who seems to be unable to learn many of life's lessons. For example, Albert gets kidnapped on Luna because he wanted to have a fling with a girl who had "easy" and "trouble" written all over her. After Albert is rescued and Franz advises them to leave Luna, Albert protests because he already made plans to make a second attempt at a fling with the same girl. Eventually, Albert does start to show some signs of maturity but the anime is roughly three-quarters over by the time that happens and it was far too late for Albert to enter my good graces after he had fallen out by the fifth episode.

Franz is there to balance out Albert's immaturity but he doesn't do this by being wiser or more learned in the ways of the world, rather he is simply more prejudice in nature than Albert. In essence Franz doesn't assert himself as a better person but is at the opposite extreme of Albert's disposition towards others. Whereas Albert will trust anyone and befriend anyone naive though it is, Franz does not trust anyone different from him and if an individual is outside Franz's social class he regards them with prejudice and outright disdain given his interactions with the Count. Long before it becomes apparent that the Count is a villainous sort, Franz clearly disliked him because the Count was different from him. Albert actually called Franz out for this. Our heroine isn't exactly endearing either.

If Eugenie was your fiancee you wouldn't want to marry her either.

At the risk of exciting the feminist crowd I'm going to be blunt and say Eugenie's character is defined entirely by her mood swings and I'm just as upset as you are. When we first meet Eugenie she's yelling at Albert and deriding him for being friends with someone outside their class i.e. the Count who she wrote off as a conman before she even met him. And then when Albert points out that she shouldn't judge someone without knowing them (rightfully so Albert), Eugenie calls Albert naive. And while it's true he is, she labels him this only to justify her own prejudice of the Count which is quite a despicable character trait to have. When Albert ignores her she gets angry and acts passive-aggressive and when Albert does respond to her taunts she regards him as a child. While she could have the classic dog syndrome (she bites him because she likes him) it doesn't come across that way as Albert seems to be infuriated by her behavior and finds her less endearing than the viewer does.

Still a better love story than Twilight.

When Eugenie and Albert do fall in love with one another it not only comes from left field but one wonders from where did these emotions magically come about. I've seen this anime more than a few times and I still don't see how these characters got together outside the fact that they had to because the narrative says so. When Eugenie's father ends her engagement with Albert and Eugenie is outraged, her own father asks, "Why are you upset? You didn't want to marry Albert in the first place." Eugenie counters with a solid "You don't understand at all" and it's just left laying there. Now with all these characters I can only tolerate you'd think I wouldn't have too many good things to say, but much like the novel Gankutsuou succeeds at building a striking drama because even though not all the characters are endearing, the cast is rather large and there is so much suspense, backstabbing, and intrigue that kept me riveted especially because the characters are affected in different ways by the developments within the story.

Money In the Bank

As mentioned before the Count will often use a person's most cherish possession to destroy them but the action thereof and the result therefrom will affect a character in different ways. Baron Jullian Danglars for example often has his mind on his money and his money on his mind. When the Count targets his financial well-being it remains Baron Danglars sole focus, eventually becoming his obsession and his actions to hold onto as much of his wealth as possible causes him to not only neglect his family but take actions which actually bring his family to ruin.

Chaos is fair.

Eyes honed on revenge rarely see anything else and the Count is not above harming even the people who love him if it means bringing about the downfall of his enemies. I feel that this pathology is fascinating because not only is it very telling of the type of person the Count is, but it also gives the drama weight and leads the viewer to ask what could this character have possibly endured to make him go so far. The actions of the Count affects so many characters, building a believable drama that kept me watching. While the dialogue between some characters can sound melodramatic at times the script is solid overall with some very powerful lines delivered by the Count in particular.

Gankutsuou: King of the Caverns

"I am no longer alone in abject solitude. For I am surrounded by the Furies, the goddesses of vengeance. In the darkness, I awaited the dawn. And once dawn came, I cursed my flesh until night fell once more. I even prayed that I would lose my sanity. But those prayers went unheeded. I strove for death, but the Devil’s cold, pitiless hand held me back".

The score is impeccable, featuring several classical pieces as well as some which have been altered for the anime. Additional music has been provided by Jean-Jacques Burnel of English punk rock band The Stranglers. It doesn't sound at all out of place and it fits the setting really well. The animation itself is absolutely stellar which has numerous jaw-dropping backgrounds and some unique character designs. According to Wikipiedia: "Gankutsuou's unusual visual style layers Photoshop textures into digital animation, with backgrounds often rendered in 3D."

The Count and Haydee

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo won't appeal to everyone. As previously mentioned the anime has little in the way of action as it's almost entirely dedicated to drama. There are a few violent encounters between various characters but if you're expecting action in a traditional sense you won't find it here. Also, how the Count comes into possession of an nigh endless number of resources to destroy his enemies is a bit perplexing as it's never explained. The futuristic science fiction setting may also be a turn off for traditionalists who enjoyed the original novel. I'm a traditionalist myself but I still found this anime very satisfying because even though liberties were taken the drama remains authentic. Brilliant performances from the Count's Japanese and English voice actors kept me hanging on his every word. While I didn't care for all the characters, the soap opera esque content of the anime made me invest my full attention into this series. A mature anime for a sophisticated audience, I thoroughly enjoyed this take on a classic novel.