"Stylistic" is inevitably the word that comes to mind watching this film. Lee pulls out all the cinematic weapons in his arsenal in this humorous, almost deconstructionist romp through Hong Kong action cinema, film noir, comic books, and more. There are more homages, visual tricks, and musical gags than in almost any film I've seen. And that's a good thing because plot wise this is very generic. Some people are sure to decry the supposed glorification of police brutality. An alternate interpretation that is criticizing the police by showing their basic similarity to the bad guys is too facile to be taken seriously. But despite any possible qualms one might have with any messages being delivered, this film is just plain too fun and funny to not like.
Add a Review
-
arenn13 January 2001
-
drmike7127 July 2001Well, this film is weird, very weird indeed. As far as i can remember the bad guy has no dialogue, the violence if to be related to Manga is more like that from TV series Dragonball Z. The main character, the cop, unlike his contemporaries spends less time talking (a la Vincent Hannah in heat) and more time beating suspects senseless (a la Dirty Harry).
I have seen no publicity on this film but I don't think that it takes itself to seriously, a lot of it is presented tongue in cheek rather than an accurate representation of Far East police methods.
Another thing you as a viewer may find strange is the fact that there is nothing to the film but its plot. The characters, individual and not too cliched, apart from the Jackie Chan style Goon mob, are actually interesting and original but never really explored. You pick up that the main character is only a cop because it suits his temperament and that he never really goes home except to eat instant noodles.
What is impressive is the sheer style and technical achievement this film is. Im not talking Matrix style effects or something, I'm talking about making the best of what they have on a limited budget. As far as story goes, you understand and know the bare minimum, but I suppose that is realistic in police work and that you never see the master plan or crime network, its all about individuals who are only responsible for themselves.
Nowhere to Hide is to cop movies what Blade Runner is, to Manga cartoons what Mortal Combat was and to plot what a Police Academy movie is, but it is none the less good and frankly I dont regret seeing it. Not for the easily bored. -
Version: Original Korean cut, R3 Korean DVD, Korean audio and English subtitles.
'Nowhere to Hide' is one of those all style and no substance Korean action films that is destined to be played in the SBS cult-movie slot. In saying that, I'm actually around two years late: it already played once as an SBS cult-movie about two years ago. However, after watching it for a second time on DVD, it doesn't seem as awesome as it did two years ago. It's unfortunate really, because I'm all about awesome.
Woo (Joong-Hoon Park) is a rather unorthodox detective, paired with Detective (Kim Dong-Kun Jang) investigating a murder. The main suspect is Sungmin (Sung-kee Ahn), an apparent master of disguise. Being the unorthodox detective that he is Woo, tries to track down Sungmin by abusing other suspects and sleeping in the homes of people close Sungmin. Funny how no one thought to report him.
Somehow, 'Nowhere to Hide' manages to drag out an incredibly thin plot to almost two hours. It really is a case of all style and little to no substance. I'll admit that it is visually stunning, but why? 'Why?' is something that has not yet been explained to me, and at first glance, none of the IMDb comments seem to answer why either. It is almost as if director Myung-se Lee decided he was going to make a cop-thriller that was long and filled with pretty pictures, but yet had no point.
As an action movie it is entertaining, but nothing special. It is funny at times, but the action and humour just can't seem to keep up the interest for the full 112 minutes. I hate to admit that it even becomes a bit of bore and some points. I guess I should have watched the shortened international version.
Anyone who thinks 'Matrix: Revolutions' borrowed from this film should really check out 'Volcano High' - the end in particular. I know 'Nowhere to Hide' borrowed music from Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in the West', as well as featuring Korean rock and the BeeGees.
'Nowhere to Hide' is entertaining, but too long for it's own good. It should still appeal to fans of Asian action movies, but I was not impressed - 6/10 -
That's the rating this film has received so far?! I guess this really is a love-it-or-hate-it film; but I watched it twice in two nights without the benefit of English subtitles, that should tell you something. Even without understandable dialogue it's funny, exciting, and even a bit challenging. It's nice to see a film with artistic merit that isn't afraid to be entertaining. The film's unusual fight scenes are really something to see; at times it appears that the director just let the actors fight while the camera ran, sometimes for up to a minute at a time without any cuts. I can't recommend it enough. I imagine being able to understand it could only be an improvement.
-
jascry19 May 2001I saw Nowhere to Hide for the first time just 2 nights ago. I recently discovered the wonders of Korean cinema and I purchased it sight-unseen based on what I had heard about the film. After viewing it I've decided that it's a film in search of a loftier goal.
Visually, Nowhere to Hide is a stunning film. I'm tempted to call it experimental since the goal seems to have been more of an experiment in motion rather than a basic action film. From the opening black and white scene to the ending fight set to that "Holiday(?)" song, NtH is true poetry in motion creating an incredible atmosphere through motion.
Unfortunately I feel that the director, Myung-se Lee, sacrificed artistic storytelling for artistic visuals. The film is as average story-wise as it is beautiful visually with its standard "cops search for killer" plot that never goes beyond the standard fare. It helps that Joon-Hoon Park conveys such an interesting character but I felt that the film still lagged through the middle half.
In the end, despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed Nowhere to Hide. As it stands, NtH is certainly worth seeing at least once but, with more focus on plot, it could have been so much more. -
When I saw Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, I left the theater feeling disappointed, and it wasn't until days after the movie that I began to appreciate the film. Now it's one of my favorites. What Eastwood did was to raise my expectation and appetite for violence--that satisfying kind of completely "justified" movie violence that has few, if any, real consequences for the perpetrators or for the viewers. What Eastwood did was to turn the tables on us as viewers and indict us in the act of anticipating and enjoying violence, which is inherently joyless.
Nowhere to Hide works in a similar fashion. What Unforgiven was to the American Western, Nowhere to Hide is for Asian action films. In the archetypal action flick, the bad guy does some really bad things (kills the hero's partner, family, friend; kills innocent people, especially women or children; bombs a building, killing civilians; etc.) which necessitates his death--we accept his murder as a moral obligation. Then, the detective/cop (a cool, witty, handsome, and dangerously graceful man; picture Chow Yun Fat) speedily tracks down the bad guy using superhuman powers of intuition and there are a number of bloody, explosion-filled confrontations leading up to a final one on one battle to the death--the hero emerges, injured but victorious.
Nowhere to Hide deflates the typical plot at every turn. The "hero," detective Woo, is a swaggering, slightly boorish thug with a comic flare and the inevitable soft spot under the rough exterior. His lumbering, shrug-shouldered, open-mouthed strut speaks volumes about his personality. But he must be a brilliant investigator. No, Woo's investigation takes months--a bumbling sequence of botched surveilance and raids gone bad. The good guys are clearly outclassed . . . badly. How many guns does he pack? Two? Four? No--only one, and it's a mace gun, shooting essentially ineffectual puffs of pepper spray. So, so he must be a martial arts expert. No, he fights clumsily, easily outclassed by any opponent with an ounce of training--he dives on people's backs, kicks anything he can reach, and beats people with bats, clubs, and pipes. He's much better when his opponent is in handcuffs or tied down somehow. Director Lee Myung-Se even uses slow motion (a la John Woo), but in his hands, the fights become not ballet but broad farce--more like the climactic shootout in What's Up, Tiger Lily than any scene from Hard-Boiled or the Wild Bunch. And before every major confrontation, Woo and his men have to find somewhere to urinate because they're so scared.
The end result is a darkly comic, visually engaging (something like Bladerunner), and fairly entertaining movie that takes most, if not all, of the glamor out of crime and crimefighting, and that, like Unforgiven, questions our love of a good fight. This is a good movie to see, but not if all you want is a glorious bloodbath. -
lastliberal18 June 2007Myung-se Lee may dream of one day being the Korean John Woo, but he has a long way to go.
This was a good film, but it it not in Woo's class. The action was in short bursts, with most of the time spent in routine police procedure. Well, I say "routine" as Detective Woo (Joong-Hoon Park) is anything but routine. I don't know why they would give Miranda warnings in Korea, but he certainly throws out any other procedures that we take for granted in an obsessive hunt for a drug dealer. I just wish we had him going after Osama bin Laden.
The hunt takes almost three months and his partner Kim (Dong-Kun Jang) doesn't fare well in the venture. I did find it very interesting that Woo instigated a snowball fight with Kim to take his mind off a shooting. Having been in the trenches dealing with scum, I know that sometimes you have to do those things to heal.
One kudo I give the film is the cinematography and music. I was really impressed with the way the leaves, the snow, and the rain, as well as color was used to set the mood.
I'll look for more by Myung-se Lee to see if he gets better. -
funkmasterg13 July 2001This movie is simply an unintelligent action movie. And if you're going for that category, there are much better things out there. The film has an undecipherable plot and is simply a series of disconnected sequences with seemingly no connection between them. Because the murder central to the storyline is not explained at all, the main villain cannot really be developed, and this is compounded by the lack of dialogue in the movie. One redeeming point is use of alternative, original camera effects, but unfortunately they are not used in any intelligent manner. If you're into semi-funny in an ironic way running chase scenes and secondary characters named Fishhead and Meathead, you might find this amusing, but I would advise everyone to avoid it. Out of an audience of 30, only the 3 of us had the courage to brave it to the end. Draw your own conclusions.
-
sunhee_yongdae_lee3 October 2000I liked this film a lot. Myung Se Lee is one of the most stylish directors in Korea and "Nowhere to Hide" is at the top of his skill. The opening black and white sequence, which stops at the every hit, was enchanting and the rainy murder scene was just amazing. The comic book like action was very original and more beautiful than the ones in Wong kar Wai and John Woo's movies. The actings were also superb. Joo Hoon park, a super star in Korea, proves that he's still a king of comedy with his hilarious movement and dialogues. Sung Ki Ahn also shows that good actors don't need to talk much to show a great performance. I'd loved this movie even more if the plot was tighter but if the director intented to show rather than tell, what can I say?
-
tewhitaker14 April 2002(UK DVD version) Thoroughly bizarre, beautifully shot, intentionally lacking in much by way of plot or character, but sadly fails to sustain any interest. Action sequences are too built up to be so uneventful. Interesting but ultimately flawed.
-
stephen-morton21 January 2010"Nowhere to Hide" is a film unlike any other I have seen, and likely unlike any you have seen either. It is a film alive with the possibilities of cinema, and not afraid to stretch the boundaries between pulp and art.
The story centers on a detective named Woo, and his partner, Kim. Woo is a hard-living bulldog of a cop with not a little Popeye Doyle in him--he even wears a funny squashed cap, though it is a fishing hat rather than a porkpie. Kim is a by-the-book family man. Together, they attempt to track down a murderer over the course of several weeks. The plot is little more than a succession of action, chase, and stake-out scenes as they work their way through the killer's accomplices until they find the man himself. Their investigation is accomplished through plenty of illegal beatings and searches-without-warrants, but somehow the characters remain likable and entertaining to watch, due largely to the strong, theatrical performance of Park Joong-hoon in the central role. Humor is also sprinkled liberally throughout, both brilliant physical gags and a few knowing verbal jokes, creating a movie full of action and fun.
But the film is only really about this plot to the extent that it allows the director to play around with the possibilities of film-making. Lee takes great joy in cutting up action sequences in new and exciting ways, crafting a style somewhere between John Woo and Wong Kar-Wai in its brilliant use of the camera. He makes potentially simple sequences new and exciting through the use of slow motion, quick cuts, and "jump dissolves" in combinations never before seen. He goes back and forth between lovingly dwelling on falling leaves and snow flakes to slicing swords and swinging fists, endowing each with unique beauty and cool.
The two stand-out sequences in the film are probably the first murder scene and the final showdown. The first murder takes place at "the 40 Steps" and attains a bizarre, haunting beauty against the background of bright yellow leaves and falling rain, all set to the BeeGee's early hit "Holiday." The final showdown is again in the rain, this time pouring down in steel sheets as Woo and the murderer face each other mano a mano. A strain of "Holiday" floats briefly through the soundtrack, as the character's fists fly super-fast then super-slow. (Incidentally, this scene was clearly an influence on the final fight in The Matrix Revolutions.)
The film has been criticized for having an unclear plot and lacking character depth. These things are mostly missing, true, but it is only because the director deliberately chose not to focus on them. Here is how he describes the point of his movie:
"In a Monet painting," Lee says, "the theme is not the water lily. The water lily is just the object to paint light upon. As it floats, we see its reflection on the water, and that is what we call painterly. My intention is the same. In this film, I wanted to show the filmic. The story and the characters are not the main focus of my film. Movement is. Movement enters the other elements in this film to create kinetic action."
The film, then, should be viewed in this spirit and not as a simple action film. If you approach this movie as an exercise in innovative style and gleeful genre pastiche (the movie shows clear influence from John Woo, The French Connection, and Sergio Leone--including the harmonica line from Once Upon a Time in the West), you will find yourself awed and delighted. Looking for deeper meaning, however, is futile: the style IS the substance. -
Leofwine_draca23 March 2013NOWHERE TO HIDE is a much-hyped South Korean action thriller that follows a much-used template: a dogged detective who will stop at nothing to track down a master-criminal against whom he has a personal vendetta. It's the kind of slim, pared-down storyline that's kept the thriller genre alive for the past sixty years or so and shows no signs of flagging thus far, and when played out in conjunction with Myung-se Lee's ultra-stylish direction it really should work. Sadly, though, the resulting film is hollow and superficial in the extreme: very stylish, yes, and great to look at, but ultimately unfulfilling.
Myung-se Lee's problem is that he's far too interested in his cinematography and not in his own story, which doesn't really go anywhere. Lots of recent films are centred around detectives pursuing bad guys through the streets; THE CHASER, for instance, with its superlative pimp-vs-serial-killer shenanigans. But they have to have more than just action to make them work: likable characters, for one, and realism, combined with peppery dialogue. NOWHERE TO HIDE looks great, but that's all it has to say for itself.
The film is a jumble of frenzied editing ranging from extreme slow motion, missing images, fast cuts, freeze frames and plenty more. Combined with a pumping soundtrack and a great use of colour, it's a fascinating visual experience. But the dickhead detective and the sullen criminals he pursues through the back streets are singularly uninteresting and the various chase sequences quickly become repetitive. By the end, there's enough material to have ably filled a ten-minute short; but at a two-hour run time, it's just too little to sustain the interest. In the end, NOWHERE TO HIDE is a missed opportunity. -
josh-hall17 May 2005Nowhere to hide has to be one of the most perfectly made cop/villain thrillers i have ever seen. The movie has such a a great, yet tense feel to it and is so determined to blow the audiences minds away. The groundbreaking camera-work, beautiful cinematography, tense and violent action (featuring some of the coolest fight scenes i have ever seen) and a to die for soundtrack make this film in my opinion one of the greatest cop thrillers that has been made today. Laying right up there with 'Heat' and 'Infernal Affairs'. This film i think is not only a must see for Asian extreme fans, but for any one a fan of thrillers. 9 out of 10.
-
ExpendableMan15 November 2006Emblazoned on the cover of the UK DVD release for 'Nowhere to Hide' is a line of text taken from a newspaper review claiming it is "a sure-fire hit with fans of Hard Boiled." Written on the back is another similar exclamation, stating "Is the world ready for the next John Woo?" In terms of marketing they certainly picked their strategy yet it's an extremely misleading tag. In fact, I'm not sure either of those quotes come from people who have actually seen it, because this is more of a Dirty Harry style cop thriller than a Chow Yun-Fat shoot 'em up with a body count so astronomical it's a miracle there's anyone left alive in East Asia.
The story (what little of it there is) revolves around two Detectives, Woo and Kim as they attempt to track down a killer named Chang Sungmin. And that's all you need to know really because there's very little in the way of expanding on this in the film whatsoever. The murder committed at the start which triggers the hunt is given no explanation or motive, simply brushed off as 'drug related' and the rest of the running time seems committed to sticking in as many fancy camera tricks as possible and this is where it all falls flat.
"Nowhere to Hide" you see, wants to be cool. Desperately. It wants to be spoken of in the same breath as Tarantino and it yearns for this hipster status so much it falls flat on it's face, the posturing braggard's mask slipping and revealing the sweaty nerd underneath. Just look at the characters walking in slow motion towards the camera with rock music playing behind them, the whole sorry enterprise just screams "LOVE US" so much it makes you cringe. And this is carried over into leading man Joong-Hoon Park's performance. He's one of these stereotypical 'bad guy' cops you see that defies the regulations and matches it with a cocky swagger. And this loosely translates as him beating people up, threatening women and setting his face to maximum leer and gurn mode throughout while his attempt at swaggering has him walking like a hunched over prat for the whole movie.
One area it does succeed however is in the dizzying showmanship of the numerous cinematography gimmicks on display. The first five minutes for instance are filmed entirely in black and white and there are loads of intriguing tricks littered throughout, providing a pulsing sense of adrenalin that the plot cannot provide. It may go overboard at times (do we really need to have the shot of several policemen running into a hiding place in Matrix style slow motion?) but this flashy excess does help it stand out from the crowd.
In short then, not a successful movie. If you want a good Asian cop thriller, ignore this and go straight for Infernal Affairs. If you've already seen it, just watch it again. This is no substitute at all. The camera tricks may provide a good talking point, but the irritating lead, non-existent story and frankly rather rubbish action scenes let everything down. Style over substance to a T. -
ycy16 February 2000Okay, so this whole movie is about a group of seemingly dim-witted cops trying to catch a genius villain. It may seem to have a sub par plot, but the director's artistic touch more than makes up for the obvious and trite plot. It is not a "normal" film in this respect, with slow motion techniques, etc. . . I guess the closest thing to this (that I saw) would be Three Kings - with the bullet embedding itself into Mark Walhberg scene. A slightly bizarre and weird film in terms of technique and what the viewer expects, but still a good film. I do have to say that this is probably one of those films that you either love or hate. As for me, I loved it.
-
tntokmenko24 January 2013The first and last 15 minutes of this movie are really engaging visually and vitalize your interest in the story. The problem lies with the middle of the movie where little is presented to keep with the pace of the action. The movie tries too hard to capture a tone of being constantly "bad-ass", and with this loss of cohesion surrounding the plot the film breaks apart in the 2nd act. I got bored amidst the slo-mo and camera effects, they were used too much in which they lost their emphasis after a while. Also it's difficult to understand the progression of the characters, not always clear what they're doing or why. It's a standard Heroic Bloodshed flick except the cinematographer is on ecstasy and the scriptwriter is on speed. There's an imbalance between the visuals and material. Regardless it's a very interesting crime film to watch, and if your a big fan of the Matrix you can check out where the Wachowski bros took some of their inspiration from. Other than that, there's not much here for moviegoers outside the incredibly specific niche of Asian crime dramas. -5/10
-
hofnarr30 April 2001Cinema is images, usually 24 frames per second. Sometimes the story is predominant, sometimes not. What will I remember of this film in 10 years? Probably not much of the story line. But I'll remember: the super-saturated yellow of the autumn leaves; the rain falling on the 40 Steps during the murder scene; the starburst "wipe" in the first reel (I've seen iris shots, and Kurosawa wipes from left to right & right to left, I've seen wipes spiralling from a center point out,I may have seen top to bottom and/or bottom to top wipes - but never one like this); the inserts of what appeared to be color sketchings of characters inbetween live-action shots near the film's beginning; the strobe-like black & white shots at the disco and the balletic brawl on the rooftop among the billowing sheets.
Style over substance? Perhaps. But mighty impressive style. -
Acharne30 January 2006I trusted in my IMDb brethren that this movie would be at least mildly original and entertaining. Well I was wrong. This was quite possibly one of the worst movies of the past ten years. The direction was that of someone trying to make a European style film while working with a really bad Hong Kong wannabe script. Even the box claimed it was 'In the style of John Woo'. Ha ha. John Woo has made both good and bad movies but they had directions, plot, and occasionally even a touch of character development. This movie had nothing. It had disjointed scenes that didn't follow in to each other at all, attempts at comedy that looked forced and worse yet, a confused looking cast. In one seen the lead jumps on another guy and the camera shakes. Yes that's right, it shakes. I haven't seen anything that lame since 'Hard to Die'. This movie was a painful bore with misleading billing and absolutely no redeeming qualities except that it ends eventually. Please don't waste your time, go and watch teletubbies, Jaws 4, Rocky 5, ANYTHING other than this tripe.
-
fuddam15 February 2002Was BLOWN AWAY by the visuals - as pretty much everyone else seems to have been - but now that I want to buy it on DVD, it appears there are 2 versions: running time is either 97 min or 112 min. That is a BIG difference, and could go some way to explaining some of the negative comments above - ? You'll remember those seminal scenes for a looong time. Anyone who loves CINEMA should make a point of seeing it.
-
PyrolyticCarbon16 October 2002The entire first half of this film seems to be far too over produced. Edits are fast and out of place, stylish cuts are made and leaps from black and white to colour, from moving to stills. It's just all too much, without enough content. The characters are given a light glossing over and there's no depth to them, you don't care for anyone, and indeed end up hating everyone, except for a slight liking for the bad guy who at least looks cool. Much of the film tries to leap between serious and comic for no apparent reason. One moment a fight scene will be moody and cool, the next there's a waltz and the characters are dancing. This just seems to be an exercise in creating an MTV film cool and shallow, and it fails on the first point. I almost switched off during this, and I have to say I hardly ever do that, I can always find something good in a movie not this one.
-
Gareth_Hacking23 January 2003I really enjoyed watching this film, I was on the edge of my seat most of the time.It's great to watch a film where the director is in love with the possibilities of film, making use of every trick in the cinematic book. This everything-and-the-kitchen-sink style seems popular in Asia as Tears of the Black Tiger had used a similar approach. Sure, the detective's are made out to be as vicious as the criminals they're chasing but I can't think of too many films that portrayed the police in a positive light (ok, I'll let you have 'Police Academy'). The only problems for me were the somewhat plodding pace between the action sequences and that the audience never got to know anything about Sungmin.
-
Bod6 February 2000This was one of my last films during the Göteborg Film Festival of 2000. Sadly, the impression I got from the description in the festival-catalogue was far from what the film proved to be.
If you want to see Manga with live characters - see it. Personally I left half way into the film and got myself a cold beer instead. -
Wsbr11 August 2009I saw a trailer on an obscure DVD (don't remember which though) half a year ago. The trailer made use of the Bee Gee's song that's in two of the scenes in the movie. Then I read most of this IMDb comments.
A month ago I found the DVD (I'm always searching secondhand stores) and yesterday I put in in my DVD-player. Watched the trailer on the DVD again. It was a different one. Not as catchy as the one I saw earlier that made me want to see (want to have) this film. Then I watched the opening scene/titles and the 40 steps scene. My wife and I where about to start watching another film (Wanted, 2008). I asked for her patience and showed her the 40 steps scene first. She agreed with me that that was a beautiful scene and she was positively surprised by it hypnotic style. Then we watched Wanted. (Which had cool special effects but didn't convince me in any way: could have skipped that one...) Half an hour ago I finished watching Nowhere to Hide.
I think it is a fascinating movie. Storywise it's not very deep or wide, but that's alright with me. The acting, the photography, the directing and so forth I find very very good. The 40 steps scene reminded me very much of the better Miami Vice (televisionseries) episodes: music framing something horrible, continuing through the whole scene (not fading right after the dramatic climax, but going on for minutes and breathing out inevitability).
Now (while writing) I am playing the movie again.
One could say I really like it. I agree with most of the very enthusiastic reactions I read on IMDb. -
mudoshin3 April 2002this just one bad lousy movie disguised as a so-called manga movie. bad plot or no plot rather. bad acting, overacting, miscasting. all full of sound and fury signifying nothing. the director tries hard to make it look 'sophisticated' with affected, pretentious, contrived and overdone camera work, often to hide the bad script. all form (whatever little there is in the directing and acting) and zero substance. it only shows how shallow and superficial his directing is. manga or not. it sucks. worse still, the characters are rather repulsive especially the lead. if the comic was meant to be a parody, the actual movie with real life people loses that effect, and actually creates a bunch of police bullies who are just sadistic one-dimensional characters. another piece of work where s*** tries to pose as 'art'.
-
zedthedestroyer17 January 2001This is an enjoyable, fast-paced action movie that's shot in a frenetic style that almost reminded me of "Run Lola Run". Joong-Hoon Park stars as Woo - the likeable yet violent, dopey yet determined Inchon detective who organizes a manhunt of a cold-blooded killer. The story is routine, yet the visuals and the characters in it are wonderful. Some of the images are beautiful (like the wait leading up to the murder at the beginning of the movie, and the snowstorm later on, and especially the fight during the rainstorm), some are hilarious (such as Woo's brawl with Meathead).
The only time the movie seemed to flag for me was when Woo's partner develops a conscience after killing a suspect in self-defense.