Country 1: South Korea
Film: Derailed
Director: Lee Song Tae
Rating: 4/5 [8/10]
Derailed is a film that follows four runaway teenagers – Jin Il (Choi Min Ho), Ga Young (Jung Da Eun), Bong Gil (Lee Yoo Jin) and Min Kyung (Baek Soo Min) – as they try to survive on the streets. Amidst their stealing for food and money for survival, they end up stealing the car of Hyung Sik (Ma Dong Seok) who doesn’t take too kindly to their actions. Ga Young is taken by Hyun Sik and Jin Il, Bong Gil and Min Kyung – wanted by the police – must do everything they can to get her back.
Derailed is a film that isn’t something I usually watch; crime thriller isn’t a genre set that I regularly enjoy. I purely watched this to write some articles on Choi Min Ho more than anything – and I found myself truly liking this film much, much more than I expected.
This film was dark, it was gritty, it was stressful. With numerous members of the cast giving stunning performances, I was easily swept up into this horrible – and, all too real for some teenagers – world. This had my heart racing, I ended up chewing on my lip and pausing at times to take a break. The pace in this is well done; we go from seeing the teens resting and okay, having fun despite their predicament to their entire world turning upside down.
Watching them struggle to desperately survive the newest issue thrown at them was harrowing. This was dark, bleak and painful. My heart bled for them, I found myself crying at parts and I couldn’t get enough or finish this film quick enough.
The characters in this are extremely interesting – Seong Hoon (Kim Jae Young) took me completely by surprise and even days after finishing this film, I constantly think about him and what made his character the way that he is.
Lee Sung Tae, writer and director, did a splendid job with this film; I definitely want to watch more from most of the actors – this film has solidified me as a fan of them with ease. My eyes are on Sung Tae and what he does next and I’m eager to sit and watch through his other films to see just what else he can get me to enjoy.
All in all, Derailed was a brilliant film and I cannot wait to discover more from those involved in the film.
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Performances by every actor are great and realistic. Direction is superb and there's that unique "indie film" feel to it. DERAILED is a strongly scripted action film which sadly might not have seen by many people, but nevertheless leaves a strong impact, further haunting you especially after the end. It can even make you cry.
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Choi Minho plays the role of a young man surviving on the streets with three others, including the girl he's in love with. They commit crimes to keep themselves fed and don't even have a bed to sleep on. The painful reality of people surviving in the underbelly of a big city will make you feel all kinds of emotion.
The things throwaway abandoned kids have to go through to survive each day, it's downright brutal. The whole thing is extremely realistic so it breaks your heart and you can't help being thrilled for them when they get away with some minor crime.
One night, in dire straits, the girlfriend suggests they do a sex scam. She claims they won't actually have to do anything, just scam the guy. Minho refuses and after a bit of an argument he shuts her down. The next day, the girl, in an attempt to fix their money situation, decides to do the sex scam without telling her boyfriend and with the help of the friend they find someone.
But things don't go as planned.
What I loved about the movie was the strength of their love and how passionate they were. There was no selfishness there, it really gets to you when things go awry.
Just in love with this one.
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