2009: Lost Memories (2002)

1st watched 3/26/2009 – 7 out of 10 (Dir=Si-Myung Lee): Well done political fantasy thriller from Korea that creates a scenario where Korea in the year 2009 is part of Japan. This happened because a Japanese ambassador wasn't killed in 1909 and the U.S. dropped an atom bomb on Germany instead of Japan, who in this film they were allies with in World War II. This made-up history is presented just as the movie begins and then we are introduced to two friends in the Japanse Bureau of Investigations(JBI for short) who are hunting down a terrorist group who basically want Korea to be it's own nation. Initially, we think this group is "all" bad --- but the main star played by Toru Nakamura starts uncovering things that bother the JBI. A group that they work closely with houses an artifact that looks kind of like what's on the Korean flag that appears to be the focus of the terrorist group instead of just the "terror." He is taken off the assignment because of what he's uncovering and he also starts realizing some things about his own past that link him to this group. The story gets more complicated and bizarre when we find out the artifact has the ability to allow people to time travel. Now, I'm not going to tell a lot more because it will ruin the story for those who want to watch it. Despite the movie's length of almost 3 hours it keeps your interest even if you can't speak Korean(as long as you can read the subtitles). The end does take awhile and this is really the only downfall of this otherwise well-done and well-played action thriller that also is played out very well. For those interested in good foreign films don't miss this one!!

Hollywood has made loads of Asian remakes recently, and this would probably be another contender for their interest... although an American remake might have to be *extremely* bold. 2009: Lost Memories is one of the best Asian action films I've seen... period.First of all, get those Hollywood tendencies out of your head. This is a film whose story, far fetched though it may be, seems to convey some very genuine, weighted, and apparent contemporary sentiment about a significant event in modern Asian history. Since the event and players around which the film is centered are indeed VERY real - make Wikipedia your friend ;) - I would urge people from other parts of the world watching this film to try and imagine if something in their own histories had followed a similar plot; to better appreciate the film from the vantage point of the storyteller. DO NOT watch this film if you're only looking for some John Woo style action. It's really not about the action at all.I'm a typical non-Asian: very limited knowledge of Asian history, and absolutely no implicit understanding of Asian culture, or the mark that such history has had on modern Asian convention. I think this film (among many) offers a few clue-ins about the inward tensions concerning the past between Asians that are completely unknown to the rest of the world. It may seem deliberate as a matter of course to people from the region, most oblivious outsiders would still be guessing. In short, it is about an alternate reality in which Korea never gained independence from it's status as a Japanese protectorate. Now add time travel... and enjoy the film.Although it's a little on the long side, it was fun all the way through. The storyline never dropped or suddenly got slow, and there was nothing that could be completely lost in translation as I find is often the case with a lot of other trans-continental cinema. There's PLENTY of gun action for such aficionados. It was coherent, and very suspenseful from start to finish. Even the music played to great effect; perfect at certain instances like you see in film from time to time. All in all, a fully enjoyable feature.I liked this film, not for the time travel sci-fi, gun fights or adequate special effects, but for letting me see someone else (besides Hollywood) pay homage to their own heroes. In Japan this might be a horror film.

All the people who complain about all the anti Japanese rhetoric don't understand. As someone who's lived both in Korea and Japan, I could understand the motivations of this movie, but I don't think it is really anti Japanese in the slightest. In fact I find this movie to be very respectful to Japanese. For example... In the opening scenes, the Jongno area of Seoul is shown. It is much more built up and busy than it ever will be in real life. Next, there is the idea that nearly all modern day Koreans don't want independence from Japan. Even suggesting such a thing is ballsy for a Korean movie.I did however find it funny that Saigo, his wife, and his kid all wear kimonos at home. That's really odd. People only wear them on special occasions (such as the other scenes in the movie where they are seen, the art museum reception, and the obon matsuri.) There's also an error, when they are in the bar/hideout for the first time, you can see a sign saying that fosters beer costs 3000 won. OOPS! As far as the plot goes, the first 10 minutes got me hooked. Ito Hirobumi is not assassinated, history changes so that the Japanese Empire was the ally of the USA during WW2, Japan joins the UN security council and is the first to launch something into space. The 1988 Olympics (usually noted as Seoul and Korea's emergence into the first world)don't happen in Seoul, but in Nagoya, the city Seoul defeated by only a few votes in real history... with no competition from a Japanese controlled Seoul, Nagoya wins hands down. In the 2002 Fifa world cup, Lee Dong Guk is shown cheering after scoring a goal, only scroll down to see he's wearing a Japan jersey. (Lee Dong Guk plays for the Korean national team in real history, Japan's team must be amazing since we can combine the best players from the Korean and Japnese teams and also any players coming out of China's coastal cities... see the map in the JBI office later...). When they show Jongno in the opening scenes, the Governor General building is still there and Kwanghwa mun doesn't exist at all (the building was demolished in 1996 and Gwanghwa mun, which stood in front of the governor general building is still there in real history.) The famous Yi Sun Shin statue isn't there and in its place is a statue of Toyotomi Hideyosi, the one who Yi defeated.After the first few minutes though, Jang Dong Gun starts to speak Japanese and it's nearly impossible to understand what he's saying unless you can decipher what horribly accented Japanese sounds like. (watched this movie with no subtitles.) The entire rest of the plot is boring and stupid. What originally had lots of potential goes into the toilet. I would have had Jang's character join the independence movement and gain the support of the Korean people and possibly being a martyr for the cause, which causes Japan to eventually buckle under pressure and grant Korea its independence, after falling out of favor with Britain, the US, and France, all former colonial powers that more or less (saying that tongue in cheek)have given up on colonialism. Anyway that doesn't make a good action film I guess. Instead we have time travel.I guess the statement the film makes is one I agree with. Even though Korea is divided, it's still better to be divided and free (sort of), than united with other people controlling you (sort of). The movie is worth watching for the first 10 minutes alone, especially if you're familiar with Japanese and Korean history, and you've ever been to Japan and the Jongno district of Seoul.

This has been some Asian year so far. Every single TV stations in my country are broadcasting lots of Asian movies. Of course, most of it is an English-dubbed junk, but in just one month, I've seen Crounching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; The House of Flying Daggers; Hero; Bischunmoo; Dolls; Zatoichi; Musa the Warrior; The Returner and now... 2009: Lost Memories.I was very thrilled when I saw an announcement in the TV guide. The preview seemed to be very interesting and the fact that it was sort of collaboration between Korean and Japanese actors, made me think. I don't know Korean history well, but I realize that its relationship with Japan wasn't very good throughout the centuries. I'm rather baffled by the fact that most Koreans are learning Japanese at school while the Japanese doesn't do the opposite.About the movie. Well, it really doesn't match Musa the Warrior. Not by a long shot. Yet, it's quite an indent, showing that Korean Movie industry is growing and it can offer us some great movies. What I liked about this movie the most, was that it has been tried to maintain a realistic mood, therefore - all the dialogs, that ought have been in Japanese, WERE in Japanese. Not like in American movies, where Russians, Poles, Chinese, Spanish and Finnish - all talk in English >__< The flow of action itself was rather sluggish, and I saw no point in editing all the action sequences in slow motion. It actually made my mind boggle. And perhaps I'm an absolutely dumb person, but I didn't quite get the real biography of Sakamoto, what he should have been in the REAL story line.Nevertheless, this movie preaches all the general values: truth, courage, devotion, love of your homeland and respect. Being a Lithuanian I can understand Korean, because our own nation has been under the influence of Poland for centuries.To put it into account, you have to see this movie, if you are interested in Asian cinema industry, because there is nothing more handsome than an Asian man crying: tears run down his face, eyes are full of grief and sorrow, but not a single face muscle stirs. Amazing.