The Man from Nowhere (2010)

Sae-ron Kim is not only precious, but also brilliant in her role, as is Bin Won as the ex-black operations soldier/pawnshop keeper. The film so effectively depicts the lengths criminals will go to for money it makes one shudder to think this actually does happen in real life. Filled with so much feeling and emotion, this action -packed thriller was a delight to watch - and what a beautiful ending!

I am a great Luc Besson fan, but this is the film that 'Leon : The Professional" aspires to. The story is told in a restrained and logical fashion. It is gory and gritty, but as appropriate to the genre.A warning to the faint hearted, however: it is brutal in the action scenes. Not gratuitous like Peckinpah, but still chillingly graphic. It's gore and grit are very appropriate to this genre.I was prepared for a light, illogical action flick and got a layered story with superb acting! The cinematography was top notch.The police and the 'evil henchmen' are cardboard mockups of characters, which helps the viewer detach from worst of the carnage. This is high on my 'watch again' list!

Cha- tae sik is the man from nowhere and is a introvert special ops agent who has been running a pawn shop for years. A young girl so-mi, tries to befriend him but he does not confide in her presence, but little does he know that her mom is a stripper and is not much of a father figure to so-mi. Furthermore, the Chinese mafia and South Korean gangs trade drugs and tapper with Organ harvesting. So-mi's mother takes heroin from the gang and they both get kidnapped for messing with the wrong people. Hence, Cha-tae sik tries to save them. Moreover the Korean gang calls Cha-tae sik in order to settle a dispute against the Chinese mafia and if he does this, Cha-tae sik will receive so-mi and her mother back safely. However, Chae- tae sik is deceived and the Koreans kill the mother anyways and harvest her organs for sale and turn her daughter into a drug ant (child drug trafficking). That is why i love this film so much because it does not sugar coat anything or give anybody the Hollywood hope that is really looking for, it exploits the raw and cruel nature of humans using others to their advantage and not caring. A growing number of South Koreans are turning to the illegal websites and black markets to advertise the sale of their organs in order to overcome financial challenges and or debt. Furthermore, police are batting an eye away from the illegal organ harvesting and illegal organ trafficking is clearly on the rise, arrests relating to the practice have decreased, showing an unwillingness on the part of police authorities to crack down on the problem. Along with economic hardship, lack of donors in the country is also contributing to the rise in illegal organ trafficking, because the dependent population of men and women is so high (men and women ages 16 - 64) there is a lack of organ donors to support those in the home country of south Korea since the youth population is so small. Thought provoking question: What would you do if someone offered to give you 50,000,000 dollars for your organ knowing that your chances of survival are low due to the organ you are giving up is a vital organ the helps you function with your everyday activities?

It's been years since my initial watching and I can still say that every viewing feels like the first, and that's primarily due to the fact that; the characters are perfectly written, the action sequences are amazing executed, and the cinematography is immaculately directed. It's honestly the biggest shame that Won Bin is inactive as an actor, considering the fact that his performance in this film rivals some of his highly praised, acting-focused, celebrity peers. (Such as Lee Byunghun, particularly his performance in another excellent revenge-film called I Saw the Devil).