NZIFF 2023: Phantom (Lee Hae-young, 2023)

It is 1933, decades into Japan's colonisation of Korea. After a failed assassination attempt on the new Japanese resident-general, five suspects are kidnapped by the Japanese authorities.

Imprisoned in a seaside hotel, they are pitted against each other as the Japanese try to figure out which one of them is the spy/Phantom who is trying to bring the regime down from within.

Set in 1933 Korea, Phantom is a fun mess of a movie. 

After a frustratingly elliptical opening sequence, the film begins cycling through different genres, premises and character dynamics. 

The second significant section is a locked-room mystery - a group of suspects are secured at a hotel while the Japanese try to force the Phantom to reveal themselves. With broad, archetypal characterisation, this sequence has the most tonal consistency, and feels a little listless - we are following so many characters, and it never feels like the tension is building.

 

When the movie turns into a buddy action flick, it is more fun.

While the film is rather stylish, and the action is well-shot and choreographed, the biggest issue is the script - the movie feels like it is ending several different times.

The most interesting element is Junji, a former cop who is tortured by his mixed Japanese-Korean heritage.

While he starts out  as a suspect, when the film’s initial villain dies, he takes his place - he sees this as an opportunity to prove himself to the regime.

The film explicitly becomes an allegory for the Korean peninsula, with Junji as its colonial past, and Park Cha-kyung and fellow Phantom Yuriko as its future in North and South.

There is probably some nuance and context I am missing - including some homage to Joseph von Stenburg’s Shanghai Express, which I have not seen - but subtlety is not this film’s interest.

As far as characters, Sol Kyung-gu manages Junji’s transition to full-on villain

Interestingly, he becomes the voice on Korea’s past and future, offering a monologue on how the future state will only succeed as part of an overseas empire. The fact that he is - shortly thereafter - defeated by representatives of the peninsula’s dual future - is a slightly hopeful rebuke. Whatever the peninsula’s future, it will not be dictated by fascists like Junji or the Japanese Governor-General.

 

While the cast are solid, Park So-dam (Parasite) is the standout as the gun-toting vamp Yuriko. Even when she is playacting the entitled shit, she steals every scene she is in. When she reveals her true colours, going Rambo on a hotel full of soldiers, she proves herself as an action star.

A movie that is better-made than it is written, Phantom gets more enjoyable as it goes along. I am usually more onboard with these kinds of maximalist genre exercises, but it is just a little too long and unfocused to fully get behind in its entirety.

I am curious to revisit it, to see if its narrative flows smoothly on the re-watch.

If any Korean readers would like to point out anything I have missed, drop a comment with your thoughts

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