Afrika (2002)

One summer, Yo-won fails her major and just gets fired from her part-time job, while Min-sun, an aspiring actress, gets humiliated in all kinds of ways by her academic advisor. Tired of the... See full summary »

Director:

Seung-Soo Shin

Stars:

Yu-won Lee, Gyu-ri Kim, Eun-ji Jo

Cast

Credited cast:
Yu-won Lee	...	Yo-won
Gyu-ri Kim	...	Min-sun (as Min-sun Kim)
Eun-ji Jo	...	Young-mi
Yeong-jin Lee	...	Jin-a (as Young-jin Lee)
Ji-ru Sung
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yun-Yeong Choe

Storyline

One summer, Yo-won fails her major and just gets fired from her part-time job, while Min-sun, an aspiring actress, gets humiliated in all kinds of ways by her academic advisor. Tired of the usual obvious advice people give, they drop everything and leave on a trip to Gangleung. But, then they discover a couple of revolvers in their borrowed car - the two revolvers that Detective Kim, from the Violent Crimes Division, and Nalchi, a middle boss in the organization, lost while gambling. The girls assume the guns are fake and pull the trigger - and the window shield goes out. From then on, their plans go awry and the two girls keep getting swept up into strange events. They meet up with Young-mi, a country tearoom waitress who has a complex about her looks, and Jin-a, who dreams of revenging herself on the guy who toyed with her and led her on. When these girls, attracted by the revolvers, get together, events snowball out of control.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title

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Genres:

Drama | Action

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Details

Official Sites:

afrikagirl.co [kr] (Korean)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

11 January 2002 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Africa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shin Seung-soo Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References Attack the Gas Station! (1999)

User Reviews

Asians Firing Recklessly Irrespective of Known Adversaries

Given the stricter regulations placed on firearms in Asia, it is conceivable that the average Korean college coed will be about as adept with a Glock 19 as, say, a monkey with a pair of chopsticks eating Fugu and Chow Fun. This theory is proven ad nauseum in the hip chick flick `A.F.R.I.K.A.', which stars (I'm guessing) the Korean equivalent of SPEED or MAX in a `Thelma & Louise'-type road movie. In it, two young coeds from Seoul embark on a weekend getaway, unknowingly `borrowing' a car belonging to a local gangster which contains two real live handguns (Beretta 92FS Inox and a short-barreled stainless S&W or Colt D/A .357 Magnum or .38 Special revolver). Not sure what to do, they embark on an odyssey in which they unwillingly gain two more companions (a hooker and an ex-con), both of whom have their own personal agendas involving the weapons. While the two coeds first draw the weapons in self-defence (to deter over-enthusiastic males), the unstable hooker wants to steal enough money for a nose job, and the ex-con wants payback on her ex-lover who made her take the rap for funds he embezzled.

By far the worst two scenes involve the actors trying to mimic the gunplay found in HK flicks, mob movies and rap videos. One involves the `gangster' (who reminds me a bit of Japanese actor/comedian Danda Yasunori) squeezing off a series of shots with guns in both hands recoiling whether or not a shot is fired. The other involves the quartet carjacking a diplomat's car, only to find that the driver is a big fan of the girls, who have become rogue heroes of sorts. The rather confused coed holding the 92FS Inox to the driver's head has her right index finger BEHIND the trigger instead of on it. Oh well. They should've given her a 1911 so she couldn't do that.

Granted, the film would be even less realistic (if that's possible) if the coeds suddenly displayed flawless firearms handling protocol, but I must admit that watching people wave guns around carelessly makes me cringe more than even Miike Takashi's `Odishon'. Okay, maybe not, but it is really disturbing. But taken with a grain of salt, the movie itself can be entertaining at times, and while clearly not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it - oh, who am I kidding? The plot, if any, was thin at best and the acting marginal. I don't know how accurate the English subs were, but if so, then the language (and ethics) of the girls rivals that of the gangsters. Mindless fun for the most part, but if terms like `Condition One Carry', `PASGT' and `Low Ready' mean anything to you, you should probably avoid this one. Just too painful.