Public Enemy (2002) Gonggongui jeog (original title)

Director:

Woo-Suk Kang

Writer:

Hyeon-jeong Kim (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 January 2002 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

Ruthless cop Chul-joong and a merciless killer in raincoat run into each other in a small alleyway and form a fatal bond...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Raincoat | Murder Investigation | Chainsaw | Marijuana

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Kyung-gu Sol	...	Cheol-jung, Kang
Sung-jae Lee	...	Kyu-hwan, Jo
Shin-il Kang	...	Chief Investigator Eom
Jeong-hak Kim	...	Detective Kim
Yong-gu Do	...	Detective Nam
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matthew Crawford	...	Policeman / Gangster 1 (voice: English version)
Ju-bong Gi
Soon-chang Hong
Kan-hie Lee
Brandon Scott Peters	...	Detective Kim (voice: English version)
Tae-hwa Seo
Ji-ru Sung
Eun-yong Yang
Hae-jin Yu

Directed by
Woo-Suk Kang

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Hyeon-jeong Kim		screenplay

Original Music by
Yeong-wook Jo

Cinematography by
Sung-Bok Kim

Film Editing by
Im-Pyo Ko

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Doo-hong Jung	....	martial arts director

Sound Department
Matthew Crawford	....	adr engineer

Visual Effects by
Tae-hoon Kim	....	visual effects supervisor

Production Companies

• Cinema Service

Distributors

• Cultmovies (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2003) (UK) (subtitled)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Tartan Video (2004) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Gonggongui jeog" - South Korea (original title)

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:18 | Italy:T | Norway:18 | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Germany:16 (cut) | Japan:R-15 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:18A (Manitoba)

Company:

Cinema Service

Quotes:

Cheol-jung, Kang:No money, I beat them. Don't listen to me, I beat them. His face upsets me, I beat him. There's about a stadium full of guys who got beaten by me.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Public Enemy 3 (2008)

Quirky film - quite original

At first I wasn't sure what kind of film this was: cop film, murder mystery, comedy? The black humour throughout is peppered with lots of swearing and some gruesome killing scenes.

What's different about this film is the cast - the main cop Kang Cheol-Jung, his boss, and others are all eccentrics in their own right. There aren't many jokes or slapstick, but the characters themselves make you laugh.

Unlike other murder mysteries where the investigator solves the case with clues and evidence, Kang Cheol-Jung (the main cop) pursues this case because of his instinct. He has no doubt the suspect is guilty (somehow), despite the lack of evidence.

As for being quirky - there are a few scenes in this film which make you wonder "why did they include this"? One such scene involves the main villain/suspect in the movie. His character is played so well you actually start to hate the guy as the film progresses. "What a jerk!" you think. At that point you understand (perhaps) why the first scene portrays him as it does. ;-) You'll understand once you've seen the film.

This film is quite unique, unlike any others I've seen. Highly recommended.