High Schoolers’ Bonanza Offers Laugher

`Ildan Run (Just Run)` is a `young` movie.

Familiar faces from TV like Song Seung-Heon, Kwon Sang-Woo (26), and Kim Young-Jun (22) are the main characters.

What about the director. The age of director Cho Eui-Suk, who has worked on his first long production through this movie, is only 26. He would have been treated like a child in the film world until a few years ago.

These `youngsters` are putting out quick story progression and music as their specialty in making the young sensational movie.

The movie is about 3 high schoolers, Sung-Hwan (Song Seung-Heon), Woo-Sup (Kwon Sang-Woo), and Jin-Won (Kim Young-Jun), who suddenly strike a bonanza.

While `Jungle Juice`, which was released in March, pictured the wild image of youth dying for money, `Ildan Run` is smoother in its approach.

The main code of `Trainspotting`-like running scenes, money, laugher, and action are not really new. But the producer’s unique image and music made interesting entertainment.

Sung-Hwan, who transferred from studying overseas, Woo-Sup, who works as a host for money, and Jin-Won, who runs an Internet broadcasting program, are best friends despite their different upbringing.

The story begins when a bleeding thief (Lee Moon-Sik) and his stolen moneybag, worth 2.1 billion won, come into the car the three are in. They first decide, “let’s just take it”, but things become twisted as the thief disappears. Novice-detective Ji-Hyung (Lee Bum-Su) begins an investigation, as he becomes interested at the rubbed usurer, who insists that there is nothing wrong.

Although `Ildan Run` has a division between main character and minor character, all the characters can actually be main ones. The high schoolers, the thief, and the killer employed by the usurer are in complex chase after the money, but they all have a common purpose. It is to make the audience laugh, and the teamwork is brilliant.

It is impressive to see movie’s music of `Queen`’s `Don’t Stop Me Now`, unique graphics, and technique that used caption once in a while.

Although the movie does a pretty good job at making the audience laugh, it seems that it is missing something. Furthermore, there is no trace of life and its reflections in the characters beyond laugher.

Release Date: 10th. Above 15.

Gab-Sik Kim gskim@donga.com