"Good Goodbye" and the long-awaited melodrama of actor Park Jeongmin and the visual feast of actor Zo In-sung, whose image can be drawn with eyes closed, are completed in director Ryu Seung-wan's new film 'Humint'.
The new film 'Humint' (director Ryu Seung-wan, distributed/provided by NEW, produced by Oeyunaegang) is a work that depicts people with different objectives clashing in Vladivostok, where secrets and truths are both submerged in a cold sea of ice. It is a work that shares a universe with the 2013 film 'Berlin' and is a spy film Ryu Seung-wan presents for the first time in 13 years.
'Humint' is a compound of human and intelligence and refers to information obtained through human networks. In other words, it encompasses everything gained through contact, observation, conversation, and relationship building with people, sometimes referring to the source itself and, further, the information obtained through them. In the film, centered on the protagonist, NIS agent Director Jo (Zo In-sung), the story itself that the audience obtains from the North Korean informants he contacts — North Korean State Security Department chief Park Geon (Park Jeongmin), North Korea's consul general in Vladivostok Hwang Chi-seong (Park Hae-jun), North Korean restaurant worker turned humint for survival Chae Seon-hwa (Shin Sae-kyeong) — is, for the audience,
To the general public, the high-stakes espionage situations between Korea and North Korea may feel somewhat distant, and 'Humint' heightens immersion by mentioning North Korea's organized drug problem. Actual drug cultivation and distribution within North Korea and the resulting addiction harm to local residents were social issues repeatedly raised through Amnesty International Korea in 2021. As a way out for a North Korea facing economic isolation, even social crimes such as organized drug cultivation are being carried out. While investigating that background, Director Jo loses a beloved informant and, meeting a new informant, Chae Seon-hwa, becomes entangled with Park Geon and Hwang Chi-seong.
Even if someone is an informant, in espionage situations it is impossible to completely trust that everyone tells only the truth. What sharply emerges amid the tension is the emotions between the characters. In an era when AI can generate everything with a click and humans need only focus on revisions rather than first drafts, the information in 'Humint' all begins and ends with people. The information born from relationships between people in the human domain, which for now cannot be replaced by AI, leaves even uncertainty in the realm of interpretation and makes the information in 'Humint' trustworthy.
Especially centered on former lovers Park Geon and Chae Seon-hwa, a dense melodramatic sensibility erupts. Park Jeongmin, who recently appeared in singer Hwasa's song 'Good Goodbye' music video and sent the nation into 'melodrama fever,' responds with a deep romance with Shin Sae-kyeong in 'Humint.' Though the film unfolds the two leads' story through looks and emotions without a single physical touch, it ultimately brings viewers to tears. Given the filmographies of Park Jeongmin and Shin Sae-kyeong, which have earned them broad agreement about their acting, they draw the audience in with an increasingly poignant narrative that leaves no rough edges from North Korean dialect to action and emotion.
At the center of all this is Zo In-sung, whose still 'alive' visuals remain highly compelling. Having worked with director Ryu Seung-wan on 'Mogadishu' released in 2021 and 'Smuggling' in 2023, he appears in his third consecutive film with Ryu Seung-wan and especially fascinates audiences in 'Humint' with an undeniable visual presence, suit fits, coat fits and all manner of sleek 'fits.' After working together on three films in a row, director Ryu Seung-wan has mastered how to portray Zo In-sung attractively, and Zo In-sung has thrown himself into Ryu Seung-wan's world.
In 'Mogadishu' he struggled to avoid danger as diplomat Kang Dae Jin dispatched to a civil war country, and in 'Smuggling' he stepped up as the shadowy underworld figure Kwon Sanga to protect Jo Chun-ja (Kim Hye-soo); in 'Humint' Zo In-sung throws himself into the spy genre. The large-scale action sequence in which Director Jo, Park Geon and Hwang Chi-seong all become entangled delivers particularly intense thrills. It is another moment to savor the flavor of Ryu Seung-wan's action in 'Humint.'
As a director known for action films that have proven box office appeal especially among male enthusiasts, Ryu Seung-wan is expected to successfully capture female audiences with 'Humint.' The crowd's wishes — 'where did the classic handsome actor go' and 'Park Jeongmin should do more melodrama' — are all fulfilled. The release timing also coincides with the Lunar New Year holiday, a perfect moment to turn audiences toward theaters.
Opens Feb. 11; rated for ages 15 and up; 119 minutes.
[Photo] Provided by NEW.
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