

Chung’s parents still do, in fact, own a farm in Arkansas. And while it isn’t “based on real events,” the people who inspired the family at the center of Minari are very much real. I think what the director is trying to infer is that even the seemingly sane, innocuous person is capable of most horrendous acts if triggered, that evil lurks in all of us.The film is semi-autobiographical, inspired by Chung’s experiences growing up on a farm in Arkansas, the son of South Korean immigrants. Your face will turn pallor, lips crimson, you will squirm, quiver and curse, and will have urges to stop watching, I almost did, and had to cover my eyes on few scenes. I must admit there is an element of guilty pleasure in witnessing this, the good torturing the evil of course Soo-hyeon's actions are not without repercussions, and this adds another dynamic to the film that will keep you glued to the screen. As Kyung-Suk invariably acts on his desires to kill another helpless victim Soo-Hyeon conveniently shows up, and tortures Kyung-Suk, and then once again he let's him free with intent of capturing him again for yet another session of torture. Ironically his occupation is a secret service agent, Soo-hyeon captures Kyung-suk with relative ease, rather than turning him over to authorities he let's him loose with intent to capture him again which is made possible by implanting a tracking device in his body without him knowing. One of the most sadistic characters in recent modern cinema, his killing spree is forced into retirement when the Protagonist Soo-hyeon Kim played by Lee Byung Hyun better known to the western fans as storm shadow(GI Joe) exerts equal level of maniacal zeal to hunt down the Kyung Suk to pay retribution for killing his fiancee. The principal driving force behind the killer Kyung Suk's motive for killing(Min-Sik Choi) is merely to satiate his innate desire to kill, there is no act of sublimation with this guy, he just kills, he is the embodiment of pure evil, the film does not delve into the psychological makeup of this killer to explain why he kills, viewers naturally have to draw their own conclusions, one thing is clear, and that is he is a misogynist.


This movie was a comeback vehicle for Min-Shik Choi(held in high esteem as one of the best actors in Korea), after 5 yrs of hiatus which he pulled off brilliantly as the unrelenting psychopathic serial killer.
