Secret Reunion Review
Directed by Jang Hun Secret Reunion is a hard film to easily pin down. In many ways it is a action orientated buddy movie but it also contains a lot of comedy, thriller elements and even melodrama and all are blended expertly. This successful meshing of genres and the resulting tonal shifts help make Secret Reunion a really interesting and compelling film.
Secret Reunion opens with a thrilling sequence in which two North Korean spies, Shadow and Ji-won (Kang Dong-wan) carry out a hit in South Korea. Arriving on the scene to arrest them is detective Lee (Song Kang-ho) but the two spies escape resulting in the disgrace of Lee. The film then cuts forward six years and Lee, now a bounty hunter, happens upon Ji-won. The two both recognise eachother but do not reveal it at first and despite this central deception the two end up actually developing a very sweet if fragile friendship. This central part of the film sees the pair bond and eventually become quite dependent on eachother, before the film shifts back to the tone of the opening epilogue for a thrilling climax.
Jang Hun shows real skill at directing the action, comedy and drama in Secret Reunion with the only clunky aspect being a few twee moments between the two, especially in the film’s coda. Secret Reunion is a surprisingly dense film and the way in which the complexities in the relationship between Lee and Ji-won mirror the North/South relationship in Korea are fascinating and maturely handled.
A slightly different version of this review was originally posted at HeyUGuys.