Bryan Lynch extols the virtues of Kim Ji-woon in anticipation of The Last Stand.
So the former governor of California is going back to acting. Yes, late January saw Arnold Schwarzenegger return to his action film roots in The Last Stand, a kind of border town, Alamo film also staring, of all people, Johnny Knoxville. Now ordinarily upon hearing about a production like this, I would file it alongside such works as The Expendables, Die Hard 4.0 or Taken; stupid, meritless and above all else cynical films made by accountants with no other function than to wring money out of an audience whom the producers view with utter contempt.However, the crucial factor which may elevate The Last Stand above these bean-counter films is the director: Korean maestro Kim Ji-woon. Kim is part of one of the most successful cinematic movements of recent years and it is exceedingly rare that a nation produces a generation of filmmakers as talented as Kim and his colleagues. Since the late 90s, the Korean Hallyu directors have given us works that are as rich as they are diverse. From the stylish vengeance dramas of Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance) to the social commentaries masquerading as genre-pieces of Bong Joon-ho (Memories of Murder, The Host), the Korean auteurs have astonished the world in the last decade.At the center of this wave, Kim has proven himself to be one of the most visually exciting directors working today and also one of the best at turning his hand to anything. Making his directorial debut in 1998 with the sublime dark comedy The Quiet Family, Kim shot to global attention after the release of his third feature A Tale of Two Sisters (2003). This deeply unsettling, yet staggeringly beautiful film drew visual inspiration from sources as diverse as Alfred Hitchcock and Kenji Mizoguchi yet still emerged as distinctly Korean both thematically and aesthetically. The result was one of the finest horror films of the last 30 years; on par with Hideo Nakata's Ring.After chilling us to the bone, Kim turned his attention to a gangland revenge story in A Bittersweet Life (2005). Again employing his talent for visual flair, Kim elevated a fairly basic story into a masterful, compelling film which effortlessly ranged from true 21st century noir to a work of operatic majesty. The final showdown in particular is stunning: gritty and realistic yet with a sweeping, almost weightless feel to it.Changing direction once again, Kim wowed us once more in 2008 with, of all things, a Spaghetti Western. Set in the Wild West landscape of Japanese-occupied Manchuria, The Good, The Bad, The Weird contained some of the most inventive set-pieces and jaw dropping camerawork of the decade resulting in the type of film which brings an involuntary smile to your face.Working in the States will of course have been a new challenge for Kim and given the producer led nature of the American industry, it is likely that he will not have had the same level of creative freedom he enjoyed in his homeland. However, Kim's talent is undeniable and if The Last Stand is to be a good film, it will be because of his direction. So make sure to check out this man's superb back catalogue before we see what he does with Arnie in front of his camera.
