Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018)

Original title

인랑

Directed by

Kim Ji-woon

Genre

drama film, action film

Country

South Korea

Runtime

2h 18m

Rated

R

Rating

6.3 of 10 from 330 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In 2029, a South Korean government special unit fights an anti-reunification terrorist group. A soldier is haunted by a young terrorist's suicide and later befriends a girl who claims to be her sister, drawing him into a dangerous rivalry between security forces.

tensebleakmelancholicslow-burngrittyvisually stylishbroodingsuspenseful

What happens

Illang: The Wolf Brigade (Korean: 인랑; also known as Inrang) is a 2018 South Korean science fiction action film directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung and Kim Mu-yeol. It is a live action adaptation of the 1999 Japanese animated film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, itself based on Mamoru Oshii's manga Kerberos Panzer Cop and his wider Kerberos Saga. Unlike the alternate history postwar Japan setting of its source material, Illang is set in 2029 Korea, when North Korea and South Korea are preparing to reunify after heightening tensions in East Asia lead to destabilization and the rise of an anti-reunification terrorist group known as "the Sect". The South Korean government establishes the "Special Unit", a counterterrorist paramilitary law enforcement agency that is tasked with battling the Sect. The film follows Special Unit soldier Lim Joong-kyung who, after witnessing a young terrorist kill herself to evade capture, befriends Lee Yun-hee, a girl who claims to be the terrorist's sister; together, they attempt to navigate an increasingly violent interservice rivalry within South Korea's counterterrorist apparatus. Illang was released on July 25, 2018. Distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, the film received mixed reviews and underperformed at the domestic box office, selling around 897,000 tickets against its break-even point of six million tickets and only earning 8 billion won (US$6.2 million) on its 19 billion won (US$17 million) budget. The film competed in the 66th San Sebastián International Film Festival for the Golden Shell, becoming the second South Korean film to do so. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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