Fighter In The Wind [DVD] [2005]

Firstly Fighter In the Wind is based on the Manga adaptation that focuses on his legendary status. Choi Baedal is a hero to many and the manga builds upon his heroism. The film is a tribute to his "indominatable spirit", and it attempts to capture the raw emotion of a fighter.The film tries to address this abstract concept rather than present a truly realistic portrayal of Choi Baedal. It is therefore worth remebering that this is a highly entertaining ang gripping movie that wants to play with our emotions, it is not a documentary that seeks to educate us so stoically.

Fighter in the Wind is perhaps one of the most stirring martial arts films I've seen. Allthough it may be seen as melodramatic, I disagree and believe that whoever said this was watching the subtitles rather than paying attention to the splendid performance of the korean and Japanese actors. There is a complex subtlety to the way the chracaters interact with one another,there is relatively little dialogue that helps establish this chracteristion, and more is said about the chracters through facial expression and body language. At times I was incredibly moved by the treatment of Choi Baedal, particularly his early days with the Yakuza and also with his relationships with his former master and his friends Yoko and Chunbae. Simply put, allthough I come from a theatrical experience of drama, I think the quality of acting is superb. There are also interesting dramtic techniques sucha s the us eof radio presenters and newspaper bulletins to provide a chorus to the main drama....

The martial arts sequences within fighter in the wind are few and far between and last usually no more than a minute. However do not let this deter you, the action is so realistic in its brutality and Choi Baedals aerial kicks, allhtough perhaps lacking the grace of the likes of say Ong Bak star Tont Jaa, they are still incredibly impressive, well at least to a humble martial arts practioner like myself. I thought the action was wonderfully choreographed and it was refreshing to watch a film that relied on actual martial finesse and skill rather than flamboyant stuntwork to give the action its flow. Allthough I am a fan of "cheese" having been brought up on low budget action adventures and martial films of the 1980s I really liked the training montage, a lost art of the genre taht has unjustly or not been the laughing stock of many a film. The traing sequence and fight montages in fighter in the wind are incredibly powerful, and shows off the talent of the korean guy playing Choi. Call it cheesey if you want, but after watching the sequence i felt compleeled myself to go outside and slam a few hundred roundhouse kicks into my own punchbag! (lol) I loved the action in this film, partly becasue it was emotive reather than just mindless violence. the fight sequences allthough brutal really captured the essence of honour that one martial artists feels towards another which agian was very appealing.

As for the DVD itself if you're bothered about such things,theres a hoard of extras, not all of which I've seen yet. However the trailer is always worth a peak to give you a taste of the film before it starts. The music video was nice to watch, capturing some of the more tender moments of the film. As for the interviews, the cast and crewgive their opinions on the film which may be worth a look. The picture is incredibly sharp and the quality of the film is splendid, using different lens filters to give subtle emphasis to the drama. The sound either in 2.1 or 5.1 is suitably very impressive, allthough once the emotive music kicks in, you may want to tone down the subwoofer as the volume realy does crnak up to a perhaps, ridiculously unesscary level.

I have made no attempt to summarise the plot as the subtleties to it make it far more than you're average revenge romp. In my opinion there is only one scene that may justify this as a film about revenge and i would argue that most synopsis that describe it as so, have missed the point. the film chronicles the evolution of teh warrior spirit within an individual who perhaps "dreamed too much", however he succeeded. I highly recomend this film to any marial arts fan, or anyonw who likes a emotive action films. Read more ›