simonize850 Were I teaching I would use this hugely entertaining Korean film to discuss story elements such as man vs man; man vs the environment; man vs himself.... I am sure there is at least one more component. Set in Northern Korea, with Japan occupying this small country, in 1925, Japanese and Koreans, military and civilian forces have their own, and varied reasons why, and why not to hunt down the one remaining tiger.There are really only six characters of note in this film lasting 135 minutes before end credits. Father and son; the leader of the Korean hunters and his lieutenant; and one Japanese General and his Korean aide. The seventh and title character is The Tiger. The humans are so ably played and stereotyping avoided that it is surprise, the tiger is so immediately and continually seen as real, with feelings, and actions determined by emotions that we, the audience, can help but root for the tiger.The Koreans know how to tell a story; they know how to pull out all the stops, and very often they take their story somewhere you were not expecting. A film like THE TIGER: AN OLD HUNTER'S TALE also benefits from the usual stellar photography, so we believe the location and how dangerous it is; and then with the music it is never over the top; needless and repetitive loud and signifying nothing. THE TIGER is a film the makers can be proud of. I wish more foreign language films got a wider release, and Korean film especially because I have lost count of their varied and fascinating successes since I saw JSA, MEMORIES OF MURDER, and others, until I lucked out and found MUSA (the North America DVD suffers by losing a half hour or so of running time).Rousing; uplifting and tragic; with the final sequence telling you, the audience what you might have already figure out. Great viewing.Thanks for reading, Simon In BC, Canada

kluseba The epic South Korean blockbuster ''The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale'' is a mixture of a historical drama and an action-adventure movie. To fully understand this movie, you have to be aware of the fact that the tiger is a symbol associated with Korean people and their resilience to keep their culture, identity and values alive despite the hardships this people has gone through and is still going through today. That's why the obsession of the Japanese invaders to exterminate the peninsula's last tiger is related to the fact that if they achieved that goal, it would mean that the resistance of the invaded country would finally be broken. This context also explains why many Koreans despise the Japanese, fear the consequences of the hunt and respect the tiger by calling him the Mountain Lord. Still, some of the Korean characters want to see the tiger dead as well for many different reasons: reputation, revenge and wealth among others. If the tiger were to die, it should at least die at the hands of a Korean hunter. The movie introduces us to three different groups that end up hunting the legendary tiger: Japanese soldiers, Korean hunters and the lonesome main character.Obviously, this philosophical movie doesn't only deal with the symbolism related to tigers but also touches profound topics such as dealing with forgiveness, honor and loss as well as family values. The story of the old hunter and the old tiger has a lot of parallels as well. The tiger almost seems human in this movie and one can somehow identify with the majestic beast. Most people will probably end up rooting for the tiger's survival. In my opinion, it's quite an achievement from the makers of this film to make us feel this way without making this movie too melodramatic. It also helps that the CGI of the tiger is surprisingly dynamic, majestic and realistic. Despite a lot of screening time for the true feline hero of this tale, the initial first impression never really lets go. In addition to this, the landscapes on and around Mount Jirisan are truly impressive. The calm camera shots that never shake unnecessarily, the rich classical soundtrack and the contrasting lighting techniques add to the atmosphere of the movie.I must also point out the numerous fight scenes between the tiger and his enemies. In contrast to the movie's overall rather calm pace, these action sequences aren't only fast and powerful but also quite gory without ever getting gratuitous. They make the tiger's desperate fight for survival even more realistic in my book. The acting performances are overall quite good. Main actor Choi Min- sik is authentic, entertaining and intense as always and proves once again that he is at least one of the very best contemporary Asian actors. I only thought that the villains of the story could have been a little bit more detailed, diversified and present in this film.The only other issue I have is the movie's slow-paced storytelling. This film could have been about half an hour shorter and it wouldn't have taken anything away from the character or story development at all. Patient fans of Korean cinema are already used to the smooth development but those who aren't familiar with this style might find the movie's introduction somewhat pointless, overlong or even boring and they might have a point this time.In the end, ''The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale'' is an atmospheric, epic and sophisticated film that mixes contemporary action sequences with slightly patriotic historical fiction and philosophical topics that never feel too dry. Fans of Asian cinema will like this release and it's definitely a welcome change to the hollow superhero movies in our Western world, so you might as well give this movie a fair try.

Reno Rangan After the stunning performance in the 'The Admiral: Roaring Currents', the Korean superstar Choi Min-Sik is back for another unique film. This time he donned in a hunter's avatar and his role was pretty inspiring. From the director of 'New World' and second time working with the same actor. Reading this kind of story might work well because of we individually visualise them as what we want. But turning them into a film is a tough task because they're one man's vision and not everybody share the same perspective, hence the disagreement surface. So I think the director did his best with the kind of screenplay he had, I would say the whole team effort was good.During the Japanese rule of Korea in the 1925, a fine hunter who lives with his son in the forest near a village has given up hunting since his wife's death. But when the Japanese army chief obsessed with one particular magnificent tiger that lives in the mountains of Jirisan, summons all the hunters to get it. All the attempts go in vain, until the Japanese soldiers and Korean hunters team up and go after that last living tiger. The battle between the man and the beast only brings the bloody war that's going to change forever whoever involved in it.I was excited to watch it after learning about the plot, because the Korean experimental films are quite fascinating as they are made in the most realistic way. Take an example of 'Mr. Go', the same visual effects team behind this film as well. They did pretty awesomely, but it was a much harder job than the big ape they had created earlier. Though, in a few shots it was below par, at a time very much comparable quality to the recent CGI tigers such as Richard Parker and Shere Khan from 'Life of Pi' and 'The Jungle Book' respectively."Respect the mountain and take what it gives you."The film was kind of mix of reality and fiction. From the human perspective, all the narration was quite rational and historically matches. Like humans hunt animals for pleasure and its skin, teeth, nails et cetera. As from the tiger's perspective, it turned out to be a little fiction, because of the animal showing same or equal emotions as the humans. Animals do show emotions, but not in the human way as it was shown in the film. That makes it a bit unrealistic and out of proportion. That would work in a pure fantasy film where this one comes under thriller that was targeted for adults with strong blood and gore. Otherwise, it would have made a great anime.Apart from those disappointments, I find the film was much better if not as what I anticipated. The actors did their part so well and so the crew members behind the camera. The cinematography was good, captured some beautiful landscapes, but I don't know some of those shots might be digital creation. The length a bit long, due to engaging screenplay you won't feel you're forced to sit for that long.For the action sequence fans, this film offers a good entertainment, but depends who you're cheering for. As for the conclusion, I did not get it properly, because it was an understanding term rather giving a full explanation. So viewers can have a different opinion and everything might make sense. (Be careful, this following line might contain spoilers.) For my understanding the tiger and the hunter decide what they should have done years ago should be done now.I might have mentioned it somewhere the film is suitable for grown ups. Even for an adult like me, knowing it just a fake and graphics felt a bit too much brutality. There is a scene where a boy was eaten alive by a pack wolves. I don't know what the filmmakers were thinking, what kind of audience they're targeting. The overall writing should have been improved, making more realistic way like how the natural world animals behave. It might work for some people with a minimum guaranteed entertainment, but little children should stay away from it. From my side, I go for 50-50, neither I suggest it nor encourage to skip it.6/10

manojp-18844 I'll keep it short here. This is a magnificent motion picture that is emotionally resonant and powerful. Movie boasts Superb acting, sublime cinematography, haunting music, very impressive CGI and visual effects (specially considering this movie did not had at-least 5% of the budget for a Hollywood blockbuster). Performances from the entire cast is very convincing and especially Min sik Choi is amazing. The movie also delivers a timely and heartfelt message on humans confrontation of delicate aspects of nature. Filmmakers adds such an emotional arc to the tiger that demands from the audience to root for both sides of the conflict.Go see this amazing movie and IMHO, should be nominated for best picture Oscar. It is that great.