If you were offered the opportunity to watch a movie that would clutch at your heartstrings and fulfill your evil desires, would you watch it? What if this movie was foreign with only subtitles as translation, would you still watch it? Subtitles in a film are usually the deciding factor for many when it comes to watching a movie. I encourage you to not let that be your deciding factor, not for this spectacular movie. "The Man from Nowhere" (2010) creates memorable scenes of violence along with bringing true emotion through superb acting and a symphonic pace.
'The Man from Nowhere" features a lonely pawnshop owner, Cha Tae-sik (Won Bin), whose only friend is a little girl, So-mi (Kim Sae-ron). So-mi has a mother who is a heroin addict. Which leads to both her and her daughter to be kidnapped. Cha Tae-sik has no feelings towards the woman, but his undeniably close relationship with the young girl creates a Korean spin-off of the American movie, "Taken". With the kidnapping in mind, Cha Tae-sik creates his own quest to find his neighbor, bringing with him a large death toll and the uncovering of his secret past.
This is an R rated movie for commendable reason. It holds true to the nature of a foreign action movie with large amounts of blood, a mildly gruesome effect of a few eyeballs rolling across the screen, and hand to hand combat. The hand to hand combat isn’t the only aspect of violence featured. Guns are grasped in each character’s hands and only one man sticks out as being the best. Cha Tae-sik creates a fluidity with each shot that even an expert marksman would envy. His skill creates fear within each character as they witness him shoot down or slice away anyone in his path. Such violence aside, "The Man from Nowhere" features emotion that is portrayed primarily through the main characters.
The acting is marvelous, there is no need to read the subtitles to know what is being portrayed since the actors do such a great job. Won Bin, who plays Cha Tae-sik, truly has a tough role to play. Throughout the film he plays a rough and mysterious pawnshop owner and when asked his relation to the girl, he is simply her neighbor. He creates a magnificent aura of being distant from anything that has to do with So-mi. However, when any harm or possible harm is presented for So-mi, Won Bin opens up to his emotions and fears. The brooding man dressed in black has a soft spot for the kidnapped girl and Won Bin lets the audience know of that. Kim Sae-ron, who plays So-mi, also does an excellent job of portraying a range of emotions. She is a little girl who is all alone in the world. Her feelings are expressed through her jokes about being alone but Cha Tae-sik knows the truth of her pain. Once kidnapped, her pain just increases as the idea of never seeing her mother again continues to build. Kim Sae-ron elegantly portrays these helpless and tough sides to her character. The elegance of the acting mixed with the tension and relaxation between violence and emotion is what gives "The Man from Nowhere" that symphonic pace.
A symphonic pace is greatly appreciated in movies since too much relaxation causes boredom and too much excitement creates a large “in the moment” feel. The best of movies have a nice pace that juggles between tension and relaxation to provide watchers a memorable experience. "The Man From Nowhere" gracefully creates this pace and experience. The opening of the movie grabs the attention of who watches, but breaks off to meet the main characters, only to jump back into tension when the drug thief is discovered, and release once Cha Tae-sik is given details on the kidnapping. This constant interval of relief allows the audience to recover from any scene that they couldn’t comprehend at the time.
The subtitles are nothing but a minor annoyance and definitely worth dealing with to enjoy a great film. It will grab your attention and time will pass by as you sit on the edge of your seat until the next relaxing moment. There is so much more than meets the eye and, by the end, you’ll realize that Cha Tae-sik truly is "The Man from Nowhere."
