NEW WORLD: A Perfectly Crafted Gangster Thriller

There hasn’t been a year lately when a few excellent films didn’t come out of South Korea. Shocking and intricate productions by Chan-wook Park receive universal acclaim, awards at international festivals are gathered by the original and sensitive works of Ki-Duk Kim, and Joon-ho Bong delivers the most original visions of his time. Even if unfamiliar-sounding names don’t ring a bell, titles like Okja, The Shadow Game, The Mourning, The Handmaiden, and In the Web are enough to spark recognition. For European viewers, the very opportunity to experience the product of another, oriental, and exotic culture can be an attraction and a completely new experience. The same goes for the crime film New World.

Hoon-jung Park wrote the controversial script for I Saw the Devil a few years earlier, based on the motif of crime and punishment, and interestingly reversing the roles of the usual perpetrator-victim duo. In this case, a psychopathic murderer, who is typically seen as the hunter in such films, becomes the prey for the husband of the murdered woman—a secret service agent. The pleasure and satisfaction he feels from catching and releasing the murderer begin to resemble an unhealthy obsession, similar to the one driving the psychopath. In the end, the line between the two becomes blurred…

“New World” is the name of an operation devised by the police to break up a crime syndicate. The mysterious death of the boss of the Korean mafia sets the action in motion—Ja-seong Lee, an undercover cop, is thrust into the race for the position of the new leader. His task is to infiltrate the gang, understand its structure, and ultimately—end its operations. His connection to the justice department is the dogmatic and unstable Kang (brilliantly played by Min-sik Choi), and his partner in mafia dealings is the childish Cheong. As the story unfolds, pressure and tension rise. Lee’s identity and allegiance become increasingly fragmented, as he can expect attacks from all sides. Left to his own devices, he plays a dangerous game of appearances that leads to an inevitable confrontation—both with superiors on both sides of the law and with himself.

Similar stories have been told before, and at least two are completely successful—Donnie Brasco by Mike Newell and Infernal Affairs (also known as The Infernal Game) by Andrew Lau Wai-Keung and Alan Mak, later adapted into the American The Departed. However, New World carefully takes steps to avoid simply following the path of its older brothers. Despite the familiar territories, it consistently surprises. Moreover, it surprises not only with the direction the script takes but also with the relationships between the characters. Until the very end, it’s uncertain who in this story is good and who is bad. In fact, there are no characters who are unequivocally good or unequivocally bad. Each character has their own motivations, shaped by their past and the situation they find themselves in. We mainly view the story from the perspective of the main character, and through his eyes, we form an opinion about two opposing characters: Kang and Cheong.

Kang is an experienced, relentless policeman who uses uncompromising methods, resembling the American cop archetype, such as Popeye Doyle from The French Connection. He doesn’t hesitate for a second to strike a defenseless criminal or do something without the proper authorization. From the start, it’s easy to like him, and it’s hard not to root for him. On the other side is Cheong. He is a gangster for whom appearance, class, and pretense are the most important. He seems immature and self-absorbed, which doesn’t stop him from being a ruthless killer. Yet, over time, he also evokes some sympathy. After all, we love to love the bad boys…

The script is structured in such a way that enough time is spent with each character, causing us to lose our orientation. This is exactly what happens with the main character, and it’s also the message of the film. Is it original and groundbreaking? Absolutely not. Could it have been done better? I also doubt it. The strength of New World lies precisely in building solid foundations with its characters. Because of this, when we finally see someone in a life-threatening situation, we genuinely care. In an era of identical action films, each beginning with a gunfight that claims the lives of unnamed and unimportant characters, such a move is a return to—paradoxically—good old times.

That doesn’t mean there’s no good gangster action in the film. Several moments will push the viewer to the edge of their seat. Asian filmmakers—when handling their characters—always surprise with unique ideas and untainted imagination, especially in scenes of torture and murder. The brutal Korean gangsters in New World don’t shy away from extreme measures. The violence in the film almost physically hurts, but it is justified and always well-placed. There’s also a strange, unsettling elegance to it. One particularly standout scene is the gang fight in an underground parking lot. Two groups of tall, slim gangsters, dressed in identical dark suits, clash using melee weapons, with the camera slowly gliding, allowing us to catch the details ourselves. Moments later, the carnage moves into a cramped elevator, where the frames are relentlessly tight and claustrophobic—yet again, using mirrors and reflections, the cinematographers amplify the action.

New World doesn’t try to be anything more than it is. And it is a perfectly crafted gangster film, based on an excellent script, exploiting characters and personalities, not archetypes or stereotypes. If today’s audience is looking for something familiar yet original, Korean cinema seems like the ideal alternative to American mainstream movies. The same themes told in a more interesting way, presented with a much better sense of imagery. In terms of action cinema, without the pretension to be a work of art, New World is the perfect choice for an evening full of intense thrills.