Wednesday 23 April 2014

THE TERROR, LIVE (aka DEO TEREO RAIBEU) (KOREAN) (2013)

Its just another normal day in Seoul as the visibly bored host of a current affairs show on radio, Yoon Young-hwa (Ha Jung-Woo) discusses some recent tax changes with his callers. He is going through a tough patch in his life after being unceremoniously shunted out of a popular TV show he had anchored for several years and also the aftermath of a recent divorce. He is annoyed when a pesky caller refuses to disconnect and insists on airing his views. When he shows his impatience towards the caller, the caller threatens that he would blow up the Mapo bridge which is near the radio station. Yoon dismisses the claim as just another hoax from a prankster seeking his few minutes of fame from being on air and tries to move over to the next caller. Alas, he is shaken when a bomb detonates on the Mapo bridge leaving the middle portion of a bridge in a precarious state by disconnecting it from both the ends. This sets Yoon's mind racing and  he desists from following the natural course of reporting the caller to the police. He feels that interviewing the caller exclusively on live TV could well be a ticket to regain his erstwhile position as a premier TV show host. Yoon strikes a deal with his former boss who readily accedes as he too sees the call as a godsend to prop up the ratings of his TV channel which could fetch him more revenue through commercials. 

The caller, still online, raises the gambit by demanding a ransom to go live on TV failing which he would switch another willing channel for a similar exclusive. When Yoon and his boss accede to this demand and transfer the money, the stakes get higher as the caller demands the public apology of the President through national television for an industrial accident that resulted in the death of his fellow construction workers while racing against time to complete some repairs on the Mapo bridge. It is also revealed that the caller has planted more bombs including one inside the headpiece of Yoon which would be detonated if he discloses the same to anyone or if he tries to remove the headpiece or if he fails to follow instructions. Meanwhile the government machinery is afoot on a frenzy to shield the President and neutralize the threat to its credibility.

What follows is an intriguing cat and mice game between the caller, Yoon, his boss and a desperate government which try to outsmart one other.  Ha Jung-Woo (earlier seen in The Berlin File) playing Yoon, shoulders the entire movie on almost single-handedly and provides an impressive performance as he seamlessly transforms from a bored radio show host to somebody who has struck upon a career rejuvenating scoop and from someone in absolute control of the situation to a helpless prisoner trapped within the unfolding events. 

Most of the movie happens within the confines of Yoon's studio and is designed to give the viewer a feel of a regular daily TV news show which aids in connecting to the viewer and gives one the feel of watching the unfolding terror in real time. The result is an intense, express paced edge-of-the-seat thriller that keeps the viewer completely hooked for its entire running time of about 100 minutes despite a finale that feels a tad contrived.  

Writer-director Kim Byung-woo has weaved in a layered narrative which transcends being a taut thriller and explores several contemporary themes such as the growing moral bankruptcy of the media which sees ratings and money as its prime driving force resulting in a situations where most of the players in the media plumbing a fiercely competitive spiral seeking ever-more sensational stories, class struggles in a society riven deep fissures of income inequality as also the rising insensitivity of a state steeped in indifference towards the masses. Given the near universal resonance of its theme and its tense narrative, I wouldn't be surprised to see a Bollywood / local language remake / inspired version soon.  

A VERY GOOD WATCH !!!

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