Трудный день (2014) Online

Director Kim Seong-hoon's sophomore film A Hard Day arrives 8 years after his directorial debut, How The Lack Of Love Affects Two Men was released back in 2006.

Now, this film is a nerve racking roller-coaster ride, so the less you know going in the better. I shall attempt to introduce this film in one sentence: A comedy-action-thriller about the chaos that ensues after a detective is involved in a hit and run.

The film smoothly and skillfully balances the dark comedy, action and thriller elements, giving us ingenious set pieces (a particularly memorable one involving a toy soldier...) and also well-paced and effective suspense. The film does not waste a shot, let alone a scene to make audiences laugh, squirm and be intrigued through it's twists and turns. It's tightly-wound from beginning to end and will surely be one of the best times you'll have in the cinema (or in your home) this year.

Lee Seon-gyun (who you may recognize from Hong Sang-soo's films such as Nobody's Daughter Haewon) plays the lead role of detective Ko, a divorced father of a little girl who may not be the most ethical of cops. Lee carries the film, delivering a charismatic and humorous performance that makes us root for his character when he is faced with tough situations and pitted against Cho Jin-Woong's formidable protagonist. Kudos to Cho for interestingly pulling off a role that could have easily been bland.

This film was also filmed beautifully. It's gorgeous to look at, thanks to cinematographer Kim Tae-Sung, who gives us dynamic and impressive shots (one that immediately comes to mind is an overhead shot during a chase).

It's refreshing to see a South Korean film that's playful and never stops being fun, after the recent slew of superb but disturbing, dark thrillers such as I Saw The Devil, New World and The Man From Nowhere. Don't be fooled, this film has its dark moments. Most importantly, it holds one of the quintessential elements of movies: taking audiences on a ride that endlessly intrigues and keep them wanting more, having no clue where the next moment will take them.

I'm an avid South Korean movie watcher. It's getting to a point where I'm seeing a least 1 per week.

There's a reason for that, they're great movies, really great movies.

The funny twist that I see on many of these police movies is that the police corruption, including the main character is considered as a norm. There is no glorifying the main character as a hero, standing above the dirty sea untarnished. He is just as dirty as the rest.

Again, a similar plot lines that runs through here is the main character is not the most likable character. Also it's more a story on a man who just happens to be a police officer rather than a police story.

These are things that have popped up quite a few times in other South Korean thrillers I've seen and it still has not gone stale.

The quirky, dirty, off beat, stylized, South Korean action movie is incredibly refreshing when placed up against the rest of the world.

This is a great movie, doesn't get into my top ten of South Korean movies but it's getting harder and harder to get into that top 10. With all the fantastic movies out there a great movie doesn't make the cut.

Whoa! what a thrill efffin ride!! this was my first reaction after watching the movie!!i gave it a standing ovation.It has been a long long time since a movie captured my attention from beginning to end,without even a single dull moment in its running time of over 90 minutes. I was so looking forward to see this one,and boy did it mesmerize me!and how!!

The movie has a dark undertone to its mischievous and reckless plot.Here we have a tense,gritty protagonist Lee Sun-kyun running through several escalating situations on an unfortunate day leading to a face off with a manic antagonist.There is a swift swap between the antihero-hero nature of the protagonist.I don't want to give away the plot but i will give you this,the plot is just exploding with an unrelenting exuberance that does not stop until the end credits start rolling.There is a never ending sense of what happens next.This relentless thriller captivates your attention from the opening shots,and never lets go.Special credits to the lead actors for they have done a neat job playing the characters straight,the only way to play it for a gripping plot such as this.Sometimes the movie feels like a highly stylized comedy of errors with some ingeniously crafted action sequences.

All in all 'a hard day' is a well shot genuine thriller disguised as a crime drama with underlying dark humour.It has all the scope of becoming a future cult classic.I would be surprised if it didn't.You would not be disappointed even if you watched with high expectations.

9/10.Cheers.

A HARD DAY is another electric thriller from those top film-makers in South Korea, who know how to pack more laughs, action, and genuine suspense-filled set-pieces into their films than many a Hollywood rival. A HARD DAY tells a small-scale story about a cop on the edge; investigated by Internal Affairs for corruption, he accidentally hits and kills a pedestrian while out driving one night and must cover up the crime before he's discovered.

This premise is just the set-up for a film that comes off as a string of sometimes awesome set-pieces. The long sequence in the room with the coffin is a masterwork of tension, and if the rest of the movie can't quite equal that high, then it does a very good job nonetheless. A HARD DAY has everything you'd want from a thriller: dark laughs, shock scenes, violence, and some plot twists you definitely won't see coming. I particularly enjoyed the endless climax, which keeps you on the edge of your seat and leaves you breathless afterwards. Check it out!

I don't remember seeing another Korean movie recently. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if I realize later that this is my first one.

I'm European and my initial reaction, the first couple of minutes, was a quiet laughter because the language sounded funny. But soon after that the impossible plot and situations starting to unfold...

This is about a corrupted Korean homicide detective who drives his car on his way to attend his mother's funeral. What happens during his ride to the funeral home might happen to anyone, but his actions after the fact escalate in a way that is both funny and tragic. The plot thickens and he finds himself in a roller-coaster of crime, bad luck and bad decisions. The conclusion is satisfying though!

The direction is very very good. Adds to the thrilling sensation that many of the scenes have, but also has a definite black sense of humor. The main actor gives an exaggerate performance but maybe that's what this part needed.

Overall: If you come across it, watch it.

I usually do not like Korean movies – it is either too violent or too sensational with scripts that generally lacks originality - but this one is quite good: very interesting plot with lots of twists and suspense and humor.

The movie centers around a divorced cop, Go Geon-soo (Lee Sun Gyun), on the day of his mom's funeral when he accidentally kills a pedestrian. Since he is in a hurry, he decides to put the corpse into her coffin and deal with it later. Strange calls starts to come into the police station and Go is threatened by a man who claims to be a witness of the accident. Meanwhile, Go is assigned to investigate this accident where pedestrian seems to be an important person in the police's wanted list.

Just the packed elements within the case are interesting to follow. Then with all the twists and surprises it is engaging throughout to watch. Excellent directing with a brisk tempo which leads you deep the puzzle. The story is easy to follow but the mood is not serious or heavy because every now and then there is always something funny that make you chuckle/surprise or awe.

I like the camera-work too which always leads the audience to see from a different angle. The framing is artistically pleasant, including a lengthened aerial shot of a chase scene up a flight of stairs and across traffic. I literally held my breath to watch that one.

Corrupted police are everywhere but how the script presents the story is very interesting and it is kind of fun to put all the coincidences together to make a coherent story with some clever types of black humor.

The actors are quite good too. The only complaint I have is perhaps too much violence in certain scene – though it is probably mild compared to other violent Korean movies I have seen.

If you like witty laugh and suspense you would not be disappointed.

A hard day indeed as the international title of the movie goes. One of the best movies I had the pleasure to watch in 2014. If you like you dark humor that is not afraid to go places and a story that twists and turns and gives the viewer (and the main character) new challenges to deal with every other 5 minutes, you're in for a treat.

You may be able to spot a couple of things, but in general this is really a refreshing experience with many action sequences combining "horror" and comedy (that's everyday horror, as in what can go wrong and so forth). A great mixture that allows for set pieces that are original and a genuine funny viewing experience for the audience. I can highly recommend this

When I saw the poster that presented one man helping a man hold a gun to his head in a "go ahead and do it" matter, I assumed I was getting more of an action movie. Instead, the movie was more of a suspense thriller, but I'm not complaining at all, the movie gave me just what I need.

A police man involved in a hit and run has a hard day when he tries to cover it up especially after he discovers someone saw him do it.

Well done film making from front to back. the movie is filled with plenty of conflict that makes for some good twist and turns. It's able to do the whole "just when you think it's over..." bit without it getting stale for the audience. You want to know what's going to happen at the very end, but I welcomed all the obstacles that came along, they really hold your interest.

Especially the main antagonist who reminds me of Micheal Shannon's character in the movie Premium Rush, but a little more confident and darker.

It was not the action movie that I though it was but it does not let down. Watching this will make your day.

Homicide Detective Ko Gun-soo (Lee Sun-Kyun) of the Seoul Police Department is having a very difficult day: not only is he needed to attend the funeral of his mother, but his department is being raided by Internal Affairs and he has some material that needs to disappear before they find it. Leaving the funeral, he drives as fast as he can, but is distracted by having to swerve to avoid hitting a dog; turning his eyes back to the road, he's just in time to see the front of his car strike a human being instead. Worse, the man is dead, and Ko panics, deciding to hide the corpse in the trunk of his car while he deals with the other pressing matters of the moment. But then his plans go awry....

The above is just the set-up of this very fast-paced, very adrenaline-filled film, and I'm not giving anything away that doesn't happen in the first few minutes. There are many twists and turns to the plot, and numerous moments where if you look away for just a minute, you'll miss something vital, so it's important to pay attention. And worth it, too, as the film will keep you on the edge of your seat with tension and sometimes almost falling off the edge of your seat with laughter (because, yes, there are some very funny moments too), and the surprises and twists keep coming literally to the very last frame of the film. The film won a lot of awards at various festivals and it's easy to see why - it's fast, it's smart and it's full of action. Highly recommended!

A great Entertaining South Korean film that is full of drama & thrills. Especially the portion of the film in which the hero tries to hide victim's dead body inside his mother's coffin.

The background score and the cinematography adds to the plot. There were some thrilling and tense moments that will put you at the edge of your seat.

With all the twists and surprises it is engaging throughout to watch. Excellent direction by 'Seong-hoon Kim'. The actor Sun-kyun Lee played the role of troubled cop superbly and with emotion.

The story is easy to follow but the mood is not serious or heavy because every now and then there is always something funny that make you chuckle/surprise or awe. Overall worth-seeing film. Thumbs Up!!!

A Hard Day is essentially a thriller played for laughs, with a mildly corrupt but likable central character having the sort of day where bad things happen in threes. I can already see the Hollywood remake, perhaps with Colin Farrell playing it for laughs.

None of this is meant as a criticism. The cinematography is fairly stylish with a few really fine moments, the pace is fairly brisk; Lee Seon-gyun does well to be sympathetic, capable and out of his depth all at once; and most importantly the film is funny enough, with one great scene involving a toy soldier that the rest of the picture can't quite live up to. Entertaining but disposable.

A Hard Day is a very good Korean film. And, if you like violent and occasionally brutal action films, then you might want to give this one a try. However, the film also has two knocks against it--the plot sure sounds an awful lot like I Know What You Did Last Summer and the film really lacks realism when it comes to one character--a guy who seems to be every bit as tough and indestructible as the Terminator...perhaps tougher!

When the film begins, Detective Go Geon-soo is having a horrible day. He's late for his mother's funeral and he's rushing about like a madman trying to get there. Unfortunately, when a dog jumps out in front of his car, he swerves and hits a man! The victim is obviously quite dead and Geon-soo makes a very fateful decision. Instead of reporting this accident, he rashly decides to stuff the body in his trunk. Later, at the funeral, he quickly concocts a plan--to stuff the body into the coffin with his mother! Soon, the coffin is buried and Geon-soo can finally relax...he's gotten away with killing a man. Right? Well, no. Soon, he begins receiving phone calls from an unidentified stranger who knows EXACTLY what happened and he demands that Geon-soo get the body back...or else.

The most surprising thing I noticed in the film was how the South Korean police were portrayed. Just about all of them are totally corrupt in the film--even more so than Geon-soo (who has been taking bribes as well as his involvement in the hit and run and disposing of the body)! I have no idea how accurate this portrayal is, but it sure makes you think twice about going to visit the country! Another thing that surprised me was that I liked the film. This is a surprise because I generally don't like action films. Normally, such a movie wouldn't interest me...but this one managed to. But, as I mentioned above, it is a bit derivative...though it certainly is not exactly like I Know What You Did Last Summer. The only real deficit I otherwise noticed was the big finale. While it was super-tense and exciting, it completely lacked realism. No one can take that much punishment and STILL be alive...yet one of the characters seems almost immune to anything Geon-soo can throw at him (literally). The bottom line is that the film is super-entertaining provided you don't think too much near this crazy ending.

Saw this on a DVD two years back. The film is pure entertainment from start to finish. It is nail bitingly tense n action packed. There is dark humour n good acting. One of the best part was the crispy editing which made the movie a fast paced thriller. Awesome direction too, as the movie is very captivating n has lots of twists and turns. The movi is about a detective who is having a very hard day. His mother has died, he killed a pedestrian while speeding his car, internal affairs is investigating him for corruption n they want to check his car in which he has hidden the dead body, his colleagues ain't happy with him, he's having trouble finding time to spend with his daughter after his divorce, and his sister is on his back. After clearing all the mess, he is engaged in a cat and mouse game of blackmail by somebody who claims that he saw the detective bumping off the pedestrian.

I thought some time of giving this an 8 but honestly not all the surprises work and some things feel a little far fetched

Having said that I should point out that I've seen a lot of movies and there for you might experience non of these things I just talked about.

Besides that there is more than enough left for everybody to get some solid entertainment out of this.

the build up for this was outstanding because you start out with a detective having a bad day and the more he tries to get a grip on it the more he loses control over the situation.

As the movie progresses more characters are added and it's not always clear if they're there to help him or to hurt him.

Around half way thru the movie we find out who has been blackmailing him and although it felt odd this actually played out very well.

The "bad guy"brings a new dimension to this and he seems so powerful that you really starting to wander who will be left standing when the credits begin to roll.

I think I mentioned this before about Korean movies but maybe now I can say it better, they break the formula way of working made in Hollywood and instead of looking real black and white they seem to focus more on the human aspect.

I highly recommend this but also South Korean movies because if you've never seen one your really missing out on some great cinematic masterpieces.

It's quality over quantity here and you can only praise 'm for that.

If you've never seen a South Korean movies this is an excellent one to start with.

Trust me...it will only get better.

Go see this!

The twists and turns of the story are matched by the conflict of the plots in place, with a relaxed and moderate rhythm. Traveling clouds and moving water tell the story of small fish eating big fish. Deeply speaking, what is the end of corruption and how to ensure that justice is not tempted and polluted by evil?

It's a movie full of twists and suspense. A Hard Day ends up occupying the same mix of action and humor

Undoubtedly one of the best crime & exciting movie I've seen in a while. Among English, spanish, tamil movies I normally watch, as a sri lankan. Lots of people have commented their feelings but for me, who is a huge fan of dark comedies & also mind blowing films, this was a gem in both segments as well.

Another Aspect is From The very first second the film starts to the very end of the film, you literally just can't take your eyes off. It keeps your Interest right from the word go & every second we are waiting to see what happens next. I Haven't experienced that in many other so called best films of all time. I understand that - but in this film, it was a special characteristic.

I Normally don't give films 10 out of 10, because nothing's perfect on this world, but still.... This movie was as entertaining as I would have expected to be. I'm defiantly Admire Korean films now.

A homicide detective is driving along his merry way when he stops for a dog in the road. He then continues to drive and runs over a pedestrian. After checking out the victim, he discovers that he is dead. Thus begins this roller coaster ride in what only be described as Murphy's law; or whatever can go wrong, it will. The cop ventures on to his mother's wake in a most unusual and different manner that you have ever seen. A cover up using a creative and strange tactic makes for a funny moment in between some fairly brutal violence. The Korean police are more corrupt than I expected; surpassing our legendary NYPD for bribe taking. The plot is standard crime material, and the acting above average, making for a 7/10.

"Kkeutkkaji ganda" ("A Hard Day" in English) is the first Kim Seong-hun movie that I've seen. What a shocker. I've heard some about rampant corruption in South Korea, but if this movie is any indication, things can get REALLY ugly. The main character is Ko, a crooked detective who accidentally kills someone while driving drunk. But after he covers up the killing, he finds out that there was more to this man than he realized, and that someone might have seen him.

The setting is not identified, as if to say that this could be the sort of thing that happens everywhere in the country. Ko is already the venal type, but once he covers up the manslaughter, he finds himself surrounded by some of the sleaziest elements in society. Almost every scene contains a surprise, especially towards the end. My favorite scenes were in the funeral home, and by the lake. But every scene has something in store.

The movie got screened at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival at the Director's Fortnight sidebar. I think that it should've won something. It's one of the cleverest movies that I've seen. Definitely see it.

PS: The Korean title translates to "Take It to the End".

I saw the film as it was opening a great festival I like. I knew nothing about it (name included). A police officer drives to his mothers funeral, he gets a message from his wife that she wants a divorce and accidentally hits someone with his car. He puts the body in the trunk and later hides it into his mother's coffin. The film is as black as can be. Divorces, deaths, violence... If things can go bad, they will go even worse. A hard day in life of police officer. So many things happening. When you hope he got away, you see has only fallen deeper. I totally laughed half of the film. It was so black it was almost a parody. I loved every minute of it.

I have always known that South Korean cinema was capable of so much more than any other cinema out there; the stories are unfiltered, and give a raw and often impactful view of life in a way only a Korean knows how to express. This movie is no exception to that rule. From the moment it begins, you are taken into an adventure in the worst day of a cops career. It starts out "simple" enough, but as the movie progresses, the more complicated things become, culminating in one of the most nail-biting and impressive endings I have ever seen in any movie or genre from any country. I will not go into details here (as I do not want to spoil the amazing film in any way), but suffice it to say, you will not be disappointed.

This is what true cinema is all about; a movie that is made with talent, tact, and skill that is unparalleled, and you will be hard pressed to find a film that is of this caliber in any language. I give this film the highest recommendation possible.

Koreans sure know how to make a good thriller and a credible crime story. This time, the subject is a accidental hit and run case that comes to haunt the messed-up detective. Elements of the comedy are there, but drama and deviant segment is getting more serious as the script unwinds.

The twist itself is pretty decent, but that can't be always said about the acting of the main male roles. Suspension is pretty strong and there are some unmemorable action sequences (i.e. crane and the car).

All said and done, "A hard day" is one good and fun action-packed thriller for a Sunday afternoon.

A Hard Day is both entertaining and worth a watch if you like foreign-language films. Recommended.

Movie: A Hard Day (15)

Rating: 5/5

This is one of the most tightly scripted action thrillers from South Korea. No doubt why it won so much acclaim all over. The script is quite new and refreshing, and it makes for a perfect watch. In other words, the film is a perfect masterpiece because it easily manages to engage and absorb you in its atmosphere, and it's a film which is very easily likable.

A HARD DAY is perfectly scripted, rather so much that you won't get deviated from watching the film, and if some interruption happens between watching it, you might even get angry and start shouting. It's one of those films which don't let you move. Even if you move, you will not feel good to leave it. That's why I finished it in just one viewing.

Director Seong-hun Kim has done a marvellous job as he handles both the direction as well as writing departments in a very professional manner. He has done his best in telling the story with full force, and has provided plenty of entertaining elements to keep you engrossed.

Sun-Kyun Lee is an actor to watch out for. His performance creates a strong impact and after a point it doesn't seem he's acting at all. It's a natural act by him. Another round of applause to Cho Jin-woong: he's menacing at times and his performance is quite effective. Same for the rest of the cast.

The thrills are quite chilling and the action, superb. The cinematography is excellent in many shots, especially the action scenes. The background score is quite pulsating and increases the excitement from time to time.

That said, A HARD DAY is a mindblowing action thriller which has plenty of surprises to offer to viewers, especially those expecting just another action or thriller film. It's something you won't have seen before, and this film undoubtedly increases the respect for South Korean cinema in my eyes.

Extremely slow start at the beginning of the movie. I thought that the main character was "Unlikeable" at the beginning. . . . The movie finally changed after 56 minutes in, when the main villain shows up. After the evil villain appeared, the main character became more Likable, because I felt sorry for him. The movie sped up during its second half, and there were more action and suspense to it. The movie was good overall, but I wish that the first half of the movie was done better.