Escape (aka Talju) (2024) 

Now available from Well Go USA 

A North Korean army sergeant is pursued as he attempts to defect to South Korea. 

Written by Kwon Sung-hui and Kim Woo-geun and directed by Lee Jong-pil, Escape is a tense war thriller that takes a story of heroism and brings it to audiences (in this release) who know less than they likely should about the situation of North Koreans. The writing here is solid and the direction works well with it, making the 90 (or so) minutes of the film fly by at a fast pace with tense sequences, good action scenes, and some character development that helps the viewer connect with the lead and his plight. The film gains from this and becomes quite entertaining as the story progresses and the viewer gets to see the treacherous life of a defector from a communist land. 

The cast here really sell the film and make it a solid piece of entertainment, even in scenes where scenery is chewed like decades old jerky, they make it a film to watch. Lead Lee Je-hoon plays the defector well and makes his plight both touching and stressful. The way he plays the character is on point and entertaining at the same time. He makes the film what it is, showing that he was the exact right choice for this part. Joining him are Koo Kyo-hwan as a man he knew and one willing to go to extremes to bring his former friend back and please his superiors. His complete opposite character along with his performance make the lead even more likeable and makes his plight one that becomes bigger than himself. The cast as whole is good here with a few hiccups here and there, but nothing worth singling out. The acting here is good and makes the film more than an escape story, it makes it a human story. 

The film here looks great, from the dark scenes to the more lit up ones, there is something here that works in every sequence with on point lighting and great camera work from cinematographer Sung-an Kim and team. The film looks stunning in parts and harrowing in others, there is darkness and hope in the images themselves up until the very last second on screen. This is how to shoot a film like this, letting the story take over but also giving it style and allowing the viewer to have good lighting, solid framing, and a clear view of the action. 

Escape is a thrilling action film with stakes based in the real world, stakes few have survived to tell the tale of. The writing works, the direction does as well, and the cast is interesting to watch. The cinematography is a high point of the film while the rest shines within its created images.