good cop, bad cop
A Hard Day (2014)
I recommend this movie every chance I get. It's not as beloved or famous as it should be. Rarely is it mentioned among the great South Korean films like Oldboy and Parasite. The film's poster has always been familiar to me. Maybe I just don't remember if it was met with universal acclaim.
The premise alone hooks you immediately: a cop runs over a man and hides the body, but a witness to the hit-and-run begins stalking and blackmailing him. This film is also one of the funniest ever, despite the heavy theme of police corruption and its unique, extreme cruelty. It's a film I can watch repeatedly and still laugh out loud, the dread and anxiety still as potent as the first time.
I also envision it as a '60s neo-noir with Lee Marvin as the besieged cop and Van Johnson as his tormentor. Van never played a real villain in any of his films and he definitely had the range. Plus, the two of them have the same physical build as the actors here; two are tall and lanky, the other two tall and broad.
When I re-watched it a few weeks ago, I worried it would be difficult to get through. The film's star Lee Sun-kyun died by suicide last December. I expected my heart to lurch when he appeared onscreen, for tears to prick my eyes. But despite my initial sadness, I got lost in the movie as always.
Lee Sun-kyun was one of my favorite actors. I had a crush on him too. Same goes for his A Hard Day co-star Jo Jin Woong. While anger doesn't eclipse my sadness over his passing, it's still quite strong. Despite testing negative for drug use, harassment by law enforcement and the infamously cruel comments by Korean netizens played dual roles in ending his life. Drugs are quite taboo in South Korea, both legally and socially. The punishment is severe, as evidenced by Yoo Ah-in's treatment. He's effectively been blacklisted in the entertainment industry. Sex crimes don't receive nearly the same amount of public outrage. Alleged rapists like Lee Jin-wook still enjoy lucrative careers. The idols involved in the Burning Sun rape scandal can even plan their comebacks.
All of this is necessary context for A Hard Day. South Korean media overwhelmingly depicts the country’s law enforcement as corrupt and incompetent. Criminal activity and lack of consequences animate this film's black heart. But the morbid humor and Kim Seong-ha's lean, impeccable direction prevent A Hard Day from being a grueling watch. It's the best way to tell this kind of story.
The title is simple, ironic, and honest. On the night of his mother's funeral, Detective Ko Gun-soo (Lee) is driving to the police station where his fellow cops are impatiently awaiting his arrival. He keeps getting angry calls from them as well as his sister. She's back at the funeral hall and berating him for not fulfilling the role of elder son. Gun-soo explains that he wouldn't have left if it wasn't important. It turns out their unit is under investigation for taking bribes.
Gun-soo swerves to avoid a dog in the road but just a few moments later, a body flies across his windshield. The dog has also reappeared when Gun-soo checks on the man. Blood is pooling rapidly on the ground and approaching headlights illumine his petrified face. He attempts to call for help when another call comes in, this time from his daughter, Mina (the movie's best character). He sputters on the phone — the anxiety is palpable as he stands there, trapped. But it is impressive that he's able to talk to her while the world explodes around him.
The body goes in the trunk. Gun-soo continues driving and reaches a checkpoint where he's instructed to take a breathalyzer test. He tries getting out of it, first by saying he's a detective and then by appealing to sympathy. He just had a few sips at his mother's funeral. But the traffic cop is persistent. He orders Gun-soo out of the car. Another cop goes around to open the trunk. Gun-soo violently lunges at him and he’s tased in the ensuing scuffle.
Everything is sorted out when they confirm with Gun-soo's precinct that he is indeed a detective. The scene where a vindicated Gun-soo berates and slaps the line of young cops is hilarious — and also the last time in the course of the night where anything goes right for him.
Gun-soo returns to the funeral. We get to meet Mina, eagerly smiling as she asks about the chocolate cake he promised her. Gun-soo tries to apologize for no cake, but she's not interested in anything else he has to say. Gun-soo is an idiot, but his one redeeming quality is being Mina's dad. I would love to see a version of A Hard Day from her POV; who cares about whatever he's going through!
What began as a funny film with tense moments of drama soon turns livid with desperation, intensity, and fear.
One of the greatest sequences I've ever seen unfolds when Gun-soo takes the dead body from his car. He needs to find another hiding place. His mother's casket will have to do. This scene is so bonkers, unlike anything I've seen before. It takes complex maneuvering to transport the body into the funeral home, to unscrew the coffin, and to stuff the body beside his mother's (with him profusely apologizing all the while). While I’ve never been in the same fix, the frantic feelings are only too familiar; I feel like I'm in the room with him. After screwing the coffin lid closed again, the dead man's phone starts ringing. Luckily the caller hangs up.
After the burial, it seems like Gun-soo can relax. Even the bribery charges were dismissed. I've watched enough Korean dramas to know that Gun-soo would never be the hero. He would be the irredeemable villain, smugly confident that he won’t face any consequences. Like one of the bad guys in Chimera says, "For people like us, a crime isn't a crime. It's a mistake." Those admittedly great dramas would never portray Gun-soo as a sympathetic character, or a weary public servant, divorced single dad to the world’s tiniest diva.
The tribute articles for Lee Sun-kyun after his death focused more on Parasite than his incredible work here. Ko Gun-soo isn't noble, he even scolds Mina for playing with a toy,1 but you can't help but root for him to get away with it.
Pretty soon, Gun-soo starts getting anonymous calls. "Where did you hide the body?" the voice taunts. Not long after, his team is assigned to a new case. The chief places the mugshot of a murder suspect on his desk. They get a tip on the suspect Lee’s whereabouts, but the man is dead. He's the one Gun-soo hit with his car.
He's forced back to the scene of the crime, and is horrified to notice the skid marks on the road. Along with the security camera. The dog from that night is back, too. Black crows dot the gray sky above him, classic omens of impending doom. One of his colleagues even reviews the CCTV footage on the night of the accident. Fortunately for him, his license plate is too grainy to read. The witness also keeps calling. But Gun-soo realizes something, elated at his discovery.
“There’s no proof that he was buried, asshole! There’s no proof, you fucking asshole! I’m done, fucker!”
I don't believe this triumphant moment. He was cocky before, his victory short lived. A new nightmare is certainly lying in wait.
Gun-soo's stalker shows up at the police station, fittingly dressed in all black. He moves in slow motion, his face bright with hate and malice as he charges toward Gun-soo. His fist collides with Gun-soo's face repeatedly. When the other cops pull him off, he does a double take and apologizes for mixing Gun-soo up with someone else. The apology is lukewarm and the cops are surprisingly calm about a random guy just walking in and punching one of their colleagues without preamble. But it turns out this attacker is a cop too: Lieutenant Park Chang-min (Jo Jin Woong). And he just so happens to be the one who made that bribery investigation disappear.
The next truly great scene occurs in the men's restroom. Gun-soo confronts Lt. Park, who's washing his hands calmly, and he orders Gun-soo to bring him Lee’s corpse. Gun-soo however, is filled with pent up rage and he starts taking it out on Park, laying into him. The other has the ghost of a smile on his lips while Gun-soo's back is turned.
Park then locks himself in a stall. Gun-soo peeks in over the top and the other yanks him inside, viciously punching him, and forcing his head into the toilet. "This is too gay for my taste," he remarks. Gun-soo promises to retrieve Lee's body and bring it to Park that night. He still attempts to outsmart Park, threatening to expose his underworld activity, the cocaine empire he's built. But Park shows up at his house, even has a toy for Mina. Gun-soo is once again cornered.
Can you guess how this movie ends? You can probably sketch an outline, but not the colors and details. Is Gun-soo rescued at the 11th hour? Is Park punished for his crimes and Gun-soo feted as a whistleblower? It turns out he didn't even kill Lee! He was dead before Gun-soo hit him with his car; the bullet holes in his chest prove that.
It's only to be expected that this film doesn't have a moral or a ‘good triumphs over evil’ message. Crime actually does pay.
Maya, who writes a private substack, said this film is a fairytale. I couldn’t agree more. You see, all the best stories essentially are.
You’ve got a daughter like the angel of mercy2 (emphasis mine) popping up at the most convenient times, the repeated image of drowning, a villain who is less man and more wraith haunting the lead who has paid no attention to the women in his life — mother, wife, daughter, sister — and instead leeched money off the small and hardworking, now stepping up to the task of cleaning up his mess and cleansing himself of his shadow to access untold treasure.
“We’re not model cops, but this is too far!” This film goes too far, escalates things to uncomfortable extremes, and I love every minute of it.
I hope I’ve convinced you to watch A Hard Day. If you’re the praying kind, please spare one for Lee Sun-kyun and his family. He was one of Korea’s best. The world was lucky to have him too, although our time with him was much too brief.
He ‘borrowed’ Mina’s soldier toy to drag Lee’s corpse through the vents. He gets mad at the new one she has, which her aunt bought from the gift shop. Aunt also said she would snap the bastard’s neck who stole the toy. Girl he’s right in front of you, get snapping!
Maya and I are so often on the same wavelength, it’s no surprise that she recognized Mina as the real treasure of this film too.