Director: Lee Jong-pil
Starring: Lee Je-hoon, Koo Kyo-hwan, Hong Sa-bin
Country of origin: South Korea
Running time: 1hr 34m
Defections from North Korea to South Korea have deteriorated sharply as tensions between the divided nations worsen.
Those that survive the miraculous journey out of the hermit kingdom, especially after the North Korean regime fortified its border with China after the Covid pandemic, still attract attention.
There’s a generational split in South Korea when it comes to the polarizing topic of reunification.
Yet interest in North Korea, at least in a cinematic sense, remains strong.
Escape focuses on army sergeant Lim Gyu-nam (Lee Je-hoon) who is on the verge of being discharged after a decade stationed close to the demilitarized zone on the North side of the border.
Unknown to his comrades and superiors, the loyal servant of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) has been secretly plotting a path to freedom in South Korea.
Sergeant Lim sneaks out from his unit’s cramped dormitory at night to mark a route between the land mines beyond the barbed wire fences.
It all goes awry when junior soldier Kim Dong-hyuk (Hong Xa-bin) catches him in the act.
Kim begs the sergeant to take him on the daring break out mission so that he can be reunited with his mother and sister who managed to defect to South Korea.
The sergeant tries to warn his lower ranking colleague of the fatal consequences if they are caught attempting to flee their unit. Yet the inexperienced Kim makes a desperate effort to run off on his own. Lim finds him, yet after a warning siren sounds the pair are discovered and detained by a lieutenant. The sergeant is brutally beaten and forced to admit his scheme, yet the terrified bottom rung soldier Kim claims it was all his idea.
Major Lee Hyung-sang (Koo Kyo-hwan) of North Korea’s National Security Department arrives to make sense of it all and concludes that sergeant Lim is a hero for preventing Kim’s getaway.
It’s a decision that doesn’t make any sense until it emerges that Sergeant Lim’s father was Major Lee’s chauffeur, and they have been familiar with each other for years.
A lavish ceremony is held to honour the seemingly patriotic Lim, yet still determined to follow through with his initial plan he steals a military vehicle and makes a bold bolt for freedom.
The story advances briskly as the cold-blooded Major initiates the hunt to find his former childhood acquaintance.
Although far-fetched and beyond any reasonable explanation at points, Escape is both gripping and nail-biting as the chase speeds through the barren terrain of North Korea towards the border.
The theme of destiny is interwoven into the fast-paced plot as the stark differences in outlook between the two protagonists become immediately apparent.
It’s not a critique or study of the North Korean regime, yet there are striking scenes which illustrate the subsistence of the sergeant’s impoverished unit and the opulence of the chosen members of the elite.
Sergeant Lim and his troops are packed in a dorm room like sardines in a can and celebrate enthusiastically when they can feast on a wild boar accidentally killed by a landmine.
The joyous mood is dampened when the higher-ups find out and gorge on the animal while the furious sergeant is forced into serving his masters like a waiter.
As the action intensifies the symbolism of the sergeant crashing through a striking propaganda sign which reads ‘For the preservation and happiness of the people’ is not lost on anyone familiar with the landscape of the most isolated nation on earth.
There are a couple of unusual and noteworthy elements in an otherwise straightforward story.
Director Lee Jong-pil uses a vivid colour palette to illustrate the regime’s privileged class at the party event in which the sergeant awkwardly accepts their acclaim.
It’s quite a contrast to the drab uniformity of the rank and file and an off-kilter big screen depiction of life in the secretive state. The fact none of the major players are from South Korea can also be considered uncommon.
An unexplored sideline suggests an intimate same-sex relationship between Major Lee and his friend Seon Woo-min (Song Kang). The pair studied in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and appear together briefly when Seon urges Lee to play the piano in front of the assembled elite. Seon is even renamed as ‘The bastard I loved’ on Lee’s phone.
While nothing is confirmed or denied it’s a bold allusion to make, especially about two characters in upper class North Korea.
In what resembles a physical endurance test Lee Je-hoon is magnificent as the sergeant utterly convinced that he can navigate his way across the border.
After striking performances in Peninsula (2020) and Escape to Mogadishu (2021) Koo Kyo-hwan cements his reputation as an unrelenting, resentful villain.
Portraying a naive soldier with a heartfelt desire to rejoin his family Hong Xa-bin makes a big impression.
The trio all play their roles with gusto as everything speeds to a tumultuous finale in a detail-oriented production which benefits from a relatively short running time.
It’s worth saying that despite an expanding and expensive catalogue of films available on a plethora of streaming sites there is still something special about watching a film in the cinema.
There were gasps and jumps in the largely Korean speaking audience at the CGV movie theater chain – in the designated Koreatown area of Buena Park in California – where I saw the film (with English subtitles).
Not everyone might have the same reaction, yet Escape is a stylish thriller which deserves to be viewed in any setting.
Stephen Kasiewicz 