K-Movie Review: Night in Paradise

Aanchal Yadav, Delhi

Night in Paradise exemplifies a perfect crime drama film. World premiered on September 3, 2020, at the 77th Venice International Film Festival and was released on April 9, 2021, on Netflix. The movie ‘Night in Paradise’ is directed by Park Hoon-jung. The plot of the film centres around a gangster named Park Tae-goo who gets invited to join the rival Bukseong gang, headed by Chairman Doh. After Tae-goo rejects his offer, it gives rise to a rigorous series of events that includes the killing of his sister and niece and embarks Tae-goo with a revenge of killing Chairman Doh and the men who work for him. From here, his life is put in danger as a vengeful henchman named Ma Sang-gil is out to take revenge for the killing of his boss and his men. To escape danger, Tae-goo flees to Jeju Island where he meets Jae Yeon, a young woman dealing with her difficulties.

_{Picture Credits: MyDramaList}

Cast

The casting for the movie is impeccably top-notch, ensuring every actor and actress can exceptionally portray their character. Uhm Tae-goo is seen playing the role of Park Tae-goo, a guy with a quiet and secretive personality who makes an irrational choice that ruins his life. Jeon Yeo-been plays the character of Jae Yeon, a girl who doesn’t seem to care about herself or the people around her as she thinks. Cha Seung-won portrays the role of Ma Sang-gil, the henchman who is out for the hunt of Tae-goo to fulfil his duty as a devoted henchman.

The movie shows a glimpse into the mobster/criminal side of South Korea. It also shows how devoted gang members are to their group and how far they will go to show their devotion and loyalty. I feel like the hidden message in the movie is that never make decisions irrationally or on impulse and base your decisions on factual information as you never know someone’s true nature. Some people may feel that the movie has an abrupt ending, but if you carefully look at it, you will perceive that everything ends the way it is supposed to.

I personally like this movie as it is not your basic Korean rom-com. The movie does include some gruesome scenes but that’s what makes it much more realistic. There is this one particular dialogue in the movie by Jeon Yeo-been that goes like this, “I hate when people ask if you’re okay when they know that you are not” and it is safe to say that this is one of the most relatable things I have ever heard and I am sure other people would also like to agree with me on this one. And as for my favourite actor from this movie, I simply can’t choose one as everyone so beautifully and with such precision carried out their respective roles with such great intensity.

_{Picture Credits: MyDramaList}

If you’re a fan of movies that include organized crime with a hint of a love story, then you should definitely go ahead and watch ‘Night in Paradise’. Have you seen this movie? Tell us about your thoughts in the comments!