Review of Fighter in the Wind (2004) by Daniel B — 11 Apr 2008

Until the early 90s, martial arts movies were generally quite hokey affairs. Shot on cheap film with dumb sound effects and extended fight sequences involving claw shaped hands, kicking in plimpsoles and announcing the lyrical names of every move before you do it. Jackie, Wo-Ping and Sammo were doing new things, but the stigma still held water. In 1992, Once Upon a Time in China raised the bar cinematically with what could be done with a genre that had become stale. Since Tsui Hark's magnum opus, many films have pushed for a similar cinematic style- Crouching Tiger, Hero, House of the Flying daggers and virtually every martial arts movie to come out of Korea.

Baramui is one such Korean MA flick- a film that attempts to tell a real story with drama and great photography rather than awe-inspiring physicality. Having said that, the fights in Baramui are very good, if a little short. Many are montage-cut for dramatic impact and although there is some wire-work (the curse of martial arts films), it's usually quite subtle and very rare. The Kyokushinkai style is portrayed quite well and Baedal's efficiency and power is evident in the frame. Production design, acting and sound design are all top notch, although the score veers from orchestral pieces to K-pop in a heartbeat- something that really detracts from the feel of the movie.

This veering of style is also present in the action sequences- some being more gritty, some being more flowery and there's an underlying sense that the film can't decide quite what it wants to be.

But in a genre that rarely holds up after the action scenes are stripped from it, Baramui stands tall as a film with real worth as a piece of cinema.