Harbin (2024)

Light, pacing & space set in the perfect ratio, honoring not only 1 but all K independence activists

PROLOGUE:
One might criticize that historical facts about the historical figure Ahn and his person are too brief. That too much poetic license was taken with regard to the fictional comrades and opponents in this case. Even, that these guys also remain too pale as individual characters. That too little pace and tension are built up, and that there is overall too much debate in the dark.
But then, it would have been a completely different film. With a different message.

From my perception, “Harbin” does not want to tell us about historic events as it was, but to stage the dilemma, the hurdles, the challenges, the performance, the passion, the agony of the Korean resistance struggle as an epic monument. We do not get heroes in shining armor, but desperate fighters for a fairer world - for their freedom, for their country, which is their homeland, for their families or the families they cannot have themselves. "Harbin" wants to honor their price, which they paid for all those who now can actually live in freedom and relative independence today. In addition, "Harbin" is choosing a critical approach - with its focus on the struggle for perspective, hope, morality, and justification in regard of the many painful sacrifices.


TERRA NULLIUS BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS, BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG
Anyone who has seen "Harbin" will not forget "Harbin". This is ensured by the haunting staging, with artistic ambition consistently composed in terms of film technology, to set light, pacing, and space in the perfect ratio.
Here, preferably filmic means like camera, light, powerful scenes that burn themselves unforgettable into the memory were used! Whereas dialogues provide less contextual information but convey the personal and collective struggle for the right attitude. It's about morality and the opposite of it.

We do not learn much about the historic independence fighter Ahn, about whom one could have made a completely different film. His personality would certainly have allowed for that. And yet, in drastic scenes and moments, we learn what he deeply stands for: For an upright, just attitude that does not want to repay like with like, but wants to do better. Ahn fails in this, but he does not give up. Until the end, he stands for what he considers right. We do not learn in "Harbin" that he wrote a treatise during his imprisonment - a concept for a better world. But we have come to know him during those 108 minutes as a man to whom we can certainly trust that.

The others who work with him and against him are practically nameless and stand for the many nameless who struggled and suffered in their own way back then - under the cold, the cruelty, the hopelessness of this underground fight in the far north of Mongolia. And yet they made their contribution.


POETIC AESTHETICS OF DARKNESS
For a Western audience, "Harbin" may present a challenge in two respects. The KMovie is (like many other KMovies) not action-heavy but relies on the intensity of slowness. Even in this one, action is used sparingly. The subtle driving force is rather the aesthetic concept: This does not rely on light, but on shadow, on the poetic aesthetics of darkness and its subtle nuances, where diffuse light highlights textures and shapes. Adding sparse, precisely selected color impulses and contrasts, too.
With refined, powerful visual impression the icy bitter cold in the snow-covered forest, on the frozen river, and in the vastness of the desert landscape of Mongolia comes almost tangibly close to the viewers. Nature, in its powerfully aesthetic staging, becomes a symbol for the arduous path to freedom.

At the beginning, we are confronted with the inhospitable nature of underground life, where light is sparse and food consists of cigarettes. The cigarette smoke makes the dim light even more diffuse while the coats make the cold of the barren rooms appear even colder. And then the story catapults us abruptly and mercilessly into the unvarnished repulsive ugliness of this resistance struggle – in the scene in the icy, blood-smeared mud the bestial brutality becomes almost unbearable to watch.
All this represents and reinforces the sheer despair of the brave warriors who want to fight for their freedom from the oppressors despite all odds. Under almost hopeless circumstances. In an almost superhuman struggle with themselves and with what is right...


A TRIBUTE TO THE KOREAN UNDERGROUND STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE
This joint fight for justice, independence, and freedom deeply defines the Korean identity as a nation, just as the suffering that the people share due to injustice, dependence, and oppression - the 'Han' as a collectively shared, yet individually felt pain, mobilizing a sudden strength and unexpected collective resistance (in this case against Japan).

The willingness to make sacrifices as well as the necessity to make sacrifices are deeply rooted in tradition. This may also be deeply problematic in itself, but like everything: it has two sides. Right? Wrong? Everyone has to decide that for themselves.
However, "Harbin" is not about judgement. It is about honoring those people who had actually dedicated themselves to this conjoint resistance struggle: not wanting to be oppressed and treated as subhuman beings (by Japan). "Harbin" represents an aesthetically intensified tribute to those against all odds fearless fighters. Woo Min-ho did not want to create a historical film here. With the context of this legendary assassination the KMovie rather sets a cinematic monument not only to this legendary independence activist, but by doing so, to all of the others, too. Therefore, at the same time, with the example of this legendary assassination in Harbin it sets a monument to the entire Korean resistance struggle, too - then, before, and after.

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Harbin is the historical fictional retelling of the assassination of Japanese Resident-General Itō Hirobumi and the events that led to it. Told from the perspective of An Jung Geun, one of the activists in Korean Independence army, the movie depicts a chain of events that led to the planning of the assassination. The film features themes of war, espionage, and political plotting. That being said, the first half was boring. It struggles with pacing issues, bogged down by way too many characters who fail to leave a lasting impression despite the star-studded cast. It's filled with boring scenes of men discussing, planning, and excessively smoking in a dark room. This slow buildup feels tedious, making it difficult to invest in the story or its players.

The second half becomes more thrilling as the plan to assassinate General Ito comes into fruition. It is packed with more action and suspense. There's a race against time to reach the general, while Japanese soldiers are riding on their coattails. One thing I loved is how they depicted the inner conflict of one of the characters. The film takes a nuanced approach to representing certain historical figures. General Itō Hirobumi is depicted as a complex individual rather than a one-dimensional villain. The movie even managed to mention some of his accomplishments. In contrast, the Japanese Army is depicted as cruel, inhumane, and barbaric.

The climax was intense. There was great use of sound editing and mixing to capture the thrill and suspense of the moment. Overall, this patriotic film is a great one time watch. I don't think I'll be watching again unless I'm a huge fan of war or historical films.

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