Secretly, Greatly (2013)

The genre shift was jarring, but it made me feel all the emotions.

Dong Gu is a North Korean spy who has been dispatched to South Korea, living a small-town life as an idiot country bumpkin, along with his other two comrades who live as an aspiring singer and a high school student. One day after years have passed with no order from the North, a sudden power shift in the North turned their mundane lives upside down.

"Secretly, Greatly" is a mixed bag. It starts out ridiculously foolish and funny... It's not until the midway point, that it turns into a spy action movie with an intense twist, none of those joyfulness was meant to last. Although this tone shift was jarring, it made me feel all the emotions, all the way to the end. The comedic and fight scenes were impactful and well-choreographed. Some of the jokes were so embarrassing that I feel bad for the actors, and there were times when I thought the stabbing/shooting went over-the-top. For the most part, though, it was entertaining. There were also some touching moments between Dong Gu and the villagers. The ending was really dramatic and memorable.

I never imagine Kim Soo Hyun could pull-off such gritty action sequences but wow, I was blown away! He was awesome fighting in his army uniform, and shirtless too! His acting ranges really the highlight of this movie. If you want to be gripped by his performance, I would recommend it.

thanks for reading :)
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I cried soulfly with love and admiration. This was a masterpiece i loved it is a beautifully written story that was well performed. The actors were phenomenal. This movie deserves and award. IT made me experience a wonderful adventure I will never forget. I REALLY REALLY REALLY LOVED THIS MOVIE.I cried soulfly with love and admiration. This was a masterpiece i loved it is a beautifully written story that was well performed. The actors were phenomenal. This movie deserves and award. IT made me experience a wonderful adventure I will never forget. I REALLY REALLY REALLY LOVED THIS MOVIE.

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This is a great movie! The story is well executed, but in some frames is isn't quite clear what it was going about. Also I hoped on some more background information from certain characters. But it did came out very good.
I loved the action, from beginning till end I was in the movie. And I really enjoyed the funny parts! It had me lauging out loud. And the funny parts are acceptable and it is not to much.
The best thing in this movie for me where te fighting scenes! I even felt my own adrenaline rushing in those scenes!
Also this movie is serious and has a story to tell so it isn't just fun and games!
This is a action packed movie, with hilarious (acceptable) parts, a good story and in the end you'll get rammed up some feels! I would recomment anyone to watch this, this ain't a waste of time! I enjoyed this movie and rewatch this anytime!

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"Secretly, Greatly" tells a captivating story of three young man, trained to be killing machines, sent to South Korea as spies and assimilate into the local society. While they await further instruction from the party, they forge a friendship with the local community.

The first half of the film is comedic, with the lead character acting foolish and funny. Kim Soo-hyun has a natural gift for slapstick, and director Jang Shul-soo and his co-writers make great use of it: Not only will Kim gamely throw himself down a set of stairs, but he'll shift his body language and motion from capable super-spy to doofus and back again. And for as mean-spirited as the gags where folks torment Dong-gu might be, the voice-overs of how he could snap these brats like twigs or how this would never happen in the North are great responses, with two years of pent-up frustration hitting the ears even when just reading subtitles. Park Ki-woong and Lee Hyun-woo are nearly as much fun as the laid-back guy discovering that the army doesn't really teach you how to rock and the grimly lethal kid. The ensemble around them gets both laughs and affection, especially Park Hye-sook as the outwardly cranky convenience store owner who took Dong-gu in when she saw him on the street.

The second half of the film turns into a adrenaline fuelled action film, with much brutal fist fights and valiant defiance of orders. It is presented so well, that it keeps people captivated with the three men's psychological struggle and physical struggle. They manage to take down tens of tough guys in fist fights normally is unrealistic and even annoyingly silly, but in "Secretly, Greatly" their seemingly omnipotent fists provide something for viewers to marvel at. Maybe it is because they are not just fighting for the sake of fighting, but fighting for survival, both physically and ideologically against a tyrannical regime.

The interspersed subplot about the idiot's longing for his mother is very touching. In the three men's native country, people are brainwashed to believe that the party is way more important than their blood family. Hence there is a constant deep seated struggle; and their longings could never be fulfilled. The plot is profoundly powerful towards the end of the film, when everything culminates to an emotional and action climax.

The humor in the dialogue is sometimes unexpected, which is another plus. The parkour-style action scenes are short but thrilling, and the fight choreography are exciting to watch. Stories involving the different characters are told within the main story, creating subplots which are heartwarming and interesting for the most part. When the final order comes, the internal and external conflicts over it drive the 2nd half of the movie. And I loved and hated the ending for being so good and being so good it hurt that it didn't end any other way.

Admittedly, one of the exciting things about Korean films is that genre lines are often in different places and they can surprise in ways that Western films often don't. "Secretly, Greatly" is a great gem that deserves to be seen. I enjoyed watching it tremendously!

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(Tựa tiếng Việt: Ẩn Thân - Vĩ Đại Và Tuyệt Mật)

Diễn viên: Kim Soo Hyun, Lee Hyun Woo, Park Ki Woong…

Một bộ phim về đề tài chiến tranh Nam - Bắc Hàn vô cùng nổi tiếng của bộ đôi Kim Soo Hyun và Lee Hyun Woo mà những bạn nào mê nền điện ảnh của Hàn Quốc hẳn đều đã xem rồi nhỉ. Nhân việc một đứa bạn của mình nhắc tới bộ phim này, mình lại cặm cụi vừa coi vừa khóc không biết lần thứ bao nhiêu nên quyết định dành cảm xúc lên đây đề cử mọi người xem đây.

Nghe qua thì nội dung phim có vẻ nặng nề, nhưng bối cảnh chính lại đặt ở Hàn nên phần nào cũng đỡ hơn, đặc biệt là trong một khung cảnh khá hài hước khi Kim Soo Hyun - thân là một tổng chỉ huy cấp cao ở Triều Tiên lại phải giả vờ làm kẻ ngốc sinh sống ở vùng quê nghèo tại Hàn. Ở nơi đây, Kim Soo Hyun luôn phải giả vờ là một thằng ngốc suốt ngày dính tèm nhem nước mũi, mỗi ngày sẽ phải ngã dăm ba lượt, một tháng sẽ tiểu tiện trước mặt người khác 2 lần và cứ mỗi 6 tháng lại phải đại tiện trước mặt người khác 1 lần, làm việc thì hậu đậu, luôn bị trẻ con lừa gạt mất tiền thối khi phụ giúp người ta bán hàng… Nhưng mỗi khi không có ai khác bên cạnh, ảnh lại trở về với vẻ mặt lạnh lùng cực ngầu của một người lính Triều Tiên.

Sang Hàn đã được 2 năm, quyết hy sinh nhiều thứ vì lý tưởng, niềm tin và tình yêu dành cho Đảng, đồng thời cũng để mẹ mình nơi quê nhà được sống tốt hơn. Nhưng Kim Soo Hyun không ngờ, sau 2 năm tưởng chừng đã bị Đảng lãng quên và bỏ rơi, cuối cùng anh lại nhận được một mệnh lệnh đầu tiên và cũng là duy nhất: tự kết liễu bản thân, hơn nữa, anh cũng tự tìm hiểu và biết rằng, ngày anh đặt chân đến đất nước Hàn Quốc, mẹ anh cũng đã bị Đảng giam cầm và bắn chết rồi…

Hụt hẫng, đau đớn và sụp đổ niềm tin nơi chính quê nhà của mình, Kim Soo Hyun không còn muốn nghe theo những gì Đảng sắp đặt nữa. Đúng lúc này, cậu bé Lee Hyun Woo - từng là cấp dưới của Kim Soo Hyun, người vô cùng vô cùng “ngưỡng mộ” anh ấy lại bị ra lệnh đến Hàn Quốc để thi hành một nhiệm vụ: kết liễu Kim Soo Hyun. Giữa “tình cảm”, lý tưởng và tín ngưỡng của mình, liệu Lee Hyun Woo sẽ lựa chọn nghe theo Đảng và giết chết Kim Soo Hyun, hay sẽ bảo vệ và giúp anh chạy trốn khỏi các sát thủ khác được phái từ Triều Tiên sang? -> Coi phim đi để biết nhoa :”>

Chỉ muốn nói là phim này không phải BL đâu, nhưng hint của nó thì đủ để bạn ngất lên ngất xuống với cặp đôi vàng của Kbiz đấy. Phải nói đây là một bộ phim điện ảnh chất lượng cực kỳ. Suốt hơn 100 phút của phim, mình gần như nín thở mà theo dõi hành trình của họ, không thể nào dời mắt được. Phim sẽ giúp bạn có đủ mọi cung bậc cảm xúc, lúc thì bật cười như điên vì những khoảnh khắc giả ngốc vô cùng hài hước của Kim Soo Hyun, lúc thì phấn khích ầm lên vì những skinship tình hơn cả bình của Kim Soo Hyun và Lee Hyun Woo, lúc lại bật khóc nghẹn ngào vì….(chưa bật mí được, xem phim đê=))). Trích một câu thoại mà cậu nhóc Lee Hyun Woo đã bàn về “tương lai” của mình và vị đội trưởng yêu quý để làm động lực cho mọi người nhảy hố đây=))

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“Đội trưởng, nếu như có kiếp sau, anh muốn làm người như thế nào ạ?”

“Ở một đất nước bình thường, một gia đình bình thường, sinh ra và được sống, vậy thôi.”

“Giấc mơ của anh lớn ghê.”

“Chứ còn cậu thì muốn thế nào?”

“Được sinh ra trong một gia đình bình thường, rồi làm hàng xóm của đội trưởng là được rồi…”

#TN

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Am not going to go over what this film is about as that has been covered in full quite adequately.

What I do want to say is this - in some entitled first world countries there are certain privileges and freedoms some of us take for granted, a number of us want want want or need need need and unfortunately we get so caught up in our own selves most of the time, that we don't always pay attention to what is happening in less fortunate countries or countries that are totally divided - like South Korea and North Korea.

This film may be fictional and not so new anymore, but it is likely based on elements of truth when it comes to what might happen when someone betrays their country.

As far as I'm concerned everyone should have the freedom of choice and not be made to pay the consequences for wanting something different especially if it is the opposite of oppression or not conforming to one way of thinking that is narrow.

Life is meant to be lived and it should be lived to the fullest yet some are denied this basic human right just for being born on the wrong side of the border and in a totally restrictive country.

"Secretly, Greatly" will likely be in my top 10 Korean movies for life!. AAA+++

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This film will quite honestly destroy you. When it begins on a lighter note you'll have no idea about the kind of messed up story that's about to unfold and by the time you are able to figure out what's going on you'll be so in love with the three main leads that the feeling of oncoming tragedy is going to make you emotional even before the real plot has kicked in.

This film starts out a little weird but doesn't take long to get into high gear and the minute Hyun Woo appears things are already starting to heat up. We see these three North Korean spies living their boring lives in South Korea.

Kim Soo Hyun has been playing the role of a "pabo" (fool) and tries hard every day so his cover isn't blown but he's already been there for two years without receiving a mission. It makes him feel dejected but when his fellow spy Park Ki Woong enters the same neighborhood they start being friends again.

Ki Woong is under the guise of a musician who has to enter an idol rock contest and even though he tries hard to be in his guard and act tough and rude to everyone, it's apparent there's more to his character and also that he does love music and really wants to win the competition.

While these two are still just figuring things out another spy enters the picture. Lee Hyun Woo, the kid Soo Hyun saved a long time ago, has also been trained as a spy now and is way more intense and brings so much dark humor to the scene! I love how they kept having to mention "don't kill him ok" because clearly that's how he's been raised. It's like they say once their unit was trained like that, for them to become animals.

So, yes , there is a lot of dark humor, and EPIC dialog, and EPIC cinematography, and EPIC soundtrack so whatever happens feels so REAL that's the only way to explain it. Expect a lot of blood, gritty scenes, and darkness. That last fight seriously I have no words to describe it. It's so so BEAUTIFUL just, it will mess with your head.

The dynamic between the three main leads where Hyun Woo idolizes Soo Hyun and how Ki Woong and Soo Hyun pretty much act like parents to the trigger happy much younger Hyun Woo, sigh I just fell in love with them so bad.

The way they fight their own selves, having conflicting feelings about honor, loyalty to the country, and their innocent love for each other, it will make you insanely happy and also make you cry.

Seriously all the actors did their job phenomenally. The writing it's heartbreaking and sincere. Kudos to the creators for making such an amazing film.

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Kim Soo Hyun is magnetic

Likes:
1) First and foremost, Kim Soo Hyun. It's like he's got a tractor beam engaged any time he is on screen. My focus was solely on him. To become enmeshed in a country and environment that are not your own, for years at a time, to completely blend in, I could feel his loneliness. And yes, he will always be associated with green track suits! His cameo in Crash Landing on You was hysterical. Hopefully it brought new people to watch this movie after seeing it.
2) I felt that the storyline was original and well-executed.

Dislikes:
1) The ending. Granted, I think it ended the way it had to, but it left me with a blanket of sadness, and I really don't like to be sad!

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