Ballerina (발레리나) is a South Korean action thriller film released on Netflix on October 6, 2023. It is written and directed by Lee Chung-hyun and produced by Climax Studio. The original score of the film is composed by popular producer Gray and has a runtime of about 1 hour and 33 minutes.
The cast of the film includes Jeon Jong-seo as Ok-ju, Kim Ji-hoon as Choi Pro, Park Yu-rim as Min-hee, Kim Mu Yeol, Shin Se-hwi, Park Hyung-soo as Pharmacist and others.
Ballerina Review
The opening scene of the film is set in a convenience store where some bad guys try to rob the cash register. That’s when we get introduced to Ok-ju and what she is capable of, as she saves the day and kicks the ass off all the gangsters in the most nonchalant manner. It gives us a sense that she is not an ordinary person who can be messed with. She’s actually been going through a rough patch and is taking a break from her stressful and isolating job as an elite personal bodyguard to VIP clients.
Out of the blue, she gets a call from her best friend Min-hee asking her to hang out at her house. Having lost touch for a while, Ok-ju was excited to catch up with the person who made her life better. What she didn’t realise was that it would be the last call from Min-hee, disguised as a cry for help. On reaching her home, Ok-ju finds a gift-wrapped box with ballerina shoes and a note that says – Please get revenge for me. I know you’ll be able to help. Along with it was the social media ID of the person who might have pushed Min-hee to take such an extreme step of ending her life.
Ok-ju, while grieving, utilizes her investigative and defence skills to hunt down Choi, the person she believes is responsible for the death of Min-hee. To avenge her friend’s untimely death, Ok-ju embarks on a dangerous journey into a criminal underworld plagued by drugs and violent crimes against women.
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To talk about the plot, it’s a comparatively simple story of revenge, showing how Ok-ju uses all the skills that she learned on her dangerous job and utilises it to seek justice. But how that story is brought together on the screen makes all the difference. The first thing that one notices is the visual style, which uses various types of light to create a cinematic aesthetic.
Most evidently seen in Min-hee’s house where various coloured lights and water create a space that looks serene – visually showing what Ok-ju feel about the place. If you notice Ok-ju’s scenes or when she is remembering her time with Min-hee, there’s always a yellowish hint which is achieved by sunlight or with the use of dingy bulbs and even yellow coloured props. It can be interpreted to show innocence, happiness and a ray of hope, which the two friends were to each other.
Once she sets her target for revenge, you can see hints of red everywhere – either through props, lights or blood. On the other hand, whenever the bad guys like Choi or the Pharmacist are on the screen, it has a blue tint, the type that gives you a sense of blood-chilling coldness.
Secondly, the camera movement and angle provide much more depth to the story. Many times hand-held camera style is used to emphasise emotions and other times, it looks like a fly-on-the-wall observation style. Even in action scenes, they might not show the brutality directly but the way they capture it from various angles definitely makes a stronger impact.
What makes this film different is how they don’t emphasise (graphically show) the wrongdoings done to the victims, to make an impact. But they give you enough hints to tell what’s happening or happened to them in the past. The main focus is revenge and how Ok-ju takes the much-needed avenge is what leads the story forward and keeps you hooked till the end. In each scene when she comes across the bad guys feels quite cathartic, without making the whole process overly dramatic.
If you are looking for a good and quick action thriller then Ballerina would be a good choice. Jeon Jong-seo as Ok-ju has done a commendable job of portraying a cool-headed, gun-wielding character with vengeance on her mind but one wouldn’t assume her to be like that. Likewise, Kim Ji-hoon has once again donned a sinister character after The Flower of Evil and needless to say he is quite terrific in negative roles. And if you are familiar with K-Hiphop then you might recognise familiar artists and music in the background given by Gray.
Rating: 4.5/5
Ballerina is available for streaming on Netflix.
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