Hunt
Heon-teu

The banal American title of the South Korean historical-fiction espionage actioner Hunt is the only dull aspect of the directorial debut feature from Lee Jung-jae. A former fashion model and restauranteur, Lee is one of the most successful actors in South Korea and won widespread international acclaim as the star of Netflix's popular Squid Game series. Hunt is set during the 1980s when South Korea's military dictatorship was at peak power. The story is initiated when a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum. Lee's character, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho, and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do (Jung Woo Sung) must uncover a North Korean spy embedded in one branch of their agency. When the spy, known as Donglim, begins to leak top secret information that could jeopardize South Korea's national security, Park and Kim are each assigned to investigate each other.

Now, I'm a slow reader, so I miss a lot when watching subtitled fast-paced action movies with rat-a-tad dialogue. This was especially true in the case of Hunt, in which there are subtitles of multiple varieties—ID'ing locations, signs, and writings as well as spoken dialogue. I'm sure I missed at least 40% of the state-craft, red herrings, and plot twists contained in this densely scripted spy-vs-spy thriller. But I was still thrilled. Lee is a very charismatic screen presence and this is quite a production to take on as a first-time feature director; not to mention also co-writing, co-producing, and co-starring. I will need to see it again before being able to say much about it, but a rewatch will not be a chore!