[ About K movie ‘The Point Men’ ]
Genre: Action, Drama
Release Date: January 18, 2023
Running time: 108 minutes
Audience Rating: 12+
Director: Lim Soon-rye
Starring: Hwang Jung-min, Hyun Bin, Kang Ki-young, etc.
[ Movie The Point Men Synopsis ]
A kidnapping incident occurs in which 23 Korean missionaries visiting Afghanistan, a conflict-affected area, are abducted by the Taliban. A warning was issued that the hostages would be killed if the Taliban prisoners were not released within 24 hours!
In order to rescue the missionary group, ‘Jeong Jae-ho (Hwang Jung-min)’, a negotiating expert from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, heads to the site, where he meets NIS agent ‘Park Dae-shik (Hyun Bin)’.
Jae-ho, who came up with the best negotiation plan according to the set principles, seemed to have finished the situation well.. But as the situation twists, the lives of the hostages are threatened again. In the end, in order to save the hostage, Jae-ho struggles to make the negotiations successful with Dae-shik, who is familiar with the local situation.
[Film The Point Men Cast / Characters]
Jeong Jae-ho (Hwang Jung-min)
diplomat specializing in negotiations. He arrives on the spot after being appointed as the representative negotiator for the abduction case in Afghanistan. He worries a lot because he had to make the negotiations successful while considering the complicated international situation and Korea’s diplomatic position. However, he is a very strong person with a sense of mission to save the hostages.
Park Dae-sik (Hyun Bin)
NSA agent. Since he worked in the field much earlier than Jaeho, he is well versed in the psychology of the Taliban and the locals. Unlike Jaeho, who follows principles, he acts recklessly to save the hostage.
Cassim (Kang Ki-young)
A person who enjoyed gambling while staying close to the locals in Afghanistan. Dae-shik catches the eye and acts as an interpreter during negotiations. A licorice role that does not lose wit even in serious situations.
[The true story of ‘Saemmul Church Incident’]
Negotiation is a dramatized work based on the 2007 kidnapping of a Korean in Afghanistan. At that time, members of Saemmul Church in Korea visited Afghanistan for the purpose of missionary work, but were held hostage by the Taliban for about two months.
[Film K movie The Point Men General Review]
Anyone who knows the Saemmul Church incident in Korea can know the outcome of the negotiations. Negotiation is a film about the process of rescuing the kidnappers safely after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence Service work together. However, the important problem is that the audience does not sincerely wish for the rescue of the hostages.
Most people still think badly of the members of Saemmul Church from 15 years ago. Members of Saemmul Church made unreasonable visits to countries where travel was restricted for the purpose of conversion, the fact that they refused to claim the government’s claim for rescue costs after they were rescued, and that they went on missionary work to Afghanistan again a few years later. This is because the main characters risked their lives to save them, as the motif was the incident that was criticized by .
Director Lim Soon-rye chose a direction that did not focus on the missionary group at all in a way to avoid such controversy.
In the play, Kang Ki-young throws out the line, “These people say don’t go, but why do you come all the way here and make severe people suffer?”, and that is the only part that mentions the missionary group. Instead, the focus is on the sense of mission and work ethic of diplomats and the NIS, whose first principle is the protection of the people.
It does not clearly convince the audience why they need to be saved, so those who expected to deal with these controversies may be disappointed.
But film negotiations aren’t all disappointing. The film was filmed on location in Jordan, so the exotic atmosphere, such as the vast land and local market streets, is evident throughout the film.
In addition, Hyun Bin’s splendid action, tense confrontation with the Taliban, the negotiator’s sense of mission, and Kang Ki-young’s wit add to the fun. If you are not sensitive to the true story of Saemmul Church, the motive of this movie, and want to enjoy the movie itself, I would like to say that this movie is worth watching as a killing time movie.
