Blue Salt is a melodramatic-assassin-lover-thriller film. I enjoyed the pace of the movie but not all the underworld sub-plots, they didn’t seem to all get tied up by the end — at least not to my satisfaction. I also enjoyed the chemistry (however unorthodox it may appear) between the two main characters; age difference and assassin-turned-lover angle.
This was a highly anticipated film with some mixed reviews. It was director Lee Hyun-Seung‘s first film in 10 years (Il Mare — 2000), who in my eyes delivered another poetic piece of cinema. It starred one of Korea’s top actors, Song Kang-Ho (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), who overshadows any of the film’s downfalls with another great performance. Overall I found it to be an entertaining gangster melodrama with fun action scenes.
“The film is about a hitwoman who has struggled feelings for an underworld boss, who is her target. The film has issue of age difference and the Korean underworld, specifically gangs..” (Wikipedia)
Some of the negative comments about the film I’ve come across mostly have to do with the casting. I sort of agree that the supporting cast was either over-the-top or overly-acted and fell flat on-screen, Yoon Yeo-Jung (The Housemaid) to name one — comic book villain. On the other hand, some felt the age difference between Song and female lead Shin Se-Kyung (or her one-dimensional acting) hurt the film. I believe the age difference is actually an intrinsic feature of the story and one of many plot layers (retired gangster, assassin/ lover, age difference). As for her acting, I thought it was fitting to the tone of the film and of her character.
The film’s international title is Hindsight.
Reviews: krnmovie
aparoo’s words: underworld, gangs, fighting, power, politics, crime, thriller, mystery, affection
aparoo says 4/5
Stream: Dramacrazy
PS. another film, of a different tone, that deals with age indifferent love is Fair Love
