20th Anniversary New York Asian Film Festival

Jul 15-31, 2022

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Special Screening

The Killer

더 킬러: 죽어도 되는 아이

This explosive compound of Asian action cinema tropes and triumphs is a balls-to-the-wall thrill ride of suspenseful combat bravado and then some. The story follows a retired hitman (Jang Hyuk, reuniting with The Swordsman director) who is forced to babysit a 17-year-old girl who naturally can’t stay out of trouble. When she ends up kidnapped by ruthless gangsters, he turns super-vigilante to save her. Harrowing stunts, electrifying fights and breakneck narrative twists ensue in this rousing celebration of cinematic badassery. Told with self-referential savvy, there are great hat tips to some zeniths of the genre from The Man from Nowhere and A Bittersweet Life to Takeshi Kitano. All of this adds up to a superlative genre effort.

Director: Choi Jae-hun
Cast: Jang Hyuk, Lee Seo-young
Languages: Korean with English subtitles
2022; 95 min.; DCP

SCHEDULE:

Tuesday July 19, 6:30pm
Film at Lincoln Center

Director Choi Jae-hun and Actor Jang Hyuk will attend the screening.

Choi Jae-hun
최재훈

Choi Jae-hoon began his career as an art director on numerous films, including Princess Aurora (2005), Cadaver (2007), and The Outlaw (2010). He made his directorial debut in 2020 with the period swordplay film The Swordsman, starring Jang Hyuk. He followed that up with the thriller The Hypnosis (2021). The Killer, based on a popular novel, is his third feature and reunites him with leading man Jang Hyuk.

Daniel A. Craft Award For Excellence In Action Cinema
Jang Hyuk
장혁

Jang Hyuk earned instant success with his first starring role in Volcano High (2001), and while maintaining an active career on TV and making music, became a box office draw. Among his many film highlights are Please Teach Me English (2003), Empire of Lust (2015) and Ordinary Person (2017). He is the recipient of the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema for his roles in The Swordsman (2020) and The Killer (2022).