Derailed (2016)

Around the World in 196 Films
Country 1: South Korea
Film: Derailed
Director: Lee Song Tae
Rating: 4/5 [8/10]

Derailed is a film that follows four runaway teenagers – Jin Il (Choi Min Ho), Ga Young (Jung Da Eun), Bong Gil (Lee Yoo Jin) and Min Kyung (Baek Soo Min) – as they try to survive on the streets. Amidst their stealing for food and money for survival, they end up stealing the car of Hyung Sik (Ma Dong Seok) who doesn’t take too kindly to their actions. Ga Young is taken by Hyun Sik and Jin Il, Bong Gil and Min Kyung – wanted by the police – must do everything they can to get her back.

Derailed is a film that isn’t something I usually watch; crime thriller isn’t a genre set that I regularly enjoy. I purely watched this to write some articles on Choi Min Ho more than anything – and I found myself truly liking this film much, much more than I expected.

This film was dark, it was gritty, it was stressful. With numerous members of the cast giving stunning performances, I was easily swept up into this horrible – and, all too real for some teenagers – world. This had my heart racing, I ended up chewing on my lip and pausing at times to take a break. The pace in this is well done; we go from seeing the teens resting and okay, having fun despite their predicament to their entire world turning upside down.
Watching them struggle to desperately survive the newest issue thrown at them was harrowing. This was dark, bleak and painful. My heart bled for them, I found myself crying at parts and I couldn’t get enough or finish this film quick enough.

The characters in this are extremely interesting – Seong Hoon (Kim Jae Young) took me completely by surprise and even days after finishing this film, I constantly think about him and what made his character the way that he is.

Lee Sung Tae, writer and director, did a splendid job with this film; I definitely want to watch more from most of the actors – this film has solidified me as a fan of them with ease. My eyes are on Sung Tae and what he does next and I’m eager to sit and watch through his other films to see just what else he can get me to enjoy.

All in all, Derailed was a brilliant film and I cannot wait to discover more from those involved in the film.

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DERAILED is another dark action film from South Korea that becomes hard to forget after it ends. It's a film which is so real in presentation that it's hard to believe it's really just a fictional film. It has got a high amount of action and it's shot extremely well, but it's a different kind of action film which doesn't intend to provide merely escapist fun. The darkness and emptiness in life, the strength of friendship, the value of relationships : everything is blended in this film and packaged very well within a duration of just 91 minutes, something many directors, sadly, fail to do even in the 2 hours duration.

Performances by every actor are great and realistic. Direction is superb and there's that unique "indie film" feel to it. DERAILED is a strongly scripted action film which sadly might not have seen by many people, but nevertheless leaves a strong impact, further haunting you especially after the end. It can even make you cry.

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