Reviews

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  ★★★½ review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood on Letterboxd

  1 Hour 51 Minutes - Not Rated
  
  Drama - Foreign - Thriller
  
  Director: Sung-bo Shim
  
  Starring: Yun-seok Kim, Yoo-chun Park, Ye-ri Han

  Summary: When push comes to shove financially a captain of a fishing vessel begrudgingly seeks out illegal means to earn large sums of money with his ship. His first job sounds easy enough however somebody forgot to mention murphy's law applies!

  Yun-seok Kim is one of my favorite South Korean actors and I've gotta say he is on a roll because his role in the film didn't let me down. He gave one hell of a larger than life performance!

  If it wasn't such a brutally tragic story I'd be tempted to call it a comedy of errors! What could go wrong went wrong throughout the film and captain Kang is the equivlent of the cleaner and bodies are flying overboard right and left.

  Some pretty intense hold your breath moments! I don't know why but I keep comparing Capt. Kang with Capt. Ahab most likely this is due to the fact both men sink to the depth of insanity because of an overwhelming obsession to the point of being maniacal and in the end their obsession consumes them!

  While the film was imperfect, I believe its merits outweighed any negatives!

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  ★★★★ review by davidehrlich on Letterboxd

  Bong Joon-ho-scripted naval smuggling story is so cracking & devious it makes SNOWPIERCER feel like a dry run. brilliant, more or less.

  full review to come on Little White Lies.

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  ★★★½ review by Carl Sandell on Letterboxd

  Not knowing the synopsis made for a surprise twist halfway through the film for me. Being written by Bong Joon-ho there are enough sinister twists and turns to go around even if you do know the most pivotal event. That writing reeks of his touch, but the story lacks some of the heart that usually lightens some of the darkness in the films he directs himself.

  The first part of the film gives an interesting perspective on the state of the fishing industry. The economic hardship may threaten the lifestyle of these communities, but also the inability to evolve and actually adapt to the new realities. You also get a sense of the importance of this industry for the identity of large communities and even the whole country. There's also the corruption and view on immigrant workers as social comment and plot points.

  As the story unfolds individuals are taking on very clear stereotypes based on single vices that threaten the fabric of the community. It's almost ridiculous as part of the story, but works nicely on a metaphorical level. The characters also don't need to be well rounded, because it is a tight thriller that works viscerally. The tiny fishing boat on the cold dark sea is a very unforgiving environment when things start to go wrong.

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  ★★★★ review by HKFanatic on Letterboxd

  "Sea Fog" is one of those 'based on a true story' films that loses the thread the farther it deviates from the factual account of what was already a grim and riveting series of events. The final act descends into cliche thriller territory, but the first hour is an absolutely stellar portrayal of a group of hard-luck men forced into an increasingly dire situation by economic circumstances and their own moral failings.

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  ★★★½ review by Balaji Dussa on Letterboxd

  Sea Fog directed Sung-bo Shim(Writer of Memories of Murder) and Written by Joon-ho Bong (Dir of Memories of Murder).

  Sea fog told the story of fishing boat crew and how the single disastrous event affected the crew lives.

  Overall, Sea Fog is compelling thriller with Superb camerawork and engaging narration. Worth Watch.

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