Out to the World

(SAE SANG BAKURO) ((SOUTH KOREAN))

By DAVID ROONEY

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An Ik Young Film Co. production. (International sales: Ik Young, Seoul.) Produced by Park Sang-in. Executive producer, Kim Hyun-taek. Directed, written by Yeo Kyun-dong.
 
Sung-kin ... Moon Sung-kin
Kyung-yong ... Yi Kyung-yong
Hye-jin ... Shim Hye-jin
Gas Station
#Attendant ... Yang Hee-kyung
Lieutenant ... Myong Kue-nam
Old Woman ... Kim Ae-ra
Storekeeper ... Park Young-pal
Congressman ... Yi Dong-jin
 

Despite working as an assistant to eminent Korean director Park Kwang-su, first-time director Yeo Kyun-dong appears to have a more intent eye on the badlands of Hollywood cinema than the vast expanses of South Korea where "Out to the World" unfolds. A blackly comic political allegory about shaking off the debris of dictatorship, this fugitive road movie was a hit in its home territory. Its slick production values, however, are unmatched by its uneven pace and way-too-broad sense of humor, probably restricting it to Asian circuits.

During transfer to another prison, two mismatched jail mates (Moon Sung-kin, Yi Kyung-yong, who go by their own names in the film) unwittingly become escapees after hardened criminals take charge of the bus. Their plans to turn themselves in go astray when a flighty thrill-seeker (Shim Hye-jin) dumps her tyrannical lover to team up with the luckless duo, seeing herself as the femme counterpart to their Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

With their relatively innocuous exploits trumped up to outlaw status on the evening news, the trio head for Seoul. After a bungled bank robbery, they escape in an armored truck, distractedly leaving a huge cash stash untouched. Defeated by their own ineptness, they decide to head over the border to North Korea and the false hope of a fresh start.

Until the fugitives hit Seoul, Yeo keeps things moving at a frenetic clip, tossing in plenty of action, laughs and liberal citations from Yank films. But when the story needs to go deeper and expand on its underlying theme of escape from a constrictive conspiracy, the director doesn't adequately rise to the occasion.

In tech terms, however, the film shows considerable polish, with moody lighting, dynamic use of color, sharp shooting of the often inhospitable-looking locations and a lively music score peppered with Korean pop tunes.

Camera (color), You Yong-kil; editor, Kim Hyun; music, Kim Jong-seo; art direction, Shin Bo-kyung; costume design, Kim Yoo-sun; sound (Dolby), Yi Byung-ha. Reviewed at Turin Intl. Young Cinema Festival (competing), Nov. 21, 1994. Running time: 98 MIN.