Montage (2013) [Film Review]

Montage; or, To Catch a Kidnapper

     This is where I was wrong. You've mistaken yourself for the victim and not the cause of all these cases at the time.

This week’s review, or, in fact, reviews (as I’m going to discuss Te3n (2016) as well) will be about a surprisingly well-made crime story with a double twist straight from South Korea. Brace yourselves for an intense pursuit, investigation of two(!) kidnapping cases and ingenious catharsis at the very end. To be specific, I’m talking about Montage (2013).

Release Info 

Directed by: Jeong Keun Seob Starring: Kim Sang Kyung, Uhm Jung Hwa, Song Young Chang

Language: Korean Original Title: 몽타주 Runtime: 119 min

 

Synopsis

Detective Cheong Ho (Kim Sang Kyung) is still struggling with an unsolved kidnapping case which happened 15 years ago. Unexpectedly, the detective picks up a new lead only five days prior to the expiration of the case’s statute of limitations. Surprisingly, somebody left a flower on the crime scene. Even though Cheong Ho locates the man in question, the suspect manages to escape and it is already too late to prosecute him for his crimes. Detective quits the force, but soon after he is called again as it turns out that another kidnapping occurred with exactly the same methods used as in Cheong Ho’s old case. Is it possible that the same kidnapper is active once again?

Perfect Crime, Better Repetition

From the opening scene, director (and writer) Jeong Keun Seob leaves the viewers completely in the dark (similarly to the mother behind the wheel with a bag on her head) as the central sequence of the story sets in motion a chain of convoluted events leading up to the kidnapper’s identity. Although we have very little information about what happened 15 years earlier, we are almost immediately thrown into the thrilling search for the kidnapper. This is probably the first highlight of the film; as it does not attempt to provide a moral standpoint, but allows to get to know the main characters. On the one hand, there is the detective who treats the kidnapping case personally and almost seems to be obsessed with it. On the other hand, we have the mother, Ha Kyung (Uhm Jung Hwa), who is even more obsessed and determined. These two characters form the starting point of an amazing “whodunit” story.

So, what really happened 15 years ago that irreversibly changed the detective and the mother? Ha Kyung’s daughter (Kim Sung Kyung) was kidnapped when coming back from school. The kidnapper left a photograph of the child in a garbage truck and ordered $50,000 to be delivered in a bag at a railway station, where he swiftly took it into a crowd of army cadets. Ridiculed police officers focused on the lost money, but detective Cheong Ho came back to the mother’s apartment and listened to a recorded phone call from the kidnapper. The bad guy was willing to give the child back for more money.

I know it’s been three years (so far) since the release of Montage, but I don’t intend to reveal the ending so as not to ruin your own fun of watching the film. All you need to know is that 15 years later, the crime is committed again with the same methods (though, the idea of army cadets still appearing on the same railway station everyday for 15 years is too far-fetched), but, this time, the plan is pushed to perfection. Only Cheung Ho knows that the real kidnapper has got away again, but how to nail him down? The key is the old tape recording of a phone call.

Simultaneously to these events, we see the mother conducting her own investigation. Quite cleverly and meticulously Ha Kyung collects previously unknown pieces of evidence and creates a list of suspects. Eventually, she arrives at an empty house and finds a calendar marked with the countdown to the case’s statute of limitations expiration... Yet, the key to understanding the film's big twist at the end is the fact that the detective’s and the mother’s storylines do not occur simultaneously. Jeong Keun Seob tricks us into believing that what we see on screen happens in real time, but actually it does not. Once you get this, you will understand the beginning and the ending of the film.

In terms of performances, Kim Sang Kyung does a great job as a mentally broken detective. Yet, I couldn’t help but constantly think about his other police role from Memories of Murder (2003) (an unintentional reference?). Uhm Jung Hwa is also convincing as the mother, but her character is inconsequentially written. The actress clearly tried to do her best with the material she had, but towards the end of the film, it was the detective character whom I was rooting for.

Recommendations

I can’t remember the last time since I’ve seen such a clever thriller. Of course, it’s done very much in the Hollywood style, but it does not suffer from the accumulation of insane plot twists and mind-bending revelations. Some things could have been improved, but this was already done in Te3n which I want to focus on in my next post. All in all, Montage is a solid entertainment that will certainly keep you engaged in one sitting.

Overall score: 8/10