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| ▲ This photo, provided by Acemaker Movieworks, shows the poster for the upcoming crime film "The Policeman's Lineage." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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▲ This photo, provided by Acemaker Movieworks, shows a scene from the upcoming crime film "The Policeman's Lineage." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Jan. 1 (Yonhap) -- In between a policeman who must catch criminals even if it violates the law and a cop who believes any illegal acts cannot be justified in law - whose beliefs are right?
Director Lee Kyu-man raises this question to the viewers in his new movie and digs into what justice is between two cops who have conflicting views. He dives into what a ‘real police’ is, not just bureaucrats.
Min-jae (Choi Woo-shik), is a highly principled officer who even testifies against his colleague who conducted a coercive investigation in the process of catching the criminal. In-ho (Park Hee-soon), a cop from Seoul Metropolitan Police, makes a secret proposal to Min-jae with an undercover mission to secretly monitor Kang-yoon (Cho Jin-woong) the head of the police investigation, and dig up his corruption. Min-jae agrees to this plan and is appointed as one of the members of Kang’s team.
Kang is the opposite of what a normal cop would be like. He lives in a luxurious villa, rides luxury cars, and wears designer-label clothes, a dream that cannot be with a public official’s salary. Kang explains that this is just a uniform to catch the top 1% of society. He claims there is no problem since the money was from the top.
Min-jae cannot understand Kang who sometimes uses violence and cooperates with convicts to catch other criminals. His doubts grow stronger when he catches Kang receiving a bag of money from Dong-chul (Park Myung-hoon), the head of a drug cartel.
Kang has one goal, which is to catch the most wanted drug lord Young-bin (Kwon Yul). Min-jae asks if he has to follow orders that break the rules and Kang responds, "Crime tracking can’t be illegal in any case."
Kang leaves Min-jae in his team even after finding out he is a mole. Min-jae has a change of heart as he sees Kang’s approach of breaking down major crimes and begins to grow as a cop and a person.
“The Policeman's Lineage” uses police officers who are closest to crimes to discuss how far a minor offense can be tolerated to punish the greater evil. The movie explores the role of cops, who must stand in the gray area and not fall into black or white. With unconventional topics such as police watching other police and big organizations sponsoring cops, the new movie raises interest.
However, the movie has a lack of suspense which is important in undercover movies. Min-jae was caught so suddenly and the truth behind the obscure case was resolved with a few lines and scenes. The two police officers who stood on opposite borders lost strength in their beliefs as the story unfolded.
“The Policeman’s LIneage” will hit local screens on Jan. 5 and is for 15 years old and above.
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