The Attorney

2013 "No money. No connections. No degree."
7.7| 2h7m| en
Details

Song Woo-seok is a lawyer with no clients. When his friend's son is falsely accused of a crime and tortured, he takes up the case and the course of his life changes for good.

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Also starring Kim Yeong-ae

Reviews

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
Prashast Singh Movie: The Attorney (15)Rating: 4.5/5Song Kang-ho: what an actor! There's no other like him. He nails it extremely well given any role or genre. In this critically and commercially successful courtroom drama, he transforms into what most protagonists of legal dramas don't usually, given the restrictions they are subjected to by the writing. The script of THE ATTORNEY or BYEONHOIN lets its protagonist stand, and has an even better character development as well. There are many reasons which make the film stand out, but Song Kang-ho is the reason enough to call this film excellent. The film has a decent storyline, and given the genre, you know what to expect. But the writing has a sweetish charm in the beginning, which continues for a longer duration. The film, of course takes its own fine time to build up the story, but it does the job by serving you with the scenes which turn out to be very engaging, inspirational and emotional as well. The screenplay gets stronger as time passes and you're hardly able to leave your seat. The film's highly engrossing and never bores for even a second.A large fraction of the film's excellence is held by Song Kang-ho. His courtroom scenes have been handled very well, and the execution is perhaps the best one for a film of this genre. After a point, it can be understood that he wasn't acting but being real: when he gets angry or emotional and delivers his dialogues with strong emotions - he isn't trying to act but straightaway speaking out his own heart. No doubt why he's one of the most respected South Korean actors. With A TAXI DRIVER this year and some more films which I saw, he became my favourite and this film only adds to more and more praise & respect towards him.The supporting cast holds its own and lends decent performances. The writing must also be praised for multiple clapworthy moments throughout. The climax is also a memorable one. Another major praise should go to the dialogues as they are another major highlight of the film. The emotions too are portrayed very well.I can't stop praising THE ATTORNEY for doing complete justice to reality as well as Song Kang-ho's acting talent.
Bryan Kluger Director Yang Woo-seok did a great job with his first outing with 'The Attorney', the South Korean flick that has gone on to be one of the biggest films in the country. The movie is based on the real events of Roh Moo-hyun, who was South Korea's ninth president, who later became an activist. The performances are top notch from everyone involved with Song Kang-ho ('The Host') giving his best performance to date. This two-hour films deserves a wider release state-side.If you were to look at the poster for the film, as you can see above, you would think that 'The Attorney' was an easy-going comedy about an underdog lawyer whose success upsets his judgmental co-workers. And this is true for the first half-hour or so of the film, but the tone oddly shifts to a rough courtroom drama. I did not quite expect that, but if you set aside the shift in genres, the performance of Song really carries this film all the way.Song Kang-ho plays Song Woo-seok , a successful lawyer who only has a high- school education, which infuriates his co-workers. It seems that he is only in the law business to make tons of cash, with no real moral compass. However, he has a change of heart when he takes on a case that involves a young man named Park Jin-woo (Lim Si-wan), a college student who was wrongfully arrested and tortured by the police for reading anti-communist books. The police set up this trial that is almost certain to convict the poor kid, which he was brutally forced to give a false confession.The movie itself as a whole is good, but once it shifts into the courtroom drama, things get a bit clichéd, and we see some events unfold that we have seen many times before. Our main character was a much more fun character to watch and be with in the first half of the movie before the moral switch, but Song pulls it off well.That being said, 'The Attorney' still tells an unrelenting story, which takes place in the 1980s about South Korea's social and political climate, which is sure to strike a chord with audiences. This is an excellent first film for Yang, and I look forward to seeing his future endeavors. This film deserves to be seen.
cadillac20 I have to admit, of all the Korean films I have seen over the years, The Attorney has to be one of the most relateable internationally. Through this film, I was constantly reminded of our own injustices within the American system, specifically during the times when the U.S. was going after supposed communists. But the film goes beyond, carrying a huge heart and an intense drama, well portrayed by it's actors. While it starts slow, it turns into a riveting and surprising court drama.The focus is on Song Woo-seok, an attorney who, for the sake of his family, seeks to gain money and prosperity as fast as possible. In turn, however, he tries to keep out of the growing political movement of the times and focus on property and tax law. However, this changes when the son of a friend is arrested and tortured as a suspected communist. His attention turns to exposing the corrupt laws and officials responsible. The film starts off slowly, with the first hour or so spent focused on Song's journey to building his practice, his motivations for doing so, and the troubles he faces as he does this. This beginning part is almost wholly different from the latter half of the film. Song is mostly carefree, with his budding, successful practice, the love of his family, and his growing relationships with those around him. It's both touching and humorous in some instances, and Song Kang-ho is incredibly likable as the ambitious, but big hearted Woo-seok. He's easily identifiable in his reluctance to engage in the changing political atmosphere and his ambitions to be successful for his family's sake. It would have been easy to turn him into a greedy, cold lawyer, but he is far from so. So, it is only that much more enjoyable to see him tackle such an important subject in the latter half of the film.At the same time, it is quite riveting and you genuinely fear for the safety and security of Song as he takes on an entire justice system. While there are many surprises, it is ultimately pleasant to see Song take such a stand against an unjust system. It is at this point that the film becomes a courtroom drama, with cinematography that moves and edits that ramp up the pacing. There is genuine intrigue as to how this underdog will take on the system, and even if he can win. I won't spoil the surprises, but I will say that the film does have a few. The ending could be debated, but it is very fitting for this story and I was left with a smile. I can honestly say I was incredibly pleased with this film. Last year, Korea delivered New World, and it ended up being my favorite film of the year. This year, I had the pleasure of watching this film, and I can easily say this may very well end up as high, or nearly as high, on my list as New World. I can't recommend this film enough.
jong-bhak It is not just about a desperate attorney. It is the portrait of Korean culture in its most aching and general aspect in the last 100 years. It depicts the most serious mental and social aspect of Koreans in terms of politics. To understand Korea, you need to be able to identify the different roles of the parties shown here. Mr. Song, the attorney, is the person who had the most typical life of 1970-1980s, as a social survivor in 1990s, and the political figure of 2000s. He is the late president of Korea who represented Korean minds in so many ways. If I have to pick the most Korean Korean in last decades out of media, he is the one. He is the very Korean boy, the young man, and mid-age uncle, and Korean system. This movie's value lies not on anything in its plot, shooting, or else, but it is so accurate in depicting the thinking of Koreans in the last 30 years. It is so reliably and genuinely Korean, any human being can see that it transcends the boundary of a region and country. It is well-done without much exaggeration and over acting. A master-piece and the best actors.