This film begins in Busan, South Korea with a young child by the name of "Eun-Joo" (Hwang Chae-Won) being kidnapped on her way home from school. Worried that the district police are more concerned with capturing the kidnapper than they are about rescuing his child, Eun-Joo's wealthy father (played by Song Young-Chang) uses his enormous influence to have an investigator named "Detective Kong Gil-yong" (Kim Yun-Seok) put in charge of the case. Unfortunately, this creates some dissension within the police department because Detective Kong is not a member of that particular district initially tasked with heading the investigation. Not only that, but Detective Kong's extremely delicate investigation also takes another twist when Eun-Joo's distraught mother (played by Lee Jung-Eun) consults a fortune teller by the name of "Kim Joong-san" (Yu Hae-Jin) who seems to have an ability to acquire intimate details of the kidnapping that might prove helpful. But the question on Detective Kong's mind is whether this fortune teller might actually hurt his investigation rather than helping it. Now, rather than reveal any more I will just say that, quite often, films that are "based on a true story" tend to be embellished to one extent or another. Sometimes beyond all reason. However, since some of the supposed facts to this story have only been recently released, there really isn't much I can say about this film's veracity. So, I'll leave it up to the viewers to make that determination for themselves. What I can say, however, is that I found this to be a very entertaining film which kept my attention from start-to-finish and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

What worked: The movie based on the true story is exciting since it had actually happened. This movie is one of those movies with a satisfying ending after hours of work on it. The movie had a good balance of Suspense and thrills, putting equal value to the drama. Overall, a good watch What did not work: Although the makers wanted to make a movie with a good mix of drama and thrills, I would have expected the movie to have more adrenaline rush pumping moments. The scenes could have been a bit more rustic and disturbing in terms of the mood and climate because the movie had moments that could have been much more . Final verdict: recommended for a light thrills

Movie: The Classified File (Geukbisusa)(15)

rating: 4.5/5

South Korean movies are easy to relate to. The reason? Their realistic portrayal of events, characters, behaviours, action, thrills, and of course, story. From the bunch of various powerful South Korean films comes out a realistic, captivating and effective crime drama THE CLASSIFIED FILE. Directed by Kwak Kyung-taek and starring two master actors Kim Yoon-seok and Yu Hae-jin, this film draws your attention right from the beginning and compels you not to get up until it ends.

With a not-so-long running time and a crisp editing, it becomes an even more exciting watch as time passes. The story and screenplay are well written, well portrayed and well presented in terms of entertainment too. The dialogues are quite powerful and many of them make a great sense. The action scenes are executed very well and in a very realistic way. In other words, this film is just another South Korean film which makes us think. The visuals and the cinematography too are excellent and eye-pleasing.

Actors Kim Yoon-seok and Yu Hae-jin are a major strength of this film. The way their bond strengthens is good to watch. Both actors deliver powerful performances and you tend to believe that they aren't acting but indeed living the characters.

It's undoubtedly true that THE CLASSIFIED FILE turns out to be both an artistic and entertaining film at the same time. Those who believe in watching good cinema, should definitely watch it. Since there's no vulgarity or obscenity, it's a clean family entertainer and hereby recommended for all ages, and because apart from telling an engaging story, it also has a unique message hidden for all. I classify it as excellent.