JP Nunez
If there’s one genre that can rival my love of horror, it’s superheroes. Whether they’re completely outlandish like Deadpool & Wolverine or gritty and (relatively) grounded like The Dark Knight, I can’t get enough of these movies, so when I first heard about Brave Citizen, I was instantly intrigued. While the hero in this film doesn’t actually have superpowers, the Fantasia plot synopsis made it clear that the story is a twist on this time-honored cinematic blueprint, and I couldn’t wait to see what action-packed thrills it had in store.
Brave Citizen was directed by Park Jin-pyo, and it stars Shin Hye-sun, Lee Jun-young, and. Park Jung-woo. The movie follows So Si-min, an expert martial artist and former boxer who’s just been hired as a part-time teacher at a prestigious high school. She hopes to be promoted to a full-time employee soon, but there’s a problem. The place is rife with violent bullying, and if she interferes, it’ll put her career in jeopardy.
She tries to just put her head down and ignore the cruelty she sees all around her, but one day, it becomes too much to bear. She realizes that she has to do something about it, so she dons a kitten mask and uses her combat prowess to mete out some much-needed justice to the worst offender in the school, a guy named Han Su-kang.
Right off the bat, I have to let you know that even though Brave Citizen is a superhero(ish) film, it’s fairly light on action. There are only three big fight scenes in its 110-minute runtime, so this movie actually plays more like a drama than anything else.
Like most dramas, it stands or falls largely on the strength of its main characters, and thankfully, they’re wonderful. Let’s begin with the star of the show, So Si-min. When we first meet her, she has a huge smile on her face, and she’s doing everything her coworkers ask of her. The woman seems like an absolute ray of sunshine, but soon enough, we learn that the whole thing is an act.
So Si-min is just trying to ingratiate herself with the full-time staff, and in truth, the facade is starting to wear her down. When she shows her true colors, she seems like a completely different person, and actress Shin Hye-sun pulls off both sides of her character’s personality flawlessly.
You completely believe every word she says and every move she makes, and as Brave Citizen goes on, she remains at the top of her game until the credits begin to roll. Whether she’s feeling conflicted about helping her bullied students, acting like a badass fighter who knows she’s untouchable, or anything in between, she makes So Si-min an amazing protagonist you simply can’t help but love, so she’ll just about compel you to root for her character in no time.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we have Han Su-kang. He’s a merciless bully who will torment anybody, from helpless old ladies to terrified classmates, without an ounce of remorse, and he’s played wonderfully by Lee Jun-young. This guy imbues his character with the kind of smug heartlessness that makes you want to punch him in the face, so every time he appears on screen, you’ll hate him more and more.
Next, we need to talk about a kid named Go Jin-hyung. He’s the primary target of Han Su-kang’s bullying, and actor Park Jung-woo does an amazing job of conveying just how deeply this abuse affects the poor boy. He looks genuinely traumatized for much of Brave Citizen, so if you don’t already abhor Han Su-kang with every fiber of your being, seeing the psychological toll his loathsome behavior takes on his main victim will certainly do the trick.
Those three characters are the heart and soul of this movie, and they make for a captivating story that will keep your eyes glued to the screen from start to finish. But they’re not the only thing Brave Citizen has going for it. Remember, this film is about a masked hero, so to truly knock it out of the park, it has to feature great action as well.
And thankfully, Brave Citizen totally delivers on that front. Since So Si-min is an expert martial artist rather than an inhuman god, the fights are a lot more grounded than your typical superhero fare. They’re basically just glorified streetfights, and they’re choreographed and executed to perfection. In particular, Shin Hye-sun proves herself to be a legit badass, so what the action in this movie lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality.
Last but not least, I want to say a few words about the message of Brave Citizen. Like most heroic action flicks, it’s a basic good versus evil tale, but the film also adds another little wrinkle I wasn’t quite expecting. At its core, this story is essentially a plea for good people to stand up to the injustice that plagues our world today. It hammers home the idea that we can’t just stand idly by as evil people take advantage of the vulnerable, and if we do, we’re complicit in their crimes.
That can be a tough message to hear, but in Brave Citizen, it’s also inspiring. So Si-min’s exploits made me want to stand up and emulate her courage, heroism, and compassion (albeit in more realistic ways), and truth be told, I can’t think of a better compliment to give a film like this.
Brave Citizen played at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 20.
