Whether it’s to balance out the predictable nature of the movie or just to leave the audience from the theaters in curiosity, Believer is strange and ominous, and hey! It is totally enjoyable. Korean Thriller Believer came out in 2018 and is a proud representation of a seemingly menaced cat-and-mouse chase between a wild, eccentric drug lord and an obsessive detective.
The back and forth has this aura of Mr. Lee, which makes it exciting for the audience, but the narrative of the movie sometimes tangles with the flow of the movie. The detective-criminal pair duo is the main driving factor in the movie. You can check it out on Netflix if you have not yet already.
Synopsis of Believer
The audience is dropped in the middle of an increasing narrative, which forces you to think about what must have happened before. Won Ho is in search of the drug lord whose hands, eyes, and ears are everywhere in Korea’s drug ring.
There must be a reason behind this chase. The catch here is that no one has seen the dangerous Mr. Lee. This hidden trait makes the movie much more interesting. How will Won Ho Ho after a kingpin who has been impersonated by low-level thugs for terror and respect?
Won Ho is obsessed with catching him. Maybe there’s a past connection, but it is never clearly shown in the movie. But we surely get a scene explaining a tragedy and why he wants to make him pay.
A minor informant whom Won Ho loved as his niece dies in an explosion, which gives him an extra push to dive into this convoluted investigation. To add to it, the CEO of a shipping company has died mysteriously, and Won Ho is completely aware of Mr. Lee’s evil intent and how he goes by his business.
Won Ho is forced to use all the resources available to the one who survived the explosion, Rak. But he lost his mother and is looking for a payback.
What actually happened at the end?
Before we move ahead, here is your friendly reminder that there are Spoilers Ahead!!
The highlight of the movie is Won Ho, and it is also Rak, a.k.a. Mr Lee, now we can call him by his true identity. Won Ho was on his toes and had been behind Mr Lee for years.
He has seen close people, even the girl who died. Even before the first scene, the planning has been going on for long. Even Rak mentioned that he had killed nine other people who impersonated Mr. Lees.
We have seen all the chaos. In the beginning, we get a glimpse that Won Ho was fed up with his search for this mysterious, unknown man. He did everything and was all in to feed his desire to hunt down Mr. Lee.
Now, let’s talk about Rak. Rak is not Rak. His parents died by suicide in the shipping container. They left Rak and pushed him to think about himself. Lucky for him, a family involved in the drug business had no kids. They adopted him and took care of him like their own child.
He spent his whole life running the business that was behind the death of his parents. He created this mysterious aura and kept him growing in the drug world.
The screenplay is brilliant. The idea that Won Ho and Rak are the good guys is not transparent and clean. We saw them both team up against Mr. Lee, who has always been one step ahead. This gave us a glimpse into Rak’s actual life and personality.
Won Ho was personally involved with this case and got his feelings involved, and Rak understood this. But think about it: Won Ho actually had a chance at killing Me. Lee? I don’t think he even pulled his gun from the table.
Revisit the last scene, and you will see that Won Ho is crying. Mr. Lee asks him if he wants a coffee, and Won Ho asks Mr. Lee if he has ever been happy in his whole life. The scene is full of emotions; this question was not directly for Mr. Lee, but he was asking this to himself.
He said he had even been happy while chasing Mr. Lee. Why did he even do it, and did he achieve from all of it? After all this, Mr. Lee kills Won Ho.
