‘Harbin’ Review: A Gorgeous Historical Thriller About Korea’s Fight for Independence

Siddhant Adlakha
·3-min read

A visually striking period drama from Woo Min-ho, “Harbin” follows Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun (Hyun Bin) as he plans the assassination of Japan’s Prime Minister in 1909, shortly after Korea’s annexation. The ploy involves numerous trains and several moving parts, resulting in a gripping last act that makes for a wonderful historical imagining. En route to this engaging climax, Woo also introduces a mystery element that keeps the wheels of the story turning, even when it may not have enough steam.

Woo’s eye-popping vistas stand out right from the start, during lonely shots of Ahn traversing an icy hellscape. Context is eventually added to this scene of wandering, just as it’s added to the lives of Ahn and his fellow freedom fighters. The events that led them to the movie’s central scheme, and those that cause mistrust between them, are depicted in stark and ugly detail, as messy wartime sequences see the characters bathed in blood and dirt. The violence in “Harbin” is up close and personal, making Ahn’s decision to spare a vicious Japanese major, Mori Tatsuo (Park Hoon), all the more controversial among his peers.

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This merciful choice comes back to bite him in harrowing ways, and even leads to suspicion among his superiors, who want to snuff out turncoats within their ranks. However, as the burdened Ahn continues to lead the assassination plan with a handful of other rebels — played by a who’s who of Korean stars, including Park Jeong-min, Jo Woo-jin and Jeon Yeo-been — the possibility of there being a mole induces a gradual paranoia, as the freedom fighters move covertly between countries while seeking help from underground Russian and Chinese allies.

The plot is, for the most part, simple, despite the plan’s many components. The group usually needs someone or something — whether allies, shelter or weaponry — and they often make it from one place to the next, albeit with a few setbacks. These are usually courtesy of Mori, whose shame at having been spared has made him deeply obsessed with capturing Ahn, a man who is almost always the topic of conversation. However, despite this repetitive chronology, “Harbin” never feels mechanical in its unfurling, which comes down entirely to its knockout stylization.

Deep shadows and low gaslights create a mysterious atmosphere which, alongside the characters’ black trench coats and low-brimmed hats, turn this historical piece into a thrilling neo-noir. The frame is always engrossing, making it hard to look away as the characters wrestle with moral quandaries about why they might be pursuing their goals and the people and ethics they’re willing to discard along the way.

These ideas may not be particularly challenging (once a character’s principles are established, they’re usually set in stone), and the movie usually coasts on the broad sentiments of liberation and what people owe to fallen comrades. But at no point is “Harbin” an uninteresting watch. The actors’ calibrated melodrama contributes to its allure as a work of straightforward, patriotic sentiment, which is only enhanced by Woo’s equally fine-tuned action, the frequent peaks and valleys of which make for a rhythmic unfurling. The film never slows down, offering reliable entertainment throughout its runtime via an aesthetically debonair repackaging of historical events.

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