‘Smugglers’ Review: Female Oyster Divers Make Satisfying Action Heroes in Funky Korean Caper
12.08.2023 - 00:41
/ variety.com
Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Back in the 1970s, when Korea was closed to the outside world, locals relied on black market dealers to get their hands on everything from American cigarettes to Ritz crackers. Though this illicit import racket was run mostly by men, it wouldn’t have been possible without half a dozen uniquely talented women — skilled divers known as haenyeo who fished the loot from the sea.
At least, that’s the fresh girl-power premise floated by action maven Ryoo Seung-wan (“The Battleship Island”) in his snappy, retro-styled crime saga, “Smugglers.” Featuring a funky Lalo Schifrin-style score (from composer Chang Ki-ha) and more wide-collared polyester pantsuits than a “Charlie’s Angels” costume contest, the movie presents itself as a lost relic of less enlightened times, but boasts gender dynamics that are very much of this moment. In early scenes, the divers earn their living fetching oysters off the ocean floor — or at least these did until factories started dumping toxic waste into the waters.
To Korean viewers, the haenyeo represent a dying tradition, making it easy to accept the characters’ renegade solution: While ultra-strict customs officers survey the ports, ships drop their contraband at the foot of Turtle Island — a spot the women know well, making it easy for them to retrieve the crates. Practically overnight, the women ditch their tattered rags and start dressing like American TV stars.
An early montage, presented in cheeky split-screen, gives audiences a thrilling taste of their success. Then someone tips off the customs officers, and the gravy train comes to a screeching halt: Two male accomplices fall overboard and die, and all but one of the women is arrested.
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