Harbin Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Harbin Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 22, 2025

Chances are if you were raised in an American school system like I was, you never encountered the name of Ahn Jung-geun*. After all, a lot of traditional curricula for American students maybe or maybe not understandably tends to work Korea into any discussion of history courtesy of the Korean War probably more than for any other reason. In that regard, both Japanese and Korean films can be history lessons themselves in more ways than one with regard to the long simmering and occasionally erupting conflicts between the two nations (obviously before the establishment of that oft mentioned 38th parallel and the division into North and South Korea). The long period during which Japan either formally or informally controlled Korea has provided fodder for an incredible glut of films, and in fact another release from Well Go USA which I reviewed several years ago, Assassination, is just one example, but for perhaps salient reasons even beyond its temporal setting, which in fact is a bit later than the one in this film. Assassination kind of mirrors in a fictional and temporally displaced way the real life events that are depicted in Harbin, events which themselves have also provided fodder for an incredible glut of film and television properties in South Korea, even if it's probably arguable that many Westerners will not have heard of Ahn Jung-geun and the activities which led to his execution and eventual martyrdom.

*Note: The film transliterates his name this way. Many other online sources utilize An instead of Ahn.

In fact the title of Assassination could have easily been ported over to this affair, since the film recounts the events leading up to Ahn Jung- geun (Hyun Bin), well, assassinating Itō Hirobumi (Lily Franky), the first Prime Minister of Japan (somewhat before some of the events underlying this film). The specifics of some this history are going to be largely unknown to Westerners, but Harbin contextualizes things well enough that the narrative is completely cogent, especially in how it contextualizes some of Ahn's own tortured history which ultimately and probably unsurprisingly contributes to his activism. That said, while my knowledge of the actual historical record is literally based almost entirely on Japanese and/or Korean films and reading done to research writing reviews, my hunch is swaths of this version have been pretty liberally fictionalized. That perception is perhaps somewhat comically shared by many Japanese, who evidently met with this film's release with a certain amount of umbrage, considering it revisionist and propagandizing on the part of the South Koreans.

Harbin doesn't shy away from the some of the controversy surrounding Ahn even with regard to his co-conspirators and/or freedom fighters, depending on your point of view. Part of the roiling quality surrounding Ahn was evidently due to a certain merciful streak in the man, which led at least once to verifiable tragedy, something the film documents in chilling fashion. A later request on the part of Ahn to show grace to an evident spy within their midst at least has a somewhat more satisfying coda, again as documented in the film, though this particular story element is one I can't help but feel probably didn't really happen.

Some elders here or those fond of "war movies" and/or "historical epics" may remember the gigantic 1970 20th Century Fox production Tora! Tora! Tora!, which rather famously brought together both American and Japanese crews to give "duelling" perspectives on what led to Pearl Harbor, and by default, America's entrance into World War II. As I watched the often viscerally compelling Harbin, but having already read some of the Japanese response to the film in particular, I couldn't help but wonder if a similar strategy involving both Korean and Japanese filmmakers might result in a fascinating retelling of this already oft told tale. Harbin may in fact be undeniably one sided, but that side is often disturbing and ultimately inspiring.

Harbin Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Harbin is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is an absolutely stunning 1080 presentation all around, but for those interested and with the appropriate setups, I'll cut to the chase and easily recommend prospective consumers go with Well Go USA's Harbin 4K release, as both detail levels and especially palette can show noticeable improvements. While as of the writing of this review the IMDb has virtually no technical information available, the closing credits roll has two uses of the Arri logo, and your intrepid reviewer found a couple of interesting online articles, including one featuring comments from cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo, where he overtly mentions using the same Arri Alexa 65 camera that he famously used for Parasite . It's probably salient to note that Hong is obviously conversant with all sorts of different technologies, including shooting on good old fashioned celluloid (Snowpiercer), and one of the undeniable strengths of this film is the at times absolutely gobsmacking look of the locations, which literally span the globe (or at least large swaths of it). While the 4K release's Dolby Vision / HDR adds immeasurably to palette luster, even in this 1080 version everything from ice cold blue frozen tundras to burnished golden brown desert sands offer typically stunning detail levels (even in some wide framings) and a nicely lusciously suffused palette. Speaking of the palette, as can perhaps be gleaned by parsing through the screenshots I've uploaded to this review, the "look" here tends to ping pong between those aforementioned blue or yellow scenes, with a few interspersed black and white flashbacks also utilize to help "reveal" certain things about central characters.

Harbin Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This 4K disc offers either Dolby Atmos or DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 options (the 1080 release also has a Dolby Digital 2.0 track, for whatever that's worth). This is in its own way just as stunning an audio presentation as the video side of things is. The Atmos speakers are regularly alive with all sorts of ambient environmental effects, and the whistling winds in the very opening scene are just the first of many examples. An early battle scene is another standout, both in terms of Atmos engagement, but also in terms of whirlwind of effects that surround the listener in the "traditional" side and rear channels. Both cloistered interior and wide open spaces scenes offer really well placed ambient environmental sounds throughout the running time. Scoring also is nicely splayed around the soundstage. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and French subtitles are available. Occasional forced subtitles are on tap when Japanese are speaking.

Harbin Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of

Journey to Harbin (HD; 3:56) offers brief interviews and some behind the scenes footage.




Location (HD; 2:38) focuses on some of the challenges of the global shoot.

• Trailer (HD; 1:47)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the disc has been authored so that supplements follow one another automatically, so that clicking on Journey to Harbin is essentially a Play All button. The disc is also authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases after the trailer for this film plays. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

Packaging features a slipcover.

For those interested, Well Go USA's 4K UHD release of the film offers no supplementary material.

Harbin Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The story offered in Harbin is probably going to be a jumping off point for further research for many, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Technical merits are first rate and the brief supplements enjoyable. Recommended.