Moss Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Moss Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 1, 2011

Screened at the Pusan International Film Festival, Kang Woo-suk's "Iggi" a.k.a "Moss" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Korean distributors Art Service. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary by director Kang Woo-suk; a gallery of interviews; and the film's original theatrical trailer. In Korean, with optional English and Korean subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Confessions

Moss is a Korean film about a group of people with dark secrets - a retired detective (Jing Jae-young, Welcome to Dongmakgol), a former whorehouse owner (Kim Joon-bae, Marine Boy), a quiet loner (Kim Sang-ho, Jeon Woochi: The Taoist Wizard), a mentally challenged joker (Yu Hae-jin, Tazza: The High Rollers), and a beautiful young woman (Yoo-sun, The Big Swindle). They live in a small village not too far away from Seoul and meet daily.

A prominent resident of the village dies and his son, Ryu (Park Hae-il, Memories of Murder), is called to fill out the needed paperwork before he is buried. Almost immediately after he arrives, however, various people begin asking him when he is going to leave. Annoyed by the questions, Ryu approaches the village chief to find out why everyone is so eager to see him go back to Seoul. Much to his surprise, he also urges him to finish his business and leave.

Things become complicated when Ryu announces that he is going to stay and find out how his father died. The village chief immediately confronts him and warns him that it is in his best interest not to challenge the local doctor’s report - which states that the old man died of natural causes - but Ryu ignores him.

While going though his father’s personal belongings, Ryu discovers a secret tunnel in the basement of his house that leads straight to the village chief’s house. He also stumbles upon a stack of documents about strange real estate dealings, which his father may or may not have been involved with. Unsure what to make of his findings, he contacts an ambitious young prosecutor (Yu Jun-sang, Wedding Campaign) and asks for assistance.

There is enough material in Moss for three different films. The first half of the film is comprised of various memory flashbacks that reveal tiny bits of compromising information about each of the main characters. By the time Ryu arrives in the village and begins playing detective, it becomes clear that with the assistance of his father they have tried to rebuild their lives. What is unclear until the dramatic finale is whether they have succeeded, and exactly what type of relationships they've had with him while he was alive.

The amount of information which the viewer is left to absorb between the memory flashbacks and Ryu’s discoveries is incredibly overwhelming. There is a never-ending string of subplots, which in the grand scheme of things prove absolutely meaningless. A portion of the film is also dedicated on the convergence of tradition and modernity in Korea.

Ryu’s struggle to understand who his father was and how he lived his life also pushes the film in a different direction, one that has very little to do with the popular internet comic that supposedly inspired it. At very best, it only retains its moodiness.

Ultimately, Moss is too long, too chaotic, and too busy. It is a film that demands far too much from the viewer and offers far too little of substance in return. Tighter editing would have not only made it easier to endure, but, arguably, also a better film.

Note: In 2010, Moss was screened at the Pusan International Film Festival and the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Moss Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kang Woo-suk's Moss arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Korean distributors Arts Service.

This is a relatively strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is mostly pleasing, and clarity and contrast levels are never problematic. Color reproduction is also good. The various panoramic vistas from the Korean countryside, for instance, look fresh and natural. Mild edge-enhancement, however, occasionally pops up here and there. I also noticed random artifacts creeping in during the second half of the film. Most of them are rather difficult to spot, but the larger your screen is, the better the chance is that you will notice them. Finally, there are no traces of heavy noise corrections. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Moss Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Arts Service have provided optional English and Korean subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very strong. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels not overly active but intelligently used, and the high-frequencies not overdone. There is an excellent range of nuanced dynamics (Ryu's heavy breathing during the tunnel footage sounds great), while the dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Jo Young-wook's music score either. I also did not detect any pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is not terribly convincing. I noticed various grammatical errors that should have been avoided.

Moss Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: I would like to apologize to our readers for not being able to comment on the supplemental features included on this Blu-ray disc. Unfortunately, they are all listed in Korean and not subtitled in English.

• Commentary - an audio commentary with director Kang Woo-suk. In Korean, not subtitled.

• Interviews - a collection of interviews with director Kang Woo-suk and various cast and crew members. In Korean, not subtitled. (approx. 20 min, 480/60i).

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Moss. In Korean, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

Moss Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Moss is an ambitious but ultimately too chaotic film. There are so many subplots pulling in different directions that eventually the entire film falls apart. The acting, however, is excellent. My recommendation would be that you find a way to RENT IT first, and then, if you enjoy it, consider a purchase.