Sea Fog Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Sea Fog Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 14, 2018

Shim Sung-bo's film "Sea Fog" (2014) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors 88 Films. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new video interview with critic Jean Noh and before-and-after visual effects demonstration. In Korean, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Captain Kang

Even from afar it is easy to tell that the fishing vessel is already dying. Heavy corrosion has irreversibly altered its structure and quite possibly even its balance. A month or two of standard repairs can probably extend its life a bit, but it won’t be too long before it would become unsafe for work and it will have to be retired.

But Captain Kang (Kim Yun-seok) is not yet ready to part ways with the vessel. Over the years it has been a trusted partner that has helped him support his family and the men from his crew, which is why now he is willing to do anything to help it recover. Anything -- even something extremely dangerous, even something illegal. This is the time when a true captain has to be bold, roll the dice and see what he has coming his way.

In a rundown office, Kang meets a shady character who offers him a lucrative deal. If he smuggles a large group of Chinese-Korean illegal immigrants into the country, he will be paid enough to fully repair his vessel and forget about the rest of the fishing season. And if it all goes well and Kang likes the job, the two can work again and in a few years he may even be able to retire. Realizing that he is running out of time to save the vessel and his business Kang agrees to do the job, and only after he leaves the local port reveals to his men what their next destination will be.

At the right time the illegal immigrants are moved to Kang’s vessel and instructed to follow orders so that they don’t attract unnecessary attention while they are heading back to the port. Everything goes as planned until an odd accident alters the nature of the entire operation, and then abruptly breaks the strong bond between Kang and his men.

Sea Fog is the directorial debut of Shim Sung-bo, who had previously co-written the script for Bong Joon-ho’s tense mystery thriller Memories of Murder. It was released theatrically in Korea in 2014 where apparently it had a pretty impressive run at the local box office.

Though not the only star that shines bright -- Park Yoo-chun and Han Ye-ri are both wonderful in their respective roles -- Kim Yun-seok is undoubtedly the heart and soul of this film. This criminally neglected in the West actor single-handedly infuses the film with incredible raw intensity that basically ends up giving it its identity. It is really pretty remarkable to watch how he does it because one brilliant character transformation essentially forces everyone else to match its intensity and in the process drastically changes the tone and atmosphere of the entire film. So this is a genuine big-time macho action thriller of the kind that the Hollywood studios stopped greenlighting sometime during the late '80s.

What is most impressive, however, is that the film has the type of polished appearance that is usually associated with the work of veteran directors who have had plenty of opportunities to learn from their mistakes. The direction is strikingly confident, the lensing choices excellent, and the special effects never overdone. It is a truly marvelous first effort.

*For an even stronger dose of pure anger courtesy of Kim Yun-seok, see Na Hong-jin’s blockbuster The Yellow Sea, which is already out on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

Sea Fog Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Shim Sung-bo's Sea Fog arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

The film looks striking in high-definition. I ended up upscaling the release to 4K and was quite impressed with the great depth and terrific fluidity. Obviously, the fact that this is a very recent film that was shot with the Arri Aleca camera helps a lot, but there is no doubt in my mind that when it was finalized in the studio a great deal of careful work was done to make sure that it looks as good as it should. Indeed, there is plenty of darker/nighttime footage for instance where some limitations could have been exposed, but it actually looks every bit as impressive as the daylight footage. The color grading is also excellent, supporting a wide range of solid primaries and beautiful nuances. Image stability is great. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Sea Fog Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Korean LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The film has a fully digital soundtrack, so the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track essentially recreates the original sound design as envisioned by the film's sound mixers. It is incredibly potent and with an excellent range of dynamics. There are sequences where some quite good surround effects can be heard as well. The English translation is good, but a few lines disappear rather quickly and I even noticed a couple of spelling errors.

Sea Fog Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Visual Effects Reel - a before-and-after demonstration that highlights some of the more impressive digital effects that were done for the film. With music. (2 min).

• All About Bong - in this new video interview, critic Jean Noh discusses the production history of Sea Fog, Bong Joon-ho's involvement with the film, and the evolution of Korean cinema in recent years. The interview was conducted by Calum Waddell for 88 Films. In English, not subtitled (11 min).

Sea Fog Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sea Fog is the best Asian directorial debut that I have probably seen in a few decades. Given Shim Sung-bo's previous work with Bong Joon-ho and the latter's involvement as a producer the quality of the project probably should not be too surprising, but this really is the type of film that I would expect to see emerging from a director with plenty of experience. If you enjoy contemporary Korean action thrillers and especially Kim Yun-seok's work, you should not miss it. 88 Films' new release of Sea Fog is sourced from an excellent master that was apparently supervised by its director. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.