Starting Point (1967)

"I've lived my entire life looking up"

The Starting Point is a Korean snowy crime drama directed by Lee Man Hee. Crime, murder, prostitution, and dancing by a campfire, this film covered all the noir bases. Lol. If you watch any Korean dramas or films you know better than to be suckered into those happy moments for too long.

Seok Gu (though never actually called by name in the film) breaks into a building to steal files from a safe. Hunted by a determined security man, the two fight to the death with Seok losing the briefcase of files. Boss Choi is none too happy and feels that somehow Seok is a threat to the gang’s Seven Year Secret. Choi sends Seok off to Mt Sorak with a prostitute named Seon (whose name is never mentioned in the film) to act as newlyweds. The newlyweds are in a group with other singles and couples, one of whom is a shady gynecologist who treats prostitutes and recognizes Seon.

We never know why Seok thinks he’s been sent to the mountain. Seon was supposed to be sexually available to Seok, but was their a more sinister order at play? We also never learn what the Seven Year Secret plan is. An assassin was sent to the mountain to partake in the fireside festivities as well. And later more bad guys showed up. It seemed like there could have been a much simpler, less convoluted plan to kill Seok. Watching the characters climb, scramble, and fall off the mountain did make use of the gorgeous scenery even if it was shot in black and white. The middle section of the film gave the two main characters a chance to fall in love as they participated in the lodge activities and for some humor to be injected, but as a whole it left that section flabby compared to the thrilling opening and ending segments.

The opening espionage scene was exciting and disconcertingly quiet. Ten minutes passed before a brief word was spoken. The final act with chases up and down the snowy mountain had to have been rigorous and exhausting for the actors. Shin Sung Il and Moon Hee had strong chemistry as two withdrawn people who trusted no one and with good reason. They were also stunningly beautiful to gaze upon. Seon talked Seok into making the difficult climb to the mountaintop. Her whole life she had been looked down upon, just once she wanted to be able to look down instead of up.

Despite concerns I had with the script, The Starting Point was entertaining and only a couple of steps from being very good. If nothing else it was quite aesthetically pleasing and benefited from being restored in 2023. Seon wanted someone to see her and get to know her, “He didn’t hate me,” was as close as she got to true love. In a life filled with pain and shame, maybe it was enough.

7 June 2025
Note: YouTube issues all sorts of warnings about age appropriateness and not for all audiences. There was no nudity. No sexual scenes. No gratuitous violence or gore. There was a notice about the birth control pill being available. People did seem to be concerned about a population boom, but other than that, I’m not sure what the warning was for. The women all clutched their pearls upon finding out Seon was a prostitute, so maybe whoever posted the film was concerned about a prostitute being a main character. I honestly I have no idea what the problem was.

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