This review may contain spoilers
He forgets the past — but carries its weight, one name at a time, until memory becomes justice
"Remember" ist a Film about Revenge, Memory, and the Echo of HistoryAn old man. A revolver. Five names tattooed on his fingers — and a memory slowly fading. "Remember" is no ordinary revenge thriller. It’s a film about guilt, about forgetting — and about what remains when history isn’t confronted, but buried.
At its center is Han Pil-joo, portrayed masterfully by Lee Sung-min. Before his memory slips away for good, he has one last mission. At his side: the young In-gyu (Nam Joo-hyuk), who only meant to drive the old man — and suddenly finds himself an accomplice in a revenge mission that is as absurd as it is moving.
What makes the film so remarkable is its tone: poised between tragedy and dark humor, between road movie and history lesson. This is no hero’s journey, but a moral dilemma — laced with dry wit, laconic dialogue, and a kind of tender melancholy. The camera remains still, the violence understated, almost quiet. And yet it cuts deep.
"Remember" is more than a thriller — it’s a commentary on Korea’s unresolved colonial past. From 1910 to 1945, Korea was under Japanese rule — a traumatic era that still reverberates. Many Koreans were forced into labor, women abused as so-called “comfort women.” And yet, some Koreans collaborated — out of fear, opportunism, or conviction.
The film poses an uncomfortable question: What if those collaborators survived — and simply continued their careers after 1945? What if they now sit in high offices, as businessmen, politicians, patriarchs? "Remember" hints at this — and leaves the audience with the haunting question of whether justice expires. Or whether, sometimes, it needs an old man with a gun.
In Korea, the topic remains sensitive. Official reckoning was long delayed, many archives stayed sealed, many names unspoken. And while Japan still struggles with a clear apology, Korea wrestles with its own culture of remembrance: How do you remember betrayal without losing yourself?
"Remember" doesn’t answer that. But it asks the right questions. And it does so through a protagonist who forgets — and in doing so, reminds us.
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He remembers
It's quite a straightforward premise but the attention to details is simply unbelievable, the plot is really precise from the start till the end, taking audiences onto the journey of a man's last mission. The intention of the protagonist unfolds just like him remembering his past as he latches onto the next target, with action sequences that will blow minds. As always Lee Sung Min never disappoints with his masterful class acting, but the more surprised performance from Nam Joo Hyuk really steals the scene a lot, the chemistry between them works so well it just makes the closing scene highly emotional, exactly like how a bittersweet remembrance should be.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Best movie !!!! Great story, directing, acting skill top notch for both main leads. Impressed with Nam Joo Hyuk acting in this movie to bring the more shine to the whole story. I'm touched and tears at the end of the story and great acting skill by actor Lee Sung Min n actor Nam Joo Hyuk. Highly recommended . Everyone please go and watch such a great work. Thank you for director created such a good project. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
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"One can't hide his true self even after his role has changed"
Time can’t erase some memories, memories seared deep into a person’s psyche. The kind of trauma that refuses to be healed. For Han Pil Ju who lost his family and more during the Japanese occupation, time could not take away his need for vengeance against the collaborators who prospered and were hailed as heroes in the years that followed.Han Pil Ju is working his last day at TGIF Fridays and it’s the last day he will be known as “Freddie” at the restaurant. He’s made a friend of In Gyu aka “Jason.” Freddie hires Jason to drive him around in an unregistered red Porsche sports car for important errands. It turns out that his errands involve killing the men who were responsible for the deaths of his family members. All of the men have prospered and hidden their traitorous pasts during the Japanese occupation. Jason gets pulled into Freddie’s revenge scheme as much as he would like to be free from it.
Fifty-three-year-old Lee Sung Min was extraordinary as the eighty-year-old with Alzheimer’s determined to clean the slate in his remaining days. How deep does a wound have to be for a man to hold on to vengeance for over 50 years? Pil Ju’s memory ebbed and flowed, yet he was still coherent enough to remember intricate details of his schemes. He avoided the Inigo Montoya trope, “You killed my father, prepare to die,” though at times was close to it. Nam Joo Hyuk gave In Gyu a naivete and ultimately solidarity with the old man. The two built a nice rapport with each other, something the success of the film hinged on.
Most of the targets were successful and wealthy enough that they couldn’t understand anyone not being able to let go of the past. “It’s illogical to talk about justice when one can’t protect his own family.” Blaming the victims for being beaten to death, dying from forced labor, or the consequences of being forced to be one of the comfort women was probably not the wisest course of action. They couldn’t see or didn’t care that their wealth and power were built on the blood of their own people they caused to be spilled.
Remember didn’t excuse Pil Ju’s actions any more than he did himself. What it did show was that there was still a national trauma that had not yet fully healed. As generations pass on, the memory may fade. “There is no future for people stuck in the past.” It was hard for Pil Ju to move on when justice had yet to be served and the individual tragedies had been dismissed. Remember kept the action moving, and at 2 hours felt tightly directed and well-acted. There were plot holes and using a bright red Porsche wasn’t the best getaway car, but it was an emotionally gripping film from start to finish.
9 January 2025
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Have your tissues handy
"Remember" might be uncomfortable for some given the subject matter of the Japanese occupation of Korea. Forced labor to other countries of Korea's young men, young women under the guise of working in a factory being forced to give "comfort" to a foreign invader's military men, businesses aquisitioned for the growth of the invading power are but a few of the points at the forefront."Remember" was tight and lacked the flaws usually found in a film. The determination of the lead character in his mission was lead by an equal fixation of the scripwriter and director. The plot was straight forward with no detours. Action, Thriller, and Historical genres were given equal measure, with suspense heavily-laden. There was NO room for romance. No room for dilly dallying away precious time in a nearby coffee shop. The story was moved along with one goal in mind. And it was fantastic!!!
I have no descriptions for the 2 main leads. There aren't enough superlatives. The supporting cast were mainly veteran actors who never give less than in any project. It was a male-driven film.
Oh, and if the truth about the past is not remembered & preserved we'll definitely be inclined to repeat it.
Seriously, the ONLY thing that bothered the heck out of me during the entire 2 hours and 8 mins was the Americanized nicknames for the T.G.I.F's (more commonly known now as Friday's) employees which I've seen in other dramas. THE USE OF JASON AND FREDDIE GRATED ON MY NERVES. I hope this one factor isn't an issue with the local employees of the international company. It's degrading and disrespectful.
I rated the music lower ONLY because, well, did it have music???
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Um filme sem muita informação prolongada, rápido em desenvolver a história.
Gostei demais e apesar de ser um filme certeiro transmitiu muito bem às emoções do protagonista e me fez compadecer com sua situação, me perguntando se o que ele fez realmente foi errado ou não. Sem contar no fato que te faz pensar sobre como foi o período do império japonês e quais consequências isso trouxe aos países envolvidos.O elenco foi muito bem escolhido, porém como foi muito rápido algumas cenas da vingança sendo feita não deu um impacto tão grande se elas tivessem sido um pouco mais elaboradas.
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jason was added for the youthful eye and to give freddie a bit of a soft grandpa vibe which it helped but again they just happened to work at Fridays
I wanted a bit more depth, especially with both their families. I wanted a bigger team to atleast make their schemes believable
Anyway sungmin ahjussi deserves a daesang or 10.. and the writer certainly hit the jackpot with this cute little duo. Since the story lacked relativity, the 2 actors pulled it off well
I don't like sad for the sake of tears, like sure I was heartbroken but they dragged it a bit and the ending felt empty I wish they made a bigger movement
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I never thought I'd like this movie
The story is really interesting. Even though some parts are a bit clichéd, there are still things that make it different. What I really like is how each character in the movie has a unique attitude, and all the actors do a great job bringing them to life. This makes the movie more fun to watch.Honestly, I didn't expect to like this movie at first, but the way it starts and develops kept me interested. The mix of familiar and surprising things in the story adds to the excitement. The actors did a good job, and even though there are some typical parts, they didn't stop me from enjoying the movie. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
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Lee Sung Min and Nam Joo Hyuk are outstanding as an accidental pair: Freddie/Han Pil Ju, an elderly waiter whose family was brutally destroyed in the Occupation, and the student In Gyu, also a waiter, burdened by his fathers hospital bills and loan sharks. Lee Sung Min has some recent and well-deserved success and Nam Joo Hyuk is about to finally make his post service comeback, which is why I picked this to watch.
Pil Ju carries out a meticulous plan to murder three Korean collaborators and one Japanese colonial official whose actions caused the deaths of his family. They are also now powerful people in South Korea who profited greatly from their betrayal of innocents. To begin with In Gyu innocently takes on the paid job of zooming Freddy around Seoul in a lovely little red Porsche. Then in increasing agitation as he realizes what Pil Ju is doing he comically tries both to stop his friend and extricate himself all at the same time .
Yes, the Occupation is long over (80 years now). Perhaps one should not encourage the holding of historical grudges. But as long as families still have remembered pain, resolution must be sought. This film justly abhors profiteering from war crimes.
Whether or not dramatic art actually encourages political violence via catharsis or not, has long been debated. See what you think. For my part the film is comical enough for sadness to be the dominant emotion rather than anger. The pain, brutality and cruelty of the long World Wars of the 20th century still casts a shadow -- but for those who do not know this history the film may lose some resonance.
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RACIST MOVIE THAT PROMOTES HATE CRIMES
I understand that one of the lead actors in this film is rather famous for his looks and so his fangirls will overlook what is a blatantly racist film. This film simply doesn’t deserve anything other than the lowest scores. It is a film that promotes racially-fueled violence. It’s rather disgusting that this film was allowed to be published in the 21st century. Think what you want of the past, but it will remain the past. Glorifying a murderer that kills people out of “revenge” based on their nationality is disgusting.Was this review helpful to you?
La historia me pareció bastante buena porque, como ya he dicho, trata el tema de la ocupación japonesa pero desde la actualidad. Por un lado, tenemos al protagonista que expone el dolor y el trauma que la ocupación japonesa ha dejado en la sociedad coreana y que en muchos sentidos no ha sido eliminado ni apaciguado, simplemente tapado. Pero, por otro lado, tenemos a aquellos a los que la ocupación japonesa no fue un trauma sino una oportunidad para tener éxito en la vida y que por lo tanto la defienden y le quitan importancia al dolor de los demás. Y es por esto por lo que me gustó el cómo estuvo enfocada la historia para aprender sobre esta etapa histórica.
En cuanto a los personajes, a pesar de que el anciano no tomó un camino legal, si que me pareció muy tierno y pude empatizar con él. Sin embargo, en cuanto a personajes, lo que más me gustó fue la relación de amistad entre los personajes principales ya que a pesar de la diferencia de edad y de que el chico no está de acuerdo con la venganza del protagonista, termina entendiéndolo y apoyándolo.
Si están buscando una película de acción pero también que utilicen un momento histórico y aprender de esta, les recomiendo totalmente esta película.
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