In this blog post, we examine the recurring invocation of violence and capitalism in Korean noir films, and summarize how genre traditions and social realities have intertwined to form a unique narrative.
Noir, good vs. evil
The blurring of who is good and who is evil is the most defining characteristic of noir films. The genre isn’t just about depicting crime and violence, it’s about a world where moral judgment is shaken to its core. Because of this, the characters in noir films are always in an ambiguous position, and the audience can’t easily choose sides.
My personal favorite is the film Mugando. The idea of a gang member pointing a gun at the police, or a black agent pointing a gun at a secret organization, instantly confuses the identity and role of the characters. The space in which they live is also set in a place where it’s hard to tell if it’s China or England, which symbolizes not only the spatial confusion but also the collapse of identity of the entire era. I think this is one of the most effective noir films to satirize the chaotic times.
The film does not feature a femme fatale, which is often cited as a signature device of noir films. However, this absence is not unique to Mugando, but rather a trend that can be observed throughout relatively recent noir films. The femme fatale, whose deadly temptations led the protagonist to his doom in noir films of the past, began to disappear at some point. This is a change that shows that noir has become more focused on organization and structure and the internal conflicts of male characters rather than the seduction of female characters.
Korean noir and action films are not without their impressive works. Films such as “A Sweet Life,” “Selfish Decision,” “Sunflower,” “Elegant World,” and “Holy Genealogy” can all be discussed under the category of noir, even though they have very different directorial styles and moods. These films show how Korean cinema has adapted noir through different styles.
However, these films are often categorized as gangster films because they feature ‘gangsters’ or ‘gangs’ as protagonists. While this categorization has some appeal to audiences, it also leads to genre confusion. In this blog post, we’ll take this question as a starting point and explore the concepts and characteristics of gangster films and film noir in turn.
Gangster films and film noir
As genres, gangster movies and film noir have the same starting point: they both have crime and violence as their core elements. They share a dark and brooding atmosphere, and there’s a lot of visual similarity between the two genres. Dim lighting and spotlights, strong contrasting shadows and silhouettes are often utilized, and the camera moves subjectively to reflect the psychology of the characters. Lighting that emphasizes the protagonist’s sense of destiny, and metropolitan landscapes of temptation and terror, are also recurring backdrops for these genres. In addition, the frequent use of close-ups, flashbacks, mirrors, and portraits serve as a device to visually reveal the characters’ fragmented inner lives and past traumas.
With so much in common, these two genres are often confused in contemporary film genre classifications. Gangster films date back to the 1920s and are a genre that strongly reflects the social and cultural context of the time. In gangster films, the “gang” is the obvious villain, but they also have a dual character: they are victims of industrial society. They find themselves on the wrong side of evil and headed for destruction, and these narratives can be read as a critique of the structural contradictions of capitalist society.
Griffith’s 1912 The Musketeers of Pigalle is a very early work about urban gangs and is often cited as the beginning of the gangster movie. Also, in 1915, Raoul Walsh, director of The Regeneration, labeled his film as the “first feature-length gangster movie.” However, I personally believe that gangster movies became a full-fledged genre after Prohibition in 1920. The criminal activities of organized crime, which grew rapidly during this time, became a staple of cinema as it was processed into an entertaining narrative.
For audiences at the time, gangster movies served to vicariously fulfill the pent-up aggression and desire for conquest in their daily lives through the successes and downfalls of fictionalized criminals or real-life characters. Crime narratives are inevitably accompanied by action and suspense, making them a highly effective form of cinematic entertainment.
From the 1930s to the 1950s, American gangster films went through several changes. Films like Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity, John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon, and Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep are representative of this period. In the early 1940s, moral and psychological turmoil is brought to the forefront with the introduction of private detectives, and the lines between good and evil are increasingly blurred. In films set after World War II, the tragic structure of marginalized and impoverished characters stumbling into crime, trying to escape, but ultimately failing, is repeated. In the early 1950s, these narratives take a more psychological and suicidal turn.
After the 1960s, with the abolition of the Motion Picture Production Code, gangster films begin to focus on the criminal himself and his organization rather than the police. Arthur Penn’s There’s No Tomorrow and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather symbolize this shift. Especially after the success of The Godfather in the early 1970s, gangster films revolved around the American dream and the gangster’s self-consciousness, and dealt with the legitimate business of organized crime and the crisis of leadership. Throughout this period, gangsters increasingly came to represent the disillusionment and loss of American society.
Later gangster movies focused not on the bosses but on the lower rungs of the organization. They are more like “minions” who work day in and day out and dream of a little comfort. Martin Scorsese’s films from the 1970s and 1980s are a clear example of this trend. Rural gangster movies set in the depression era also appear, and “There’s No Tomorrow for Us” elicits sympathy from audiences through images of deprivation and vagrancy that are different from those of urban gangsters.
Film noir, on the other hand, was a concept coined by French critics in the 1950s to categorize Hollywood B-movies, and was originally more of an aesthetic and critical classification than a genre. The term noir means “black” in French, and it centers on crime, violence, and a pessimistic worldview. Expressionist lighting at night, cynical and anti-heroic characters, and a futile and decadent outlook on life are key elements of film noir.
Film noir was influenced by hard-boiled novels and popular magazines like Black Mask, while German expressionist cinema and the emigration of German filmmakers to the United States played a crucial role in the visual and narrative formation of the genre. Some of the most famous films of the 1940s and 50s include “Double Indemnity,” “The Maltese Falcon,” and “The Touch of Evil.” In this genre, the femme fatale functions as a key figure that leads the protagonist to his downfall.
Both gangster movies and film noir do not glorify romanticized crime. The violence they showcase is a device to expose the structural contradictions of capitalist society and asks the audience uncomfortable questions about reality. Whereas the classic gangster was the embodiment of ambition and individualism, film noir protagonists are driven to crime by greed, sexual desire, external pressures, or minor mistakes, and suffer from identity confusion. These traits became the hallmarks of American film noir.
From the 1950s onward, film noir features veterans and blue-collar workers, emphasizing the inhumanity of criminal organizations and the unsettling underbelly of capitalism. In the 1970s, characters dealing with the aftermath of the Vietnam War are featured, most notably in Roman Polanski’s Chinatown and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. From the 1980s onward, sexuality became more explicitly emphasized, with films like Body Heat and Primal Instinct.
Frederick Jameson characterized film noir in the 1970s as a modernist parody of genre conventions, while the 1980s and 1990s were characterized by stylistic repetition with less criticality. While gangster films and film noir can be theoretically separated, there are still works like The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep that blur the lines. In the end, the two genres will continue to mutate as long as crime and capitalism exist.
Gangster Noir in Korean Cinema
Now that we’ve covered the history and characteristics of gangster films and film noir, it’s time to take a look at how the genre has been adapted and embraced in Korean cinema. Since the 2000s, Korean cinema has seen a surge of films that put gangsters and violence front and center, starting with “Ain’t Nothing to See Here” and “Shiri,” and continuing with “Friend,” “Moonlight in Silla,” “Gangster Wife,” “Let’s Play Dharma,” and “Dusabu Unity.” These films replaced the Hong Kong action films that dominated theaters in the 1990s and set the trend for Korean gangster films.
Later, comedic variations such as the “Glory of the Family” series emerged, while heavier-toned films such as “Mean Streets,” “Hot Blooded Boys,” and “Sunflower” were also produced, and ‘Uncle’ and “Brothers” succeeded in securing both popularity and box office success. However, few of these films adhere to the typical film noir grammar.
Korean noir, like Hong Kong noir, emphasizes the loyalty of the group rather than the individual, and revolves around the doubts and conflicts of criminal organizations. These films can be divided into two categories: ‘action noir’ and ‘emotional noir’. “A Single Life” and “A Sweet Life” belong to the action noir category, while ‘Sunflower’ and “Holy Genealogy” can be categorized as sentimental noir.
Action noirs are stories about criminal organizations that rely on violence to survive and get through the day. Although it’s labeled as a “noir” in theaters, it’s actually more of a gangster movie. The protagonist lives a relatively stable life until he gets caught up in a case and ends up dead in a grainy, darkly lit movie. The police are powerless, and violence is the only way to maintain order.
Emotional noir has a protagonist who is part of a criminal organization, who is questioning his life and striving for good, but ultimately fails and dies. The death of the protagonist is meant to make the audience empathize and tear up, which is why I named it emotional noir. In this genre, the protagonist is aided by a helper, usually a mother or female sibling. They help the protagonist become good, but are ultimately sacrificed by the forces of evil. They can be seen as a variation of the femme fatale, offering devoted love instead of deadly seduction.
Their deaths drive the protagonist to revenge, once again confusing the boundaries between good and evil. This confusion is similar to how Korean film noir has yet to establish a clear identity, embracing gangster elements. Nevertheless, Korean film noir has constantly evolved within these two categories and is still in the process of change.
However, if it continues to rely on the “gangster” code or self-replicate for the sake of box office, Korean film noir risks losing its value as a genre and becoming a cheap production. More efforts should be made to balance the strengths of action noir and emotional noir to build a unique Korean noir color that is different from Hong Kong noir.
