--- title: Nameless Gangster Film Review description: The best moment in every movie about organized crime comes when the aspiring gangster becomes an actual one. In Goodfellas, it’s when Henry returns from... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7122853/nameless-gangster-the-korean-mob-film-scorsese-would-be-proud-of/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-04-10T10:45:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-25T05:07:03.556Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Nameless Gangster: The Korean Mob Film Scorsese Would Be Proud Of og:description: The newest gangster film reinvigorates the genre. Let's hope it gets a wide release. og:url: https://time.com/archive/7122853/nameless-gangster-the-korean-mob-film-scorsese-would-be-proud-of/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt572caf489bb214ef/698a9028186892c3606cde7b/nameless-gangster.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Nameless Gangster og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nameless Gangster: The Korean Mob Film Scorsese Would Be Proud Of twitter:description: The newest gangster film reinvigorates the genre. Let's hope it gets a wide release. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt572caf489bb214ef/698a9028186892c3606cde7b/nameless-gangster.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) # Nameless Gangster: The Korean Mob Film Scorsese Would Be Proud Of > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Apr 10, 2012 10:45 AM UTC  by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Apr 10, 2012 10:45 AM UTC The best moment in every movie about organized crime comes when the aspiring gangster becomes an actual one. In _Goodfellas_, it’s when Henry returns from his first arrest and is rewarded by fellow mafiosos for not ratting them out. In _The Godfather_, it’s when Michael Corleone puts a bullet in Sollozzo’s head. In the Korean epic crime drama _Nameless Gangster —_now in limited release — it’s when Choi Ik-hyun (Choi Min-sik) goes to a high-end karaoke bar. There, Ik-hyun bumps into his former boss after a night celebrating his first drug deal. Harsh words lead to punches and Ik-hyun hands the man a gruesome beating. The music stops. The eyes of the bar fall on him. Ik-hyun looks up in shock, and then, as if a weight has been lifted, smirks and walks out the door. At that moment, a gangster is born, and with him, the next great gangster movie. _Nameless Gangster_ drew a million moviegoers in its first four days in Korean theaters — a major blockbuster by Korean cinema standards — and is being compared to Martin Scorsese’s best work. Producers are clearly hoping American audiences will tolerate subtitles for a story that transcends the trappings of the genre and offers some gruesome gang fights. **(MORE:** [**Top 10 Pop-Culture Gangsters**](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2020083%5F2020085,00.html)**)** They won’t be disappointed. When we first meet Ik-hyun, he’s in handcuffs, being hauled through a frenzy of reporters and into a police station. It’s 1990 and organized crime is rampant across the country; the president of Korea has declared war on the nation’s infamous gang leaders. Rattled and bruised, Ik-hyun is told he will be prosecuted as a central figure in the Korean mafia. How did he get here? Flash back a decade, to the port city of Busan, where Ik-hyun is a low-level, corrupt shipping yard customs officer on the verge of losing his job. One night he finds a shipment of heroin and desperately tries to sell it to a successful young crime boss, Choi Hyung-bae (Ha Jung-woo). Tempers flare at first, but the two discover they are distant family members (hence the same family name) and decide to do business together. It’s a classic partnering of brawn and brains. Ik-hyun knows business and understands that corruption and greed rule the world they live in. He woos politicians and prosecutors, while Hyung-bae viciously takes down rival gangs to expand their turf. (The sound of lead pipes hitting bones is a running soundtrack throughout the film.) Over the decade, they rise to become the two most powerful crime bosses in the city. In a telling scene of their success, they share a lavish traditional meal with a Japanese crime lord, then move to the adjoining private room of the same restaurant to meet with congressmen who they bribe for rights to build a new casino. But this is a gangster movie, and a glorious rise eventually gives way to a self-induced fall. By the time the police launch their assault on organized crime, Ik-hyun and Hyun-bae have already turned on one other. _Nameless Gangster_ is filled with nods to American classics like _Carlito’s Way_ and _The Godfather_, complete with a money-counting montage, a disco club and even a slow motion shot of the gang walking down the street. Though the film itself may follow many of the genre’s conventions, Ik-hyun’s unusual character draws us in as he willfully and convincingly swings from powerful to pitiful – even deliberately taking a beating – to remain on top. Min-sik’s masterful performance is not surprising; as one of Korea’s most famous actors, he’s become world-renowned for evoking sympathy for even the most heartless of characters in films such as _I Saw The Devil_ and _Lady Vengeance._ **(READ:** [**The Heyday of Foreign Films**](http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1557886,00.html)**)** Of course, even movies that reinvigorate a genre often fall prey to some of its most common shortcomings. Like most organized crime movies, the women in _Nameless Gangster_ are relegated to the sidelines. The hard-nosed owner of night club (Kim Hye-eun) has an affair with Ik-hyun, but their rocky relationship is not cohesive. The affair scene itself serves a purpose, allowing Ik-hyun to reveal his innermost ambitions, but one cannot help but wonder whether some potential was lost. It’s easy to forgive filmmaker Yun Jong-bin, though. The young director — who is only 33 — has created a complete, bleak world, one where corruption has seeped into every corner of society. Place an untraditional mobster in this realm, and the result is a movie that ponders what it means to be a tough guy when everyone seems to have a little gangster in them. It’s a question worth asking and a film worth seeing. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7122853/nameless-gangster-the-korean-mob-film-scorsese-would-be-proud-of/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7122853/nameless-gangster-the-korean-mob-film-scorsese-would-be-proud-of/"},"headline":"Nameless Gangster: The Korean Mob Film Scorsese Would Be Proud Of","datePublished":"2012-04-10T10:45:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-25T05:07:03.556Z","description":"The best moment in every movie about organized crime comes when the aspiring gangster becomes an actual one. 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