Harbin
“Harbin” looks at the struggle for Korean independence at a time when it was under Japanese control. In its story, we see freedom fighters planning on assassinating the Prime Minister of Japan, and how loyalties are tested, and questioned. Director Min-ho Woo’s approach is one of going full speed ahead with the narrative, centering on Ahn Jung-geun, a resistance fighter who views the assassination attempt as a way of making his comrades trust him again after choices made earlier in the fight for independence. In moments of turmoil, we make choices that may feel out of character on the outside, but are ultimately for a larger purpose, and sometimes, we have to hold on to some sense of our moral character when it’s tested most.
There are a lot of times when I was reminded of Bryan Singer’s “Valkyrie,” which was about the plot to assassinate Hitler, but “Harbin” feels like a more personal meditation on the fight for freedom against an authoritarian power. Ahn (played by Hyun Bin) is first seen crossing the frozen Tumen River. Next, we see other resistance leaders discussing his whereabouts, and whether they can trust him. Right away, when he shows up in the scene, we go to a flashback that illustrates what happened to him, Min-ho Woo’s focus is largely on Ahn, who’s belief that the assassination must happen is unshakable, but whose moral code feels complicated. The mission he went missing on left most of the fighters he went with dead; and yet, he refuses to execute prisoners of war because he will not resort to committing war crimes, even towards the people subjugating his people and he. And yet, we understand why the other fighters question his decision; if they don’t kill these men now, they will just live to be fought another day. Ultimately, will assassinating the Prime Minister of Japan might not liberate them from Japan’s rule (and indeed, it did not), it will send a stronger message of resistance than killing those POWs would.
The screenplay by Woo and Min-Seong Kim introduces several different players in the narrative, including Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi (Lily Franky), who is travelling by train to Russian-controlled Harbin to meet with the Russian Finance Minister to discuss the future of Korea. The build up to his arrival in Harbin is the narrative thrust of the film, while the conspiracy to commit the assassination is the engine that keeps it movie. It can be complicated and dense, but it has clear momentum that I got into, seeing the machenizations of the plot come together, and the twists and turns along the way. In the end, however, we are left with Ahn- who was executed for the assassination- continuing to cross that frozen river, realizing that the fight for freedom is long, and can be bleak, but also needs to be followed through. Continuing to fight against the evils of the world is the most important fight we can wage. “Harbin” is a good, smart and engrossing reminder of that.
