A Violent Prosecutor

So far, A Violent Prosecutor is Korea’s 2016 number-one box-office hit in a landslide, crushing all competition in the first half of the year. The setup is simple yet compelling: after pissing off the wrong people, an ace prosecutor is framed for murder and sent to prison, putting him at the mercy of the thugs that he himself put behind bars. The title role goes to superstar Hwang Jeong-min, but make no mistake, the film belongs to Kang Dong-won, who, as an adorable con man who tries to help the prosecutor restore his good name and his freedom, steals every scene. Then he feels bad, apologizes, gives the scene back, looks at you with those puppy-dog eyes, and steals it again. Like a really, really good-looking chameleon, Kang effortlessly transforms himself into a series of alter egos: a gangster thug, a perfect boyfriend, a dim-witted kyopo, a wealthy entrepreneur, a hotshot lawyer, and, perhaps most memorably, a particularly exuberant political supporter. Presented with the support of Korean Cultural Center New York.