Korean politics set the stage for action thriller

Kwak Kyung-taek’s forceful “Typhoon,” an action-filled nuclear thriller, evolves into an impassioned protest of the plight of innocent people who become victims of political expedience. Kwak also offers bitter commentary on the suffering of those caught between the Koreas and the reflexive tendency of governments to cover up disasters, as exemplified by the handling of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe by the former USSR.

The film’s deliberately fragmented opening sequences make “Typhoon” initially hard to follow, but an involving story line gradually emerges despite persistent challenges to continuity. Some detailing and background remain hazy to the end, yet its three central characters and the arc of the key plot line that enmeshes them become increasingly well defined.

Ambitious and impressive, both in its provocative themes and superb production design using striking sets and locations in Korea, Russia and Thailand, this handsome epic amply rewards audiences willing to go the distance.

In North Korea, 20 members of the Choi family actually manage to buy their way out of their oppressive nation and into China, where they find shelter at the Austrian Embassy in Beijing, hoping to emigrate to South Korea.

But the timing -- the year is 1983 -- couldn’t be worse: Relations between China and South Korea are just beginning to thaw, and a South Korean diplomat is pressured by his government to deliver the family back to the North Koreans, where they are promptly slaughtered, with only a small boy and his older sister escaping death.

Kwak moves ahead 20 years, with scant back story. The children become separated, with the beautiful but ravaged Choi Myeong-ju (Lee Mi-yeon) winding up a prostitute in Vladivostok with seriously failing health. Meanwhile, her brother Myong-sin (Jang Dong-gun) has become a modern-day pirate, obsessed with revenge of cataclysmic proportions. Pursuing Myong-sin and his men is a South Korean naval lieutenant (Lee Jung-jae) who is surprised to find himself understanding his adversary’s rage and suffering.

The stars are perfectly cast, and their strong physical presence and portrayals give “Typhoon” an emotional resonance that goes a long way to overcoming the film’s credibility-defying moments. “Typhoon” has wider appeal than most Korean films that find release in the U.S., but owing to its elliptical style, complicated structure and a language barrier good subtitles cannot always surmount, it is therefore as demanding as much artier foreign fare.

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‘Typhoon’

MPAA rating: R for strong violence and brief language

A Paramount Classics release. Writer-director Kwak Kyung-taek. Producers Park Seong-keon, Yang Joong-kyueng. Director of photography Hong Kyeng-pyo. Editor Park Simon Kwang-il. In Korean, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

At selected theaters.