Drugs, North Korea, and the National Intelligence Service. These are the quintessential elements of Korean spy noir action—a genre director Ryu Seung-wan excels at. Yet his new film "HUMINT" transforms these familiar ingredients by weaving in melodrama, projecting themes of trust, love, and humanity to maximize its humanistic depth. This marks the first time Ryu has placed a romantic storyline at the forefront, delivering a profound and weighty narrative about what it means to be human.
The film begins with NIS black ops agent Chief Jo (Jo In-sung), who falls into self-loathing after losing his HUMINT (human intelligence source) while tracking international crimes in Southeast Asia. He then encounters another asset, Chae Sun-hwa (Shin Se-kyung), working at a North Korean restaurant in Vladivostok. The story gains momentum when Park Geon (Park Jung-min), a North Korean State Security Department chief and Sun-hwa's former lover, is dispatched to investigate disappearances near the border region, leading to an unexpected reunion. As Park Geon uncovers the truth behind Sun-hwa and Chief Jo's relationship, as well as the schemes involving Consul General Hwang Chi-sung (Park Hae-jun), his internal conflict and ultimate choices heighten the film's density and tension, bringing the spy thriller genre to full fruition.
The action sequences are notably upgraded and diversified. Jo In-sung handles firearms with the proficiency of a trained intelligence operative, using his long limbs to execute fluid, satisfying combat scenes. Park Jung-min commands the screen from his first appearance—his overwhelming presence felt simply through throwing darts in darkness.
The film's highlight is the tender yet heart-wrenching romance between Sun-hwa and Park Geon. Love, one of the most powerful instincts that fuels the will to live, must be sacrificed for the state, and these characters stripped of even the freedom to pursue personal happiness leave audiences with a profound, lingering ache. Their restrained yet poignant love unfolds through classical mise-en-scène, capturing the aesthetic beauty of an alluring spy melodrama. Ultimately, the message conveyed through their love is one of hope and the will to live. Park Geon's line—"I want to live. Isn't there some way to survive?"—delivers a weight that lingers long after the credits roll.
Rated 15 and above. 119 minutes. Opens January 11.