OK, you know those greeters at Wal-Mart who are, like 800 years old? Imagine one of them is an assassin. Not WAS an assassin. IS an assassin. Like now. Like plotting assassinations to assassinate assassin. Not only shooting guys, but figuring out how to shoot untouchable guys … and in the mean time, he’s a greeter at Wal-Mart.
Just kidding. He’s a waiter at Applebee’s .. or whatever the Korean equivalent is (“Kimchibee’s?”); well, he’s not quite a waiter; you know that old dude who comes out from hiding in the back room to help sing “happy birthday” to some poor sap just trying to enjoy a meal in public? He’s that. Pil-Joo (Lee Sung-min) is over 80 and literally suffering from Alzheimer’s, but that’s not going to stop him from waiting tables and delivering a dish that is best served cold.
Oh, he’ll get revenge all right … if only he can Remember who he has to kill. Luckily, he has it tattooed Memento-style on his fingers. Remember the old days when people would use string? Well, why do that when you can keep a permanent record of your future crimes on your hands?
I know I’m painting this as silly, because it should be, but Remember is a surprisingly somber and considered film. Pil-Joo’s best bud at the Kimchibee’s is Park In-gyu (Nam Joo-hyuk), a twentysomething who
hasn’t yet found his way out of debt or his ‘rents apartment. And this is the guy Pil-Joo is going to enlist, well, it’s somewhere between beg and strongarm. Pil-Joo realizes his assassination dreams will require some help. Assassination is a young man’s game, after all.
Remember is a fun watch even as it reflects upon itself enough in Act III to realize that evil begets evil, sure, but where does it end? And what fun is revenge, really, when you can’t remember who you killed, why you killed, or that it was even you? Next time I get an Alzheimer’s sufferer in front of me, I think I’m going to remind them of all the bad guys they took out once upon a time in the name of justice. In the long run, it won’t matter, but maybe I’ll let an old guy seek thrilling memories that aren’t there; that ought to change his expression … temporarily.
Deadly gramps will make you a believer
For he’s created many a widow griever
His skills can’t be matched
All his foes dispatched
If he can just turn off his turn lever
Not Rated,128 Minutes
Director: Il-Hyeong Lee
Writer: Il-Hyeong Lee
Genre: The pain of memory
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People who live for revenge
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Ageists
