Natural City (2003)

Director:

Byung-chun Min

Writer:

Byung-chun Min (writer)

Release Date:

5 September 2003 (South Korea)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The war has begun...

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Cyberpunk | Replicant | Airport | CGI | Exotic Dancer

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ji-tae Yu	...	R
Jae-un Lee	...	Cyon
Rin Seo	...	Ria
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eun-pyo Jeong	...	Croy
Doo-hong Jung	...	Cyper
Eul-dong Kim
Ju-hye Ko	...	Ami
Chang Yun	...	Noma

Directed by
Byung-chun Min

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Byung-chun Min		writer

Original Music by
Jun-kyu Lee

Cinematography by
Byung-chun Min

Film Editing by
Min-ho Kyung

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Doo-hong Jung	....	martial arts director

Production Companies

• Jowoo Entertainment
• Tube Entertainment

Distributors

• HK Video (2002) (Korea) (DVD)
• KinoVista (2006) (France) (TV)
• MTV Netherlands (2006) (Netherlands) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Media Suits (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Moviemax (2004) (Italy) (all media)
• Optimum Releasing (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Rialto Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Tartan Video USA (2006) (USA) (video)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

South Korea:114 min | Italy:104 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Finland:K-15 | USA:R | Germany:16 | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Japan:PG-12

Company:

Jowoo Entertainment

Beautiful ...

I would put this as one of the most beautiful science fiction films ever made ...

As much as this is an homage to Blade Runner it also draws heavily from the Matrix and HK Cop films. Like a great hip hop record or a Tarantino film, it weaves familiar elements together in a way that not only seems fresh but gives you a new appreciation for the original sources.

One of the things I loved most about this movie was its look and in particular the way the CGI was integrated almost seamlessly with 'real' live action cinematography. As opposed to many western sci-fi movies, for example the new Star Wars movies or I, Robot where the actors are shot on a green screen and then composted over a completely synthetic background.

Natural City might use a shot of a cityscape and then drop in CGI elements like a craft flying over. They employ another technique which was used a lot in 70's scifi films like Logan's Run - inter cutting SFX scenes with live action that was just shot on real, futuristic-looking locations. This really balances out the artificiality of the effects and shows that a little can go a long way ...

The result is an extremely realistic look and feel to the movie. I believe that this is what the world could look like in 2080.

Natural City's only real flaw, in my eyes, is that it does tend to get slow in a few key spots. But every shot in this film is so gorgeous it's hard to know where they would cut.

All in all I really enjoyed this film and would highly recommend it.