Lawyer Jung Woo defends prisoner Kang Haneul in Retrial

Monday, January 30, 2017

Chungmuro/Film News

Lawyer Jung Woo defends prisoner Kang Haneul in Retrial

We’ll be seeing Youth Over Flowers bros Jung Woo (Himalayas) and Kang Haneul (Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo) reunite soon, since their new movie Retrial is being released in just a few weeks. Jung Woo plays an unemployed lawyer whose back is against the wall, while Kang Haneul plays a jaded prisoner whose faith in the legal system was broken long ago. The upcoming film is based on a true story of a gruesome homicide case that happened in 2000.

In a murder case that shakes the nation, a taxi driver is killed, and the only witness, an adolescent in his late teens, is accused of committing the crime. Under enhanced interrogation (aka torture) from the cops, he succumbs to submitting a false testimony where he confesses to the murder. Ten years later, the wrongfully imprisoned youth encounters a connectionless, impoverished lawyer who ends up taking on his appeal case.

Initially they meet while Jung Woo is at a charity event, looking over pro bono cases in order to ingratiate himself to a potential boss, but when he learns about Kang Haneul’s story, he realizes that this man’s retrial may be his chance to rise up in the world. Although he starts this case because of worldly greed, as the truth is revealed to him, his motivation for continuing on becomes fiery justice and righteous outrage for this young man who lost ten years of his life.

The trailer alone is almost enough to move you to tears. Kang Haneul pitifully cries to his mother, played by Kim Hae-sook (Yes, That’s How It Is), that he is innocent as he’s dragged away by the police. Ten years later when he’s released for good behavior on parole, we see that he’s changed from a carefree impulsive youth to a guarded, hardened young man.

His hopelessness is evident when he screams, demanding to know why Jung Woo is taking his case: “What can the law do for me? Tell me! If you’re not going to believe me, why bother with me at all!?” But Jung Woo’s strong belief that he is not the murderer finally breaks him. In a situation where even his own mother might suspect him of murder, Kang Haneul finds a small part of his sense of hope restored when Jung Woo swears to protect him and find the truth behind the case.

The new legal movie Retrial will be released on February 16.