One of the few Korean science fiction movies that have met with success. Lots of impressive action scenes, and plenty of fine acting by Jang dong-geon and Japanese teen-age idol Nakamura. Much part of the movie is dubbed in Japanese, which is very rare for Korean film. Still, 2009 Lost Memories is overly influenced by Korean nationalism. When it comes to Japan, Koreans feel they have to prove they're better. The first scene is a shock for Korean audiences when the character An Jung-geun fails in his assassination attempt on Ito Hirobumi, even though An succeeded when he tried in real life at Harbin Station, China, in 1909. As an indirect result of his failed attempt, Japan becomes an ally of the United States and a fellow victor of the World War II, which to Korean means continued colonial rule by Japan. In the fictional year 2002, Korean World Cup star Lee Dong-guk wears a Japanese flag on his uniform. The Japanese rule seems ready to go on forever, but a group of Korean resistance fighters still dream of the country's liberation. Sakamoto, an ethnic-Korean working in Japan's intelligence agency, discovers that his father, formerly an intelligence agent for Japan, had died for the cause of Korean liberation. This leads him to join the resistance. The answer to the twisted history he now lives in is to travel through time to 1909 and help An with the assassination. Interesting storyline, but don't expect to find logic in the details.
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