A South Korean drama from 2013. Song Kang ho (Bong Joon-ho's go to guy who's appeared in several of his films including 2019's Best Picture, Parasite) stars as the titular ambulance chaser, well tax prepper, who gets a case that will change his life. Starting off his career making a lot of bank by luring clientele to his office to prep taxes (something a lawyer in Korea can do) where he even gains a partner who comes in off the street to help w/his work load. Soon enough a friend, Kim Young-ae, who runs an eatery w/her son, Oh Sal-su, calls upon his services when Sal-su is arrested during a Communist crackdown in their city where he's beaten, tortured & forced to make a confession along w/others. Definitely outside of his comfort zone, Kang-ho forges ahead & although the defense is stacked against him (along w/the judge), his passion & his astute reading of the law gets the public on his side where his fellow legal brethren stand w/him by film's end. Kang-ho is excellent here as he uses the court arena to vent & attack injustice at its most severe but unfortunately the plot struggles to find focus until the trial begins during the film's second hour diluting the overall film's power which Kang-ho nearly saves, I said nearly.
Review of The Attorney
