Fantastic Fest: 'Private Eye'

“My rule is never do anything dangerous,” says private eye Jin-ho (Jeon-Min Hwang), just before he agrees to put aside his regular business of busting cheating housewives in South Korea circa 1910 in order to help a medical student beat a murder rap. Famous last words, that.

Jin-ho belongs to a grand tradition of private dicks who play like they’re only looking out for number one, but buckle at the slightest whiff of a dame or small child in distress. And sure enough, there’s danger a-plenty, as Jin-ho tracks a serial killer from morgue to marketplace to traveling circus. Jeon-Min Hwang plays him all Tony Leung-cool in bemused smile and summer suit, and he absolutely owns the film, from first shot to last. And what a gorgeous series of shots they are. Director Dae-min Park funnels the usual pleasures of the sleuth picture – red herrings and feints, a virginal Doc Watson, even a fond nod to Hitch – through the eye of a master visual stylist.

Private Eye screens Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 1:10pm and Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 6:30pm.