“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.

This article appears in September 25 • 2009.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...