Synopsis
In 2022, Jung Byung-gil, renowned for the action film The Villainess, directed Carter, a South Korean action thriller. A Netflix production, Carter is one of the latest additions to the action genre, and is known for its ambitious execution and relentless pacing. Unlike other action films, Carter is distinctive for its presentation as a single continuous take. The stylistic choice of a long take is a test of a viewer’s endurance and breathes life into the film. It is a test of filmmaking as well.
The film starts in a post-apocalyptic setting. It is two months after a deadly virus has infected North Korea and spread to other countries. The virus transforms its carriers into rabid creatures. Both the North and South Korean governments, along with the United States, are on edge. As the world teeters on the brink, a man stirs in a motel room, blood surrounding him. He has no recollection of who he is, or the events leading to this moment.
Carter (Joo Won) is a man whose only source of direction is a voice coming from an earpiece implanted within his head. The voice tells him that she is part of a top-secret operation and offers snippets of information. To ensure his survival, she insists he follow her orders, claiming he is part of an operation critical to saving a young girl who has the potential to cure a deadly virus.
The girl, Ha-na, is the daughter of a scientist who had been working on a vaccine. Although she has antibodies that can stop the virus, her father is missing, making her a target to the CIA, North Korean military, South Korean agents, and other rogue forces. Simultaneously, many of these groups also wish to capture Carter. So, his mission is to save the girl and bring her to a designated research center.
From this point onward, the movie heads into a succession of long action scenes, where Carter is battling through cars, helicopters, trains, buildings, forests and more. There is no long period of time where the intensity decreases; the film “one-shot” illusion is preserved and numerous takes are blended together through editing and visual effects to give a seamless appearance.
While Carter fights through these more and more complex battles, his past starts to come back to him in fragments. He discovers that he might have been a CIA agent or a possible double agent. He has his loyalty questioned over and over again, even the voice in his head seems to have her own ulterior motives. Through the use of flashbacks and visual hints, he is shown his ties to North Korea, to the girl he is attempting to save, and even to the outbreak of the virus.
As the climax of the story nears, it becomes evident to Carter that his circumstances are much worse than he had initially thought. He is a mere pawn in a much larger game, his memory meticulously erased. With betrayals all around him, he is eventually left to decide who he really is and what his mission signifies. The film culminates in a battle that is both chaotic and explosive, and leaves the audience with a cliffhanger
Cast & Characters
Carter
Joo Won makes his action movie debut in the role of Carter. He had previously featured in a number of TV dramas and now, he is a fully transformed, ready to jump and bleed through the film. He carries the entire film and performs through his actions and at a deeper emotional level, which requires control.
Ha-na
The role of the young girl who is at the center of the mission is played by Kim Bo-min. Although her screen time is not that much, she is pivotal to the story. Her presence provides emotional relevance to the action, which otherwise, would have remained in the high-concept realm.
Jeong So-ri as The Voice in Carter’s Ear
The character that guides Carter, while adding depth, remains mostly unseen. This character’s identity and motives become a mystery that drives the narrative in the film.
Supporting Cast
Included in the ensemble are a variety of agents, military personnel, and villains of different ranks and associations. Although some of these characters may seem flat, they fulfill the function of assisting in propelling Carter’s progress in the story.
Direction & Cinematography
Jung Byung-gil, the director, has once again incorporated his trademark kinetic style. This time, he has gone even beyond the boundaries of his previous works. One of the film’s most notable achievements from a technical stand point is its “one-shot” technique where the camera does not cut away from Carter’s perspective. While the technique has been done in films such as 1917 and Birdman, Carter goes further by adding brutal close-quarter combat, aerial combat, and CGI transitions.
The camera work is disorienting in a deliberate way. It is chaotic and intensely immersive. It moves with Carter as he goes through buildings, inside and outside of vehicles, underwater, and into the sky. Drones and digital tools are used extensively to make the stylized impossible angles feel seamless. While the film’s overall style is dizzying, the aesthetic works to support the film’s tone: unyielding, desperate, and suffocating.
Themes and Interpretation
The Loss of Self and Control in ‘Carter’
The loss of personal identity and agency in Carter is a central theme. He is a protagonist reduced to the role of a powerless puppet. His amnesia in the narrative is a metaphor for existing in a world where truth is elusive and allegiance is ephemeral. Carter’s amnesic journey is a quest for agency and self-determination in a world built to keep him compliant and blind.
Trust and Betrayal
Another element of the narrative is the study of trust as a weapon. Carter, as sympathized through the viewer, is constantly deceived or manipulated by people he considers to be allies, like his ‘handlers’. Carter, like the audience, is constantly guessing who to trust, reinforcing the mood of paranoia and disorientation.
Technological Control of Humanity
The film also suggests a world in which people have become more technologically advanced and systematically controlled, which includes memory wipes, implants, and bio-weapons. A degree of the film’s excessive violence functions as a critique of dehumanization, of reducing individuals to mere cogs in the machinery of war and politics.
Reception
The film garnered polarized and mixed reviews. It seems many audiences appreciated the film’s technical ambition and received the film very positively. Audiences impressed by long take and practical stunt cinematography, received the film highly positively deeming it an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride.
Some critics have commented on the film’s intense pacing, lack of character depth, and bewildering story riddled with tangents. The plot thickens with numerous twists and often the spectacle overshadows the story, leading to confusion or emotional detachment from many viewers.
Even with all the critiques, Carter developed a fan base among action lovers and experimental film fans. The film’s relentless action and commitment to the single-shot illusion set it apart from traditional genre entries.
Conclusion
Bold and visually intense, Carter stands out in the action-thriller category for its lack of narrative depth. The film’s unique “one-take” style is both a captivating strength and a potential source of viewer fatigue. Though the film is different from the traditional action film, it is clear that its creativity added to modern action cinema’s repertoire.
Carter employs a breakneck pace, intense violence, and a high-tension narrative that gives the viewer a crude musical score of action. Beneath the chaos is crude narrative on the nature of self, control, and the cost of submission. Not all viewers will appreciate this, and that is perfectly fine. But euphoric and extreme rides are not appreciated by all, and for those who do, it appears that Carter has successfully executed the goal.
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