It’s the late thirties in Japanese-occupied Korea, and capable boxer Choi Baedal has become enamored of aviation, dreaming of becoming a pilot himself. He stows away on a ship to Japan with the hopes of enlisting in Japan’s air force. But in his naivete, Choi failed to anticipate how unwelcome a penniless hobo would be in wartime Japan—much less an ethnic Korean. He does, however, build a friendship with the charming, streetwise Korean urchin Chun-bae. Arrested by the authorities, Choi is nearly killed in an Allied bombing raid, and then miserably defeated and humiliated by the arrogant, intensely racist military officer Kato. It is only the first of several degrading incidents that will drag Choi as low as a soul can go. But from the bottom, there’s only one way to go—to the top, inch by bloody inch. Driven by a thirst for justice after the murder of his martial-arts mentor at the hands of yakuza thugs, and bolstered by the love of the sweet and stout-hearted geisha Yoko, Choi retreats to the deep woods to train with unwavering fortitude. Soon, he will be the most powerful fighter in postwar Japan.

Turue, Fighter In the Wind is based on the true life story of Choi Baedal, also known as Masutatsu Oyama, a fierce fighter from Korea who stunned and excited Japan by winning 270 martial-arts fights in a campaign to be the nation’s greatest, and later established the Kyokushin Karate school, training Sonny Chiba among others. But it’s actually adapted more directly from a popular Korean comic strip, and just the right liberties have been taken with Choi’s tale. The film is not only an amazing display of rigorous training and stark, slamming combat, but also a tender romance, a rough and tumble tale of a battered but proud social underclass and a trenchant study of a wounded, often malicious postwar Japan. It’s a sprawling journey that spans years and touches on many lives, woven together with skill, exploring the advent of the media age in the east, and also the principles and history of the martial arts. More than anything, it’s the story of one simple, decent man who proved himself to be unstoppable in his dedication, and uniquely larger than life.

—Rupert Bottenberg

Director: Yang Yoon-ho
Screenplay: Yang Yoon-ho
Cast: Yang Dong-geun, Aya Hirayama, Masaya Kato, Jeong Tae-woo, Jung Doo-hong
Producers: Jeong Yong-il
Distributor: Korea Pictures