The ex police officer, Yu-gon Song, is incarcerated for a hit-and-run accident. He's now surrounded by convicts who rest assured don't like any police officers hanging out with them. Yu-gon Song soon finds out that everybody in the prison follows the order of the inmate Ik-Ho Jung, who runs the prison from the inside like a crime lord, who is respected even by the prison guards and the warden. In order to survive, Yu-gon Song has to win Ik-Ho Jung's trust.
'The Prison' focuses on the relationship between the two inmates Yu-gon Song and the Ik-Ho Jung. The movie takes its time to develop this relationship, with a relatively slow pace. The pay-off for the slow pace is great though, as you learn more about the rich and complex characters. Ik-Ho Jung in particular was deeply interesting to me, a crime lord who is both cruel and dignified, both meditative and power-hungry. Most of the time he walks around the prison calmly with an emotionless face, but then at times his pent-up anger and viciousness breaks out in a truly visceral fashion.
Everything is set in bleak color palettes, shades of grey and brown. One feels cold and damp watching this movie. The atmosphere is super thick. And just about when I felt that the movie was going to bore me with its drabness, the plot went into a completely different direction from what I originally expected. A few twists towards the end build up towards a truly epic conclusion, one that asks deep questions about crime, loyalty and morality.
