Fighter in the Wind
Encyclopedia
Fighter in the Wind is a 2004
South Korea
n film. It is based on the Japanese book Karate Baka Ichidai which is an account of karate competitor Choi Yeung-Eui (최영의, 崔永宜) who went to Japan
after World War II to become a fighter pilot but found a very different path instead. He changed his name to Masutatsu Oyama
(大山倍達) and went across the country, defeating martial artists one after another. This film concentrates on the period when he is still young, and developing his famous karate style, Kyokushin
.
, Choi Bae-dal is a young Korean man who longs to be able to fly fighter planes. Stowing away to Japan in order to join their air force, Bae-dal's first experience of the country is when a con-man tries to steal his money. Bae-dal discovers that the man is a fellow Korean called Chun-bae (Jung Tae Woo
), who has survived the harsh treatment of Koreans in Japan by turning to petty crime. With their different motives: Bae-dal driven by desire for action and Chun-bae needing to escape from some gangsters, the two Koreans stow away in a truck to the air force training camp.
The commander in charge of the camp is a pompous imperialist called Kato (Kato Masaya). Having mistreated the two Koreans, he is amused by Bae-dal's fighting spirit and says that if Bae-dal can beat him with his inferior "foreign" fighting style, he will release them. The two men fight with Kato easily defeating Bae-dal, but an American attack on the airforce base allows Bae-dal and Chun-bae to escape.
Later, Bae-dal is found helping Chun-bae to run a pachinko
stall in a Japanese market place. When local gangsters
try to take protection money from Chun-bae, Bae-dal tries to defend him but is beaten up and humiliated by the gangsters. His ordeal is ended by the intervantion of Bum-soo (Jung Doo-hong), a martial arts expert from his home town who had also emigrated to Japan. Bum-soo invites Bae-dal back to the circus where he, and many fellow Korean immigrants, work and where he is attempting to build a decent standard of living for his countrymen. After some persuasion, he agrees to teach Bae-dal some of his more sophisticated fighting style.
Meanwhile, Bae-dal has taken to working as a rickshaw driver, honing his fighting skills by defending Japanese women from the rapacious advances of American servicemen. His success at protecting the women makes him something of a local hero, although his real identity is not known. One of the women he protects is the beautiful Yoko (Aya Hirayama
), with whom he strikes up a romantic relationship.
When Bum-soo is killed by local gangsters, the Koreans from the compound vow revenge and attack the Japanese gangs. The fight ends abruptly for Bae-dal when he is knocked unconscious by a blow to the head. Bae-dal, vowing to never again lose a fight, retreats to the mountains where, living in his karate gi, he trains day and night; running in the mountains, lifting tree trunks and using makeshift training equipment to harden his body and fighting spirit through austerity.
Returning from the mountains, Bae-dal takes a Japanese name: Masutatsu Oyama, and sets about challenging the best fighters Japan has to offer. Wearing his ragged karate gi and looking like a cave-man with his unkempt appearance, Oyama challenges the first dojo
he passes. He defeats every fighter in the dojo - often with only a single strike.
As word of his notoriety spreads, Oyama's actions come to the attention of the head of the Japan Karate Association
- the former Air Force camp commander Kato. Kato is hugely offended that a foreigner would not only try to learn Japanese martial arts, but would consider himself worthy to beat Japanese fighters. Nevertheless, Oyama continues to defeat every fighter that Japan has to offer, including competitors in karate
, judo
, ninjutsu
and kobudo
, becoming a sensation in the Japanese media. Oyama explains to Yoko that, although he is scared of dying, he is more scared of living as a cripple, and this is why he is willing to sacrifice anything to win.
When the organization sends one of his followers to challenge and kill Oyama, the agent is instead killed by Oyama. Learning that the man he killed had a wife and son, Oyama feels a great deal of guilt for his actions and tracks down the family to apologise and offer to work for them to make up for killing the father of the household. Oyama surrenders his uniform to the wife, vowing to never again fight in martial art duels. Although initially angry and unaccepting of Oyama's offer, after fulfilling the son's wish of being carried to the top of the nearby mountain to view the sunrise, he eventually convinces them that he is a man of honour and not a violent thug. The wife asks Oyama to take back his uniform and become the best fighter in Japan.
Returning to the city, Oyama finds that Kato's martial arts association has threatened his own family (Kato is not involved) and demanded a challenge between Kato and Oyama. Dressing in his weathered gi once again, Oyama treks out to the countryside location where Kato is waiting for him. Easily defeating Kato's henchmen, Oyama then faces a final showdown with Kato himself. Although it is clear that Kato would like to see Oyama dead, Kato's ankle is broken after receiving a kick in the fight sequence. When Kato stands up, he falls to a one-knee-down position, Oyama shows mercy to Kato, by stopping 2 cm short of punching him squarely between the eyes, defeating him in combat but not killing him.
At the end of the movie, Oyama is shown fighting with a bull, grasping the horns and digging into the ground to stop him, and finally delivering a bone-shattering chop to the center of the top of the head.
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n film. It is based on the Japanese book Karate Baka Ichidai which is an account of karate competitor Choi Yeung-Eui (최영의, 崔永宜) who went to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
after World War II to become a fighter pilot but found a very different path instead. He changed his name to Masutatsu Oyama
Masutatsu Oyama
, more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a karate master who founded Kyokushinkai Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. He was born Choi Yeong-eui . A Zainichi Korean, he spent most of his life living in Japan and acquired Japanese citizenship in 1964...
(大山倍達) and went across the country, defeating martial artists one after another. This film concentrates on the period when he is still young, and developing his famous karate style, Kyokushin
Kyokushin
is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese karate master, who was born under the name Choi Young-Eui . Kyokushinkai is Japanese for "the society of the ultimate truth". Kyokushin is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training...
.
Plot summary
At the tail-end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Choi Bae-dal is a young Korean man who longs to be able to fly fighter planes. Stowing away to Japan in order to join their air force, Bae-dal's first experience of the country is when a con-man tries to steal his money. Bae-dal discovers that the man is a fellow Korean called Chun-bae (Jung Tae Woo
Jung Tae Woo
Jung Tae Woo is a South Korean actor. Much of his work has been in the genre of Korean historical dramas such as Taejo Wang Geon, Dae Jo Yeong, and The King and I .- Career :...
), who has survived the harsh treatment of Koreans in Japan by turning to petty crime. With their different motives: Bae-dal driven by desire for action and Chun-bae needing to escape from some gangsters, the two Koreans stow away in a truck to the air force training camp.
The commander in charge of the camp is a pompous imperialist called Kato (Kato Masaya). Having mistreated the two Koreans, he is amused by Bae-dal's fighting spirit and says that if Bae-dal can beat him with his inferior "foreign" fighting style, he will release them. The two men fight with Kato easily defeating Bae-dal, but an American attack on the airforce base allows Bae-dal and Chun-bae to escape.
Later, Bae-dal is found helping Chun-bae to run a pachinko
Pachinko
is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
stall in a Japanese market place. When local gangsters
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
try to take protection money from Chun-bae, Bae-dal tries to defend him but is beaten up and humiliated by the gangsters. His ordeal is ended by the intervantion of Bum-soo (Jung Doo-hong), a martial arts expert from his home town who had also emigrated to Japan. Bum-soo invites Bae-dal back to the circus where he, and many fellow Korean immigrants, work and where he is attempting to build a decent standard of living for his countrymen. After some persuasion, he agrees to teach Bae-dal some of his more sophisticated fighting style.
Meanwhile, Bae-dal has taken to working as a rickshaw driver, honing his fighting skills by defending Japanese women from the rapacious advances of American servicemen. His success at protecting the women makes him something of a local hero, although his real identity is not known. One of the women he protects is the beautiful Yoko (Aya Hirayama
Aya Hirayama
is a Japanese actress who has appeared in various films including Waterboys , as well as appearing in two television programs in her native Japan, Waratte Iitomo and Itsumo futari de. Aya was born in Kuroiso, Tochigi, Japan which is now part of Nasushiobara...
), with whom he strikes up a romantic relationship.
When Bum-soo is killed by local gangsters, the Koreans from the compound vow revenge and attack the Japanese gangs. The fight ends abruptly for Bae-dal when he is knocked unconscious by a blow to the head. Bae-dal, vowing to never again lose a fight, retreats to the mountains where, living in his karate gi, he trains day and night; running in the mountains, lifting tree trunks and using makeshift training equipment to harden his body and fighting spirit through austerity.
Returning from the mountains, Bae-dal takes a Japanese name: Masutatsu Oyama, and sets about challenging the best fighters Japan has to offer. Wearing his ragged karate gi and looking like a cave-man with his unkempt appearance, Oyama challenges the first dojo
Dojo
A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...
he passes. He defeats every fighter in the dojo - often with only a single strike.
As word of his notoriety spreads, Oyama's actions come to the attention of the head of the Japan Karate Association
Japan Karate Association
Japan Karate Association is one of the most influential Shotokan karate organizations in the world...
- the former Air Force camp commander Kato. Kato is hugely offended that a foreigner would not only try to learn Japanese martial arts, but would consider himself worthy to beat Japanese fighters. Nevertheless, Oyama continues to defeat every fighter that Japan has to offer, including competitors in karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, ninjutsu
Ninjutsu
or may be:*the arts associated with espionage and assassination in feudal Japan, see Ninja*modern schools of martial arts claiming to be based in these traditions, see Modern Schools of Ninjutsu*fictional depictions, see Ninja in popular culture...
and kobudo
Okinawan kobudo
Okinawan kobudō is a Japanese term that can be translated as "old martial way of Okinawa"...
, becoming a sensation in the Japanese media. Oyama explains to Yoko that, although he is scared of dying, he is more scared of living as a cripple, and this is why he is willing to sacrifice anything to win.
When the organization sends one of his followers to challenge and kill Oyama, the agent is instead killed by Oyama. Learning that the man he killed had a wife and son, Oyama feels a great deal of guilt for his actions and tracks down the family to apologise and offer to work for them to make up for killing the father of the household. Oyama surrenders his uniform to the wife, vowing to never again fight in martial art duels. Although initially angry and unaccepting of Oyama's offer, after fulfilling the son's wish of being carried to the top of the nearby mountain to view the sunrise, he eventually convinces them that he is a man of honour and not a violent thug. The wife asks Oyama to take back his uniform and become the best fighter in Japan.
Returning to the city, Oyama finds that Kato's martial arts association has threatened his own family (Kato is not involved) and demanded a challenge between Kato and Oyama. Dressing in his weathered gi once again, Oyama treks out to the countryside location where Kato is waiting for him. Easily defeating Kato's henchmen, Oyama then faces a final showdown with Kato himself. Although it is clear that Kato would like to see Oyama dead, Kato's ankle is broken after receiving a kick in the fight sequence. When Kato stands up, he falls to a one-knee-down position, Oyama shows mercy to Kato, by stopping 2 cm short of punching him squarely between the eyes, defeating him in combat but not killing him.
At the end of the movie, Oyama is shown fighting with a bull, grasping the horns and digging into the ground to stop him, and finally delivering a bone-shattering chop to the center of the top of the head.
Cast
- Yang Dong-geunYang Dong-geunYang Dong-geun or YDG is a South Korean actor and hip-hop artist. Yang majored in Theatrical Performance at Yong-in University He began to do his compulsory two year military service in May 2008.- Television drama :- Film :- Theatre :...
as Choi Bae-dal (AKA Masutatsu Oyama), the main character who becomes a master of karate (based on the real life karateka Masutatsu OyamaMasutatsu Oyama, more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a karate master who founded Kyokushinkai Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. He was born Choi Yeong-eui . A Zainichi Korean, he spent most of his life living in Japan and acquired Japanese citizenship in 1964...
). - Masaya KatoMasaya Katois a Japanese actor and seiyū from Nara in the Kansai region.-Biography:He is currently attached to Burning Production. He stands at 183 centimeters...
as Kato, the head of the Japanese Karate Association and, due to his xenophobia, enemy of Bae-dal. - Aya HirayamaAya Hirayamais a Japanese actress who has appeared in various films including Waterboys , as well as appearing in two television programs in her native Japan, Waratte Iitomo and Itsumo futari de. Aya was born in Kuroiso, Tochigi, Japan which is now part of Nasushiobara...
as Yoko, a young Japanese woman who is rescued by Bae-dal and falls for him. - Jeong Tae-woo as Chun-bae, Bae-dal's friend, something of a scoundrel but a loyal friend.
- Jung Doo-hong as Bum-soo, a martial arts master from Bae-dal's home town who becomes a mentor to him.
DVD releases
Cinema Epoch (America)- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (1:78:1) anamorphic
- Sound: Korean (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
- Subtitles: English
- Supplements: "Action Diary of a Martial Arts Director" featurette, Director & cast interviews, Behind the scenes featurette, Music video, Trailer, Stills gallery
- Region 1, NTSC