Mismatched Nose (Jjagko) (1980)
 Director : Im Kwon-Taek
Production Company : Sam Young Films Co., Ltd
Running Time : 110 min.
Genre : Anti-communism
Staff :
Writer : Kim Jung-Hee
Screenplay(Adaptation) : Song Kil-Han
Producer : Kang Dae-Jin
Executive Producer : Moon Hyeon-Wuk, Song Kil-Han
Director of PhotoGraphy : Koo Jung-Mo
Gaffer : Cho Ki-Nam
Music : Kim Young-Dong
Art Director : Kim Seong-Bae
Editor : Kim Hee-Su
Sound/Recording : Lee Young-Kil
Cast(Actor/Actress) :
Kim Hee-Ra, Choi Yun-Seok, Bang Hee, Kim Jeong-Ran, Park Ae-Na
Synopsis
Combat policeman Song Ki-yol (Choi Yun-seok) accidentally loses Baek Kong-san (Kim Hee-ra), a notorious Communist guerilla nicknamed "Chakko" for his lopsided nose, while transporting him. As a result, Song is kicked off the police force and driven down the path to ruin. Determined to avenge himself and clear his name, Song devotes the next 30 years of his life to tracking down Chakko. After their decades-long hide-and-seek, Song and Chakko meet as two homeless vagabonds at a rehabilitation center near Seoul. Both men come to face imminent death due to disease, and Song resolves to take Chakko to his hometown in order to clear his name before it is too late. After escaping from the center, Song and Chakko battle it out in the streets. The young policemen who gather round are puzzled by the bizarre fight between two hopelessly geriatric men. They are unable to understand Song's explanation that Chakko is an escaped North Korean guerilla, and merely stand watching. Despondent, Song takes Chakko and boards a train to his hometown. In the train, Chakko looks back on his life with regret and, leaning against Song, draws his last breath.
Notes
 A sudden masterpiece born in the spring of 1980
Mismatched Nose marks the directorial debut of Im Kwon-taek. In it, he tackles head-on the chapter in modern Korean history that is interwoven with his personal history as the son of a North Korean guerilla fighter. The movie presents through flashbacks the three decades spent in flight and pursuit by Chakko, a guerilla soldier who escapes from custody during transportation, and Song Ki-yol, who lets him slip through his fingers and is ruined as a result. Im shows astonishing directorial skill in fine-tuning nearly 10 flashback sequences, containing the separate lives and memories of his two main characters, into a single harmonious narrative. Most of all, the film deserves our attention for the fact that it depicts a Communist guerilla with such a warm hand a rare quality among its cinematic contemporaries. Ironically, Mismatched Nose even received the award for best anti-Communist film. Song and Chakko, two mortal enemies who have pursued and been pursued by each other through the years, come to understand each other in the twilight of their lives. The movie's final scene, in which Chakko dies while leaning against his lifelong pursuer, poignantly conveys Im Kwon-taek's message of reconciliation in the name of common humanity and nationality.
Director Bio: Im Kwon-taek (1936- )
He began his filmmaking career as prop assistant to the lighting assistant, going through the traditional apprenticeship system of Chungmuro to become a film director. And in 1962, he made his directorial debut with Farewell Tumen River(Dumangang-a Jal Itgeora), an action film that deals with the plight of the Independence Army of Manchuria. He made Weeds(Jabcho), Mismatched Nose (Jjagko), and The Family Pedigree (Jogbo) during the 1970s and with his movies of the 1980s, Kilsodeum(Gilsotteum), Ticket (Tiket), Surrogate Mother (Ssibat-i) and Mandara (Mandala), gradually became recognized for his artistry and craftsmanship. He met Lee Tae-won and began working with Taeheung Film Studios starting with his 1989 film Aje Aje Bara Aje (Aje Aje Bara Aje) and continued to work consistently with the studio from then on. He achieved box office success with his The General's Son (Janggun-ui adeul) series and became a nationally recognized figure with the then unparalleled box office success of Sopyonje(Seopyeonje). He won many national and international awards for his works that dealt with traditional Korean themes and motives and many retrospectives of his works were held abroad. In 2002, he won the prize for best director at the Cannes Film Festival with his work, Chihwaseon(Chihwaseon) and in 2005, won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Berlin Film Festival for his lifetime effort in film
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