Fighter in the Wind (2004)

How sad is this?

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie is utter Korean Propaganda from the very beginning until the end. I can understand it's a work of fiction but distorting the reality in this manner, filling it with anti-Japanese feelings and displaying Korean martial arts superiority over Japanese ones is just ridiculous and unpleasant.Masutatsu Oyama never learned any Korean martial art in his life, he spent his entire existence living and working in Japan, creating a new Karate style in Japan from other Japanese martial arts. Portraying him like a lonely Korean wanderer traveling the country beating up Japanese masters is silly since the respect and devotion that he always manifested for Budo and ancient martial traditions. For a period of his life he studied under a Korean master but that was again on Japanese soil and the martial art was Goju-ryu Karate.Another pathetic attempt from Korea to downplay their arch-rivals the Japanese. I believe that the fact that Oyama was born in Korea is indeed something to be proud of, but there are certainly other and more suitable ways to pay homage to his memory.

Let's start with one clear salient point. South Korean films are way better than most of us in North America believe. They are way better than Japanese films, way better (in terms of constraint) than Chinese films, and although lacking a Tony Jaa, also much much more professional than the Thai product. Yes most of the reviews of this film suggest that something is lacking...? They are correct. And I will tell you what is lacking. Excess. That is the key to this film. To appreciate this production -- which it begs you to do -- you need to remember that it is based on a real story. And not any real story, but a story of a man that Koreans view the same way a religious person might see a saint. This was a Korean who, after being humiliated by the Japanese, found some sort of inner strength he did not know he had, and then literally went off to Japan to beat the ^(^(^ out of every respected martial artist -- every one! -- until finally they acknowledged his superiority. (As a child I remember seeing pictures in books of Choi stopping a charging bull with one single strike -- you won't see THAT on Americas Got Talent!) Once you understand how important this story is to South Korea, you will understand why the glitz is missing. Not just a great film but a true story about one of the most amazing martial artists of all time. But restrained. See?

This is a typical Korean movie with full of anti-Japan sentiment and lies. Choi Bae-dal was so-called "chinilpa" (pro-Japanese traitor), who loved Japanese martial arts and got Japanese name and nationality. He practiced Shotokan-karate and Gojyu-Ru karate, not Korean martial arts or Tekkyon.Because Koreans don't like to admit that they learned many Japanese cultures during the colonial period, they have distorted the history as if the origin of all Japanese cultures was in Korea. Korea's Taekwondo association has made similar distortion and hided the truth that karate was the origin of Korea's national martial arts.When Choi Bae-dal was alive, he pretended to be Japanese. He never used his Korean name "Choi Bae-dal" in Japan and wrote some books in which he described himself as if he was patriotic Japanese. However, because he made a success in Japan, Koreans have created the image of nationalistic anti-Japan hero of him in comic and movie.This movie must be feel –good victorious story for Koreans. Anti-Japan movies in which Koreans defeat Japanese occupy one of the major categories in Korean movies. The producer says it is based on true story. Yes. Choi Bae-dal existed and he founded Kyokushin-karate. It is true. But the other story is just a fantasy. Nothing more.

yeah I love this movie first for its great and powerful acting by the main actor playing Choi, and as well it makes me think that Choi is a real person and everything you see in that movie is all true and actually happened around WW2. The Story is very serious, and isn't like most martial arts movies mainly because its based on a true story, which gives it its serious feel. the fighting scenes in it are so different from other martial arts movies which i find good in this movie, i think if you're karate practitioner like me, u'll get a better understanding of the different fight system in this movie as some people didn't favour it because they looked at the movie as an actually fictional martial arts story, wen its actually based on a real man and real events, a man who could eliminate him opponent in one punch and karate chop a bulls horn off. The actual man (Choi Baedel) or as his Japanese name which is Masutastu Oyama, Went through hard intense training on a mountain away from the public, all by himself for 4 years, but only stayed there for 18 months, going back to the public he fought the worlds greatest fighters some only defeating them in one single punch after there was no human opponent who could match up to his amazing fighting power, he started fighting bulls mainly defeating them by karate chopping the bulls horns, if I can remember Masutatsu Oyama fought 55 bulls in his life time, killing 11 of them and knocking the rest out. Because of his powerful karate chop/strike he was named the "God Hand" as well as the USA called him "The most toughest man in the word" This movie portrays his first part of success as the worlds toughest fighter greatest martial artist ever lived. I Say read about this man first then watch the movie to give You more more of an idea of what he has been through.