The Tiger (2016)

The greatest movie ever made..!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

South Korea's answer to 'The Ghost and the Darkness'. Visually stunning, action-packed, suspenseful, intense and emotional, 'The Tiger' is one of the best films I've seen!! This was beyond awesome! The film has an incredible amount of emotion on both the human and animal side. Great constant foreboding atmosphere. This is a truly remarkable film!

If you like mystical tales and spiritual slants on everyday life then set yourself up to enjoy this gem of gems for you are in for a treat. Its a story that takes place on the edge of life with people trying to make a living and getting by but then again, so is nature and animals too. What happens when those three all come together to share, explore and respect each other and if asked, to give all that they have for the other? What then? This movie captures that theme and takes us to places that are extra-ordinary and worthy to explore. Humility, simplicity and appreciation is what the lead actor communicates to us via living his humble life and being content in it. In a far away place, where survival of the fittest is mandatory, without a discipline and moderation for yourself and others make it less than what it is or can be. This movie teaches us to live and let live in the fullest meaning and sense of the words. Much going on here that is beyond words so let yourself go and let this movie do its work and serve you not just entertainment but a slice of quality time with a bonus thrown in; A nice reflection sort of an afterglow when the movie ends. I am speaking literally and figuratively too. Tear-jerker in more than one place so do not hold back the tears but instead let them out. The music compliments the deeper points and the elements in this movie while fierce can be lived with for a short time until they claim us all. This movie is a good reminder to appreciate and respect the moment and circumstances one is in and realize others are about that too. I like to munch while watching. This movie is worthy of a nice snack, a tasty drink, finger foods and just about anything that brings you pleasure. Haunting the movie Tiger is.......

There are some spoilers in this review, readers beware.The movie itself was very good. Slow, but good. However the story was taken from a true story along the Russian-Chinese border (Not Japanese/Korean occupation). A documentary (Last Roar of the Tiger) from 2006 was made about the true story of a hunter who has an understanding with a large Siberian tiger that he shares the woods with. While he was out on a hunt, he made the mistake of stealing the tiger's kill (a wild boar coincidentally). Also, a female tiger was killed. It was not indicated that it was the man eater's mate, but was the mother of two tiger cubs whom died of starvation after their mother was killed (they weren't killed by men like in the movie). The Tiger tracked the man back to his cabin in the woods (the cabin even looks just like the one in the movie). The tiger stalks the man throughout the night, and killed the man's dog and destroyed his property as a gesture of challenge, like in the movie. The man then traveled to another well-known hunter's cabin, who refused to help him because he believed he was "cursed" as many of the people believed the tiger was a God, again, just like the movie. The Tiger was a man eater, of Legend in the village who had killed before and was revered as a massive beast. There are also elements like a vengeful man (like the scarred man in the movie) who would not rest until the tiger was dead for killing his friend. Several people were targeted in the documentary and killed both as bystanders and hunters. Authorities were called in, although there weren't dozens of them all slaughtered like in the movie. And in the end, the tiger and the man faced off, although the end result is different. There are many other elements that are similar, alongside obvious embellishments, that run throughout the movie. It is not exactly the same obviously, but if you watch the documentary it is clear that they took this original story and changed it around to fit the big screen, almost like a "based on a true story" movie. However, I researched and found no mention of the two stories coinciding (correct me if I'm wrong here). The reason for 1 star, is because many people actually died in the real story, and to take that story, butcher it, and make it into a money-making endeavor about an entirely different country's made up legend, is disgusting. It is disrespectful to the people who actually lost their lives, and to the impoverished villagers who received no recognition or money for their stolen legend. They still struggle to this day, and in one of the last tiger havens in the world, they are down to very few left. If there is information that shows these two stories had some collusion between the people/producers, I am happy to change my review, but I have found none.

I was entertained. I will stop watching 10 minutes into a movie if I feel it is too boring, cheesy, etc. and I made it to the end of the movie. My wife, who normally hates Asian films, got interested halfway through and had to watch it to the end. My 8 year old granddaughter started watching, unbeknownst to us, and started crying when a significant character was killed. Don't let your young kids watch this film; it's violent and gory in some spots.The scenery was nice, the hunting scenes were riveting, and I like the story the was slowly revealed about the old hunter and the tiger, especially at the end. I think the movie was a little too long and slow; not enough to make me stop watching but enough to sometimes fast forward to the next scene.This is a fantasy film with CGI animals. I feel that the CGI was good in most places but sometimes the animals' movements were obviously unreal. However, I feel the same way about some of the action scenes in the recent Marvel movies. If you like the Marvel movies combat scenes then just think of the tiger and other animals as a Marvel superhero and the anonymous CGI bad guys, and you'll be fine.The movie has a cast of interesting characters. I personally did not like the main character, the old hunter. I could not sympathize and I felt that he brought all his misery on himself. I did, however, relate to the old hunter's son. And my favorite characters were the Mountain Lord tiger, the younger scarred hunter who led the hunting hunting band, and the scarred hunter's buddy/sidekick. My suggestion is that if you don't care about the old hunter, which I didn't, there are other characters who are worthy of attention.