VIFF 2012 review: Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time

To its eternal credit, South Korea has made quite a few movies about the less savoury moments of its recent past, but these exposés have usually been quite solemn affairs. That cannot be said of this high-spirited social farce. Corrupt customs officials, crooked businessmen, ruthless prosecutors, and gangsters with rock star egos are shown scheming, scamming, and conniving from dusk till dawn. They also punch each other in the head with the mindless innocence of the Three Stooges. An odd combination, to be sure, but it works.