If there’s a Korean director dealing with how comedy can affect any genre with the most unique of touches, that’s certainly Jang Jin. When he debuted, his theater roots showed probably a little too much in The Happenings. But as time went on, Jang redrew the map of North-South-divide dramas (The Spy), gangster films (Guns & Talks), thrillers (Murder, Take One), and particularly melodramas with the memorable Someone Special. After the monstrous success of Welcome to Dongmakgol, a film he produced and helped write, Jang is back to the directorial chair with his latest effort, Righteous Ties.

Chi Sung (Jang regular Jung Jae Young of Welcome To Dongmakgol) was a legendary gangster in Jeolla Province, but age and loyalty to the gang moved him to take one for the boys, and he spent years in prison taking the blame for things he never did. Once there, amongst a crowd of unusual inmates he finds old friend Soon Tal (Ryu Seung Yong of Murder, Take One), and the two reconnect broken ties. In the meantime Ju Joong (Jung Jun Ho of My Boss, My Teacher) rises the ranks in the gang and ends up threatening Chi Sung’s family. It’s time for revenge, as Chi Sung and Soon Tal plan an escape along with other inmates, to show Ju Joong what Righteous Ties really means.

Jang Jin describes the film as an “honam noir”, a Southwest Korean-style gangster drama as opposed to the Southeastern flavor of Kwak Kyung Taek’s Friend or Choi Ho’s Bloody Tie. Kinetic and hard-hitting, Righteous Ties features all of Jang’s regulars, like Jung Jae Young (who worked with him on all his films) and Jung Jun Ho, who’s starting to widen his range as an actor after years of comedies.