The Secret of Jina Street is weirdly intense silent drama

If you are into film history or just like seeing how people used to act when they couldn't talk, The Secret of Jina Street is worth a look today. It is definitely for the crowd that doesn't mind grainy footage and a bit of over-acting. 🎥

Most people will probably hate it because it is slow in that specific silent-movie way. If you need explosions that aren't just a puff of smoke, move on.

The whole thing is about this guy who is supposed to be a daredevil. In 1926, being a daredevil apparently meant wearing a hat and looking very determined while walking quickly.

He is trying to save a girl from a village of prostitutes in Manchuria. It sounds way grittier than it actually looks on screen, mostly because everyone is so polite between the tragic bits.

There is this one scene where the hero, played by Hun Park, just stares at a door for what feels like three minutes. You can see him thinking, but the movie really wants you to know he is thinking hard. 🤨

The girl, Wolhwa Lee, has these eyes that just sort of take over the whole frame. She does this thing where she looks slightly past the camera, and it makes the whole 'damsel in distress' thing feel a bit more real.

I noticed the sets look incredibly flimsy. Like, if the daredevil leaned too hard on a wall, the whole of Jina Street might have just fallen over right then and there.

It reminds me a bit of the dusty, desperate vibes in The Tents of Allah, but with more family drama. Or maybe even the dark undertones of In the Power of Opium, though this one is less about drugs and more about just being stuck in a bad place.

There is a lot of walking through dust. I swear, half the budget must have been for kicking up dirt to make Manchuria look extra lonely.

The villain has this mustache that is just... it is too much. He twirls it once, and you just know he’s the bad guy, no subtitles needed. 🥸

I found myself wondering about the extras in the background. Some of them look like they are just locals who were told to stand there and look 'village-y', and they are doing a great job of looking confused.

The action is funny because it is so staged. When the daredevil finally 'fights', it looks more like a very aggressive hug that ended poorly for the other guy.

It is not nearly as strange as The Sky Plumber, thank god. That one was a trip.

The movie gets way better when it stops trying to be an adventure and just lets the melodrama hit. The sadness feels heavy, even if the film quality is light and scratchy.

I liked the way the light hit the dusty streets in the outdoor shots. It feels very authentic, or at least what I imagine 1920s Manchuria felt like to a Korean film crew.

Sometimes the editing is just... jarring. One second they are in a room, the next they are halfway down the street with no explanation. 🏃‍♂️

It's like the editor just decided some parts weren't important and took a pair of scissors to them. I respect that, honestly.

You can tell they were trying to make something big. Even if it feels small now, the ambition is all over the screen.

Is it a masterpiece? Probably not. But it’s a weirdly personal window into a time that’s totally gone now.

If you have an hour and you want to feel a bit melancholy, give it a go. Just don't expect the daredevil to do any backflips. 🧥