The new Korean action go movie “The Divine Move” (Dramatic Korean Go Movie Due Out in July 6/1 EJ) hits movie theaters across North America this Friday; click here for a trailer and local theater listings.

The movie has received warm reviews from Korean audiences, earning an 8.24 out of 10 rating on Korea’s search engine Naver.

When one thinks of the go community, violence and action are seldom the first thoughts that spring to mind. But Korean director Jo Beom-gu has painted go players in a new light in his action movie about a professional go player whose brother is murdered. Framed for the crime, he must spend time in jail. While there, he learns hand to hand combat and emerges tough as nails. After enlisting help from some unlikely candidates, he sets about getting his revenge, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. The film’s North American posters promise “War On The Board.”

It is not the first time that go has made it onto the big screen. But in Western movies, the scenes are often short or unrealistic. The Divine Move is different in that go is central to the theme of the movie and appears in many scenes. Several fights are decided over the board or with life and death problems, and each section of the movie is labelled according to the various phases of a game, opening, counting etc.

The film in US-Canada release is in Korean with English subtitles and opens in a second wave of theaters on August 1.

– Ben Gale, Korean Correspondent for the E-Journal.