You Probably Missed This Amazing Netflix Western Series

Netflix is probably not the king of Westerns, however the streamer is actually a fan of frontier storytelling. Apart from hosting popular entries in the genre like 2021’s The Power of the Dog and all six seasons of Longmire, the platform has demonstrated an curiosity within the Old West’s biggest names with more moderen sequence like Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War and its world distribution of Wynonna Earp. These extra modern takes on the basic cinematic class push the bounds of Western drama and representation. But their flip within the highlight can even simply overshadow a few of Netflix’s most underrated Western narratives. And out of all these unsung sequence, there’s one exemplary journey to the West that you just actually do not wish to miss–the 2023 Korean motion drama Song of the Bandits.

Co-created by Han Jung-hoon and Hwang Jun-hyuk and set in Japanese-occupied Korea at first of the 20 th century, Track of the Bandits is a novel entry into the Western canon that trades a basic Western locale for the lawless Gando area, a disputed border territory in present-day Northeastern China the place bandits, suppressed locals–known as Joseons after the Joseon Dynasty which Japan overthrew–and Japan’s brutal colonial authorities conflict in a seemingly endless series of disputes. With relentless motion, compelling drama, and fast-paced storytelling packed into its 9 episodes, the Netflix sequence delivers a story highly effective sufficient to encourage Song of the Bandits‘ most critical viewers, although the present finally did not garner a broad following upon launch. Nonetheless, with a proficient solid and vital themes, the sequence is a hidden gem of historic warfare and epic Western storytelling, making it greater than deserving of a re-assessment from followers of each.

What Is Netflix’s ‘Track of the Bandits’ About?

Picture through Netflix

The sequence facilities on Kim Nam-gil’s Lee Yoon, a former Korean slave who joined the Japanese army together with his former grasp, Lee Gwang-il (Lee Hyun-wook), as the country’s colonial occupation began. Haunted by the atrocities he dedicated in opposition to Korean Independence fighters throughout his service, Lee Yoon departs from his present station in Episode 1 to journey north to Gando, the place he hopes to give up his life to former Independence Common Choi Choong-soo (Yoo Jae-myung) as recompense for his crimes. As an alternative, the pair’s bitter reunion is quickly interrupted when bandits assault the final’s village, resulting in Lee Yoon single-handedly attacking the bandits’ headquarters to rescue a lady taken in the course of the raid. At this level, the sequence comes into its title, as Choi Choong-soo suggests Lee Yoon can make amends for his mistakes by defending the Joseon individuals as a substitute of dying for his sins.

This suggestion leads the 2 males to kind their very own firm of bandits in Episode 2, leading to an homage to Western team-ups like The Magnificent Seven as they collect a band of determined outlaws to guard Choi Choong-soo’s village and make the most of guerrilla techniques in opposition to the Japanese. After Lee Yoon’s group efficiently wipes out a complete Japanese garrison, the scope of their battle solely broadens because the sequence’ main bandits vie with the remnants of Korea’s Independence Military, fellow outlaws, and the Japanese for management of railroad funds which are essential to survival in Track of the Bandits’ essential narrative arc. Furthermore, issues are difficult additional when Gwang-il, who goes by the title Main Miura Shohei within the military, is dispatched to guard the cash, resulting in an exhilarating conflict between each males’s conflicting cultures and classes.

‘Track of the Bandits’ Mixes Thrilling Motion Sequences With Okay-Drama Politics for an Exhilarating Western Expertise

Nevertheless, what actually stands out within the Netflix sequence is how Jung-hoon and Jun-hyuk take advantage of traditional Western aesthetics to raise their narrative. Whereas Track of the Bandits’ politics and geography could really feel unfamiliar to followers of conventional American Westerns, the sequence’ most exhilarating sequences unfold when the present blends recognizable Western tropes with the backstabbing intrigue of the arid Gando panorama. Lee Yoon’s gunfight on the finish of Episode 1 is an particularly brutal combat scene with all of the one-sided, unflinching bitterness of Unforgiven, whereas Episode 4’s assault on an armored van mixes Track of the Bandits’ sensible results with the urgency of its political narrative. Likewise, Lee Yoon’s duel with Gwang-il in Episode 9 highlights the protagonist’s prowess in a basic desert standoff, showcasing the bandit’s fast draw like Val Kilmer in Tombstone to solidify Track of the Bandits’ place amongst the most thrilling entries in the genre.

Apart from violence, the sequence additionally faithfully portrays the independence and braveness of Westerns’ archetypal heroines, with Seohyun’s Nam Hee-shin and Lee Ho-jung’s Eon-Nyeon proving particularly compelling because the combat for the Japanese funds unfolds. As an murderer initially employed by Gwang-il to kill Lee Yoon, Eon-Nyeon’s subsequent acceptance of Lee Yoon and Choi Choong-soo as her chosen household offers a hard-won redemption arc to Gando’s cutthroat panorama, whereas Nam Hee-shin shines as a former Joseon noble trying to assist Korea’s Independence Military from inside the Japanese authorities. When Lee Yoon acknowledges Hee-shin as the girl he cherished whereas nonetheless a Japanese officer himself, the 2 develop nearer and ultimately ship the funds to the Independence motion collectively, but the pair’s relationship is difficult by the truth that Hee-shin can also be engaged to Gwang-il. This entanglement creates a basic love triangle that balances the romantic politics of a riveting K-drama with Track of the Bandits’ far more lethal historic backdrop.

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The political and cultural struggles depicted all through Track of the Bandits are, unquestionably, probably the most transferring points of the sequence, and Yoo Jae-myung, particularly, gives a heartbreaking efficiency because the worn veteran determined to see his Joseon individuals freed. Choi Choong-soo’s apology to Eon-Nyeon initially of Episode 6 encapsulates the solemn grief felt by Joseon survivors, because the once-invincible Common confesses his era ought to by no means have left their kids with such a ruined state, however Track of the Bandits additionally goes to nice lengths to show the cruelty of Japan’s occupying military. Though the principle occasions of the sequence are solely loosely based mostly on Korea’s March First Movement of 1919, the sequence nonetheless would not draw back from depicting the price of imperialism on the perpetually victimized Joseon individuals.

The sequence’ recollection of the Gurye Incident, the second from Lee Yoon’s previous that resulted within the destruction of Choi Choong-soo’s village and the slaughter of his household, is especially horrific, as are the abstract executions of alleged freedom fighters carried out by the Japanese consulate in Gando often. But, as horrific as these war crimes and Gwang-il’s slaughter of civilians in Episode 5 are, Track of the Bandits additionally promotes a deeper message about social unity. Between Joseon bandits handing over Independence fighters to the Japanese for rewards and each Lee Yoon and Eon-Nyeon recounting how their dad and mom have been unjustly killed by their fellow Joseon, Track of the Bandits devotes equal time to describing how oppressed populations simply as typically activate each other, finally advocating for forgiveness when Eon-Nyeon refuses to punish Choi Choong-soo for the homicide of her dad and mom.

Simply as all sequence undergo from their very own distinctive shortcomings, Track of the Bandits is not excellent. Particularly, the present’s tone deviates from its darkish beginnings in favor of a slower, extra comedic environment in later episodes, and the love triangle between Lee Yoon, Hee-shin, and Gwang-il is not suitably resolved by the finale (probably in anticipation of a possible Season 2). But, with nonstop motion sequences whose ringing metal and clashing bayonets present the music of the sequence title, riveting gunfights, and chase scenes, and deep social commentary on what it means for a individuals to outlive colonial oppression, Track of the Bandits continues to be an outstanding tv outing that proves audiences need not flock to the most popular Westerns on streaming to get pleasure from among the style’s most original tales.