"Tazza: The High Rollers." Writer-director Choi Dong-hoon, whose grifter dramedy "The Big Swindle" was an unheralded
gem two years ago, considerably ups the ante in his second feature, a long-limbed yarn centered on a bunch of ruthless professional
gamblers.
"Tazza" -- Korean slang for gamblers at the height of their powers -- is based on a popular comicbook and is both more
extreme in its characteriztion and populated by a larger cast. These "pros" are all people who coolly bet the bank (and their
lives) on the turn of a card.
Through-character is 20-something Go-ni (Jo Seung-woo, from Im Kwon-taek's "Low Life"), who loses all his savings in a
game of hwatu, steals his sister's alimony to try again and loses that as well. He spends six months trying to track
down the guy who cheated him, and in the process meets Pyeong Gyeong-jang (Baek Yun-shik), a self-styled "best gambler in
the land" who's now retired.
Pyeong recognises in Go-ni the right combo of desperation and ruthlessness, and accepts him as a pupil. He then takes him
to Busan to meet the famous Madam Jeong (Kim Hye-su, from "Red Shoes"), a cool-as-a-cucumber "Flower of Gambling" who strips
amateur punters of their cash without a second glance. After one look at Go-ni, Jeong decides to "make him mine" and within
minutes they're partners in more than business..
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