A new film from Korea, The Old Woman with the Knife, offers a different perspective on the story of an assassin. It opens with a young girl running scared in the snow, then to her eating food in a family restaurant with the owners. She is offered room and board in exchange for work. A while later, the man who owns the restaurant comes home from being away, and when she asks where he has been, he tells her, “pest control”. Later that night, a soldier comes in and assaults her; she kills him in self-defense. When the owner returns the next morning, he tells her she killed a bug. The film then comes forward some 50-odd years, where the woman now known as Godmother (Lee Hye-yeong) is coming to terms with aging while working in a business where few live long enough to reach old age. The film uses moments of her life coming back as memories to tell how she trained to be an assassin and what continues to drive her forward.
Three subplots are running through the film as well, and two of them are a bit murky till the end, with a rush to clear them up. The story of what happens to her mentor and the character Ryu (Kim Mu-yeol) could have had some portions removed. That would have allowed for more time to develop the story of Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheol). Thus, making him a stronger adversary, and it wouldn’t have left as many open questions in my head. The third subplot involving Dr. Kang (Yeon Woo-jin) was well done and allowed for a more human connection to Godmother. This is my only criticism of the film. It did not take away from my enjoyment of it.
The film’s pacing is good, and I did not check my watch. At the same time, it is a slower-paced action film. There is more story being told than fight scene after fight scene, with little to no dialogue in between. There are a few full-on action fight scenes, and I like the creative choices with how she fights. This gives us a wise, quick-thinking leading lady who is also aware of what is around her and will use it to her advantage.
The cast’s movements outside of the fight scenes are strong as well. Hye-yeong portrays an older woman who blends into a crowd and later completes her run upstairs like someone in their twenties. It’s never clear what she really can do, most likely more than we are allowed to see. Mu-yeol with an injury from childhood, yet never showing any physical weakness. Sung-cheol’s mental stability is questionable, from the glint in his eye and maniacal smile to the speed at which he moves, changing between fast and normal.
If you have an opportunity to see this in a theater for a midday escape, do so.
Director: Kyu-dong Min
Cast: Lee Hye-yeong, Kim Sung-cheol, Kim Mu-yeol, Yeon Woo-jin
Language: Korean with English Subtitles
Selig Rating: 4 stars
Runtime: 2h
Release Date: May 16, 2025
Genre(s): Action, Crime, Thriller
Trailer: The Old Woman with the Knife trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.