Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- brooding
- mournful
- harrowing
- late night thriller viewing
- korean cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics generally found the film visually forceful and emotionally ambitious, but considered its familiar revenge-thriller plotting uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Gon’s accidental killing of an innocent girl overwhelms his professional detachment and drives his conflicted mission.
The film pairs a hit-man conspiracy plot with grief, regret, and bleakly atmospheric action.
Gon is assigned to kill Mogyeong while she remains unaware of the conspiracy surrounding her child’s death.
Gon’s attempt to confront the consequences of his mistake turns an assassination assignment into a search for atonement.
Films like No Tears for the Dead, and why
The Man from Nowhere
shared Korean action cinema, guilt-ridden assassin protagonist, stylized gun violence, and tragic emotional stakes
The Killer
shared contract-killer premise, brooding tone, revenge-driven crime plotting, and emotionally damaged protagonists
A Bittersweet Life
shared urban crime conspiracy, professional assassin protagonist, graphic action, and morally conflicted tone
The Yellow Sea
shared mournful neo-noir atmosphere, criminal underworld intrigue, and violence shaped by personal grief
Movie Details
- Director
- Lee Jeong-beom
- Release Date
- 2014-06-04
- Runtime
- 117 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (313)
Cast
- Jang Dong-gun
- Kim Min-hee
- Brian Tee
- Kim Min-jae
- Brian Kim
- Kim Hie-won
- Jeon Bae-soo
- Byun Yo-han
- Lee Young-ran
- Kang Ji-woo
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is No Tears for the Dead about?
- A guilt-haunted Korean hit-man must confront the human cost of his profession when ordered to eliminate the grieving mother of his accidental child victim.
- What is No Tears for the Dead like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of No Tears for the Dead as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is No Tears for the Dead violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in No Tears for the Dead as graphic.
- What did critics think of No Tears for the Dead?
- Critics generally found the film visually forceful and emotionally ambitious, but considered its familiar revenge-thriller plotting uneven.
- Which films are like No Tears for the Dead?
- Films with a similar feel include The Man from Nowhere, The Killer, A Bittersweet Life, and The Yellow Sea.
- How long is No Tears for the Dead?
- No Tears for the Dead runs 117 minutes.
- Where can I watch No Tears for the Dead?
- In United States, No Tears for the Dead streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
