Korean War Drama

We’re going to take a brief pause in our rush to get caught up on theatrical releases that I’ve seen, so that I can talk about an absolutely amazing movie that I just watched on DVD. The name of the movie is Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War. It is a Korean film about two brothers during the Korean War. The movie was a huge critical and commercial success in Korea, winning Best Film and Best Director at the 50th Asia Pacific Film Festival, and with good reason – it is a fantastic war drama, and just all around a compelling and intense and exciting and touching movie. I’d like to quote the first line of the movie’s description from the back of the DVD box: “In the powerful tradition of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers comes this box-office hit from Korea.” Now it’s pretty easy to guess that the distributors of the movie simply listed these other films to try and get American audiences to check out the movie, but the comparison is absolutely spot on. Tae Guk Gi is easily of the same caliber as these movies. If you enjoy epic war films at all, you will love this movie. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I looked online to find the translation of the title (because I was curious), and discovered that Tae Guk Gi (or Taegukgi, one word) is the Korean name for the South Korean Flag. In one of the interviews with the director on the bonus features disk, he comments that when he came up with the title, everyone else on the production team was against it, and he had to slowly convince them that it was the right title. And I have to agree with him. The movie does a wonderful job of making you think about patriotism and country, and has you asking yourself just what would you be willing to do for your country. It also deals with issues of family, and how important family is, especially in such times as being at war.

Here’s the basic rundown of the movie – North Korea has just invaded South Korea, and two brothers are quickly drafted into the South Korean army, pulled away from their widowed mother and the older brother’s fiancée. The older brother, desperate to protect his younger brother any way that he can, finds out from their commander that if he can win the Medal of Honor, he can get his brother released from the army and sent home. So he goes out of his way to prove his merit – leading every charge, taking on every dangerous mission. The younger brother, naturally, hates to see his brother risking his life constantly, especially since he feels he can pull his own weight, and doesn’t want to go home unless his brother is going with him. I won’t go into any more details than this, since I don’t want to put any real spoilers into this write-up if I can help it. The story follows the two brothers through the war, and the viewer watches their changing feelings about the war, their country, and each other as they fight to survive to return to their family.

The film is written and directed by Je-gyu Kang, whose previous film Shiri I also have on DVD (and it is also a really enjoyable movie). He does a brilliant job here, keeping the movie fast-paced and the action scenes intense, while at the same time really drawing you into the brothers’ story. The ending is heart-wrenching, and had more than a few tears welling up in my eyes by the time the end credits rolled. For anyone who likes war films, or anyone who loves a compelling drama, this is a movie worth seeing. It is yet another example of why I love Asian cinema. There are just so many compelling, original films coming out of Korea and Japan and China these days, which is why Hollywood’s recent trend of remaking so many Asian movies should come as no surprise to anyone. The sad part, though, is that in most cases (as tends to be true with remakes in general, really) what you’re getting from Hollywood pales in comparison to the originals. Even the added hassle of reading the subtitles can’t diminish how wonderful a viewing experience Tae Guk Gi or any of the many other great films coming out of Asia is.

So I will conclude this review with this recommendation – if you’ve never checked out Asian cinema before, give it a try. You’ll be surprised at the great movies that you will discover. And Tae Guk Gi is a perfect place to start. Join me here next time when I push on with my theatrical reviews from December 2005, which of course brings us the holiday blockbusters Chronicles of Narnia and King Kong. Until then!!