A story well told

Rating: 9/10 (22 February 2004)

It is not often that the chance comes by to watch a remarkable film, however, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to watch a screening of this film in Seoul with English subtitles.
Overall, the movie is an experience well worth seeing, not only for its portrayal of conflict on the Korean peninsular during the time (1950's), but also for the relationship that develops between the two main brothers.
There are, of course, some distractions from this great film - one of them, the overly "shaky" camera movements, particularly during action scenes. Another, the under-developed English subtitles. I sincerely hope that the English scripting will be improved if this film gains international exposure. As a "foreigner", I felt a real lack of emotion and feeling from the subtitles. Quite rightly, Koreans will feel much more from this film than others, as they know too well the effect of North Korea on the South.
The only other piece of criticism I could provide would be that a couple of times when it really felt like a scene was developing nicely, it was cut and we ended up in a completely different scene. Perhaps there were good reasons for this, but I felt that some scenes needed just a little more time to develop fully.
Overall, however, an impressive film that is probably not one for the kids, considering the level of violence. Well worth seeing if you get the chance.