Brutal and unflinching portrayal of a nation at war

Rating: 6/10 (20 September 2005)

The easiest way to sum up Taegukgi is the rather lazy tag of "The Korean answer to Saving Private Ryan." It certainly delivers the same epic feel as the Spielberg movie, showing us several years of raw human combat condensed into two and a half hours running time, with plenty of bloody battles filmed with cameras that shake with each artillery detonation. Rather unfortunately though, it also comes with some over-the-top melodrama as well which seems geared to tugging the viewer's heart strings, but instead comes across as rather clichéd and funny, which somewhat spoils the mood.
Take for example the early scenes of the film. Brothers Seouk and Tae living carefree lives and running happily on the streets together. Seouk is close to finishing school, whereas Tae runs a shoeshine business and is on the verge of getting married, while their mother runs a noodle stand where business is just picking up. All the while, there is upbeat, 'triumph of the human spirit' style music playing in the background and everyone has smiles plastered on their faces. At one point they even remark how happy they are, their idyllic lives being so overplayed you half expect somebody to say: "Gee, wouldn't it be bad if a big war suddenly came along and ruined everything?" Later in the running time, Seouk sits in a war hospital a changed man. He has seen his brother driven to the point of insanity by war and his friends dying around him. He is scarred and haunted by what he has seen and his thoughts instantly return to his earlier life, the family scenes from earlier playing in a montage over more highly-strung, sentimental music. The effect is meant to be poignant, instead, it is utterly hilarious.
Thankfully though, the film still has much to commend it. For one thing, the director is in no way driven by the same patriotic grandeur that guides many a Hollywood war. In place of triumphant flag waving, we see atrocities committed by both sides. In fact if anything, the ones who come across as worse here are the South Korean army, despite the fact they are the main focus and it's hard not to forget the scenes of young boys being forced into action and the secret police wiping out their own civilians.
What's more, when not hampered by the overwrought melodrama, the relationship between the two brothers is handled very well. Tae's decision to take on as many suicide missions as possible in return for Seouk being sent home results in a friction between the two that escalates over time. This is portrayed in an admirable fashion by the two lead actors, both of whom provide terrific performances.
Backing this up is a series of spectacular battle scenes. One rather dodgy looking CGI plane aside, the overall result is a startlingly realistic portrayal of combat. Explosions rock the land, dirt and body parts fly in all directions and there are numerous hand to hand battles which could stand alongside Private Ryan's opening beach landing in terms of brutality. War has never looked so horrific.
As a conclusion then, Taegukgi is a film of two halves. Two fantastic lead performances and some stunning battle scenes certainly leave an indelible impression on your mind and the film has much to commend it. If you can look past the fact that it sometimes feels like a catalogue of war movie clichés, you will find a highly enjoyable vision of a conflict that has gone largely unnoticed in cinematic history.