Brothers. At War. In Korea.

Rating: 7/10 (14 August 2005)

I have become so dismayed at the recent crop of Asian films that I have taken to going into them expecting to be disappointed. You can imagine my surprise, then, when this film; Brotherhood, actually turned out to be quite good! Despite an opening that massively rips off Saving Private Ryan, and more than it's fair share of clichés throughout the running time, the film is an emotional account of war that works more because of the relationship of it's characters than the plot itself. The film centres around the Korean war, which sets it apart from other war dramas almost immediately because there aren't many that focus on this particular war. The main theme of the movie is relationship between the two characters (hence the title). We have this central brotherhood, which is surrounded by the horrors of the Korean War. The way that the film plugs you into their plight is skilfully handled, and despite the fact that sometimes the film goes over the top a little with the sentiment; it's usually well meaning, and since the character actions are well explained, it's easy to care for them.
Despite, essentially, being a war film; the actual war takes a back seat to the 'brotherhood'. However, that doesn't stop director Je-gyu Kang from adequately showing the horrors of war. The action in the film is gritty and realistic, with some of the violent sequences actually managing to be out and out disturbing. Scenes that see prisoners of war brutally slaughtered stand out among the top of the disturbing sequences. The acting from the support cast is genuine and feels real, which helps to add to the overall realism of the picture. Of the two leads, Dong-Kun Jang stands out the most. He looks the part throughout his character ark, and his range of emotions impresses throughout the movie. Bin Won stars opposite him and gives a far more one-note performance. Of course, this could be blamed on the writing and the character; but he overacts every emotion and, at times, it brings the movie down a peg or two. Most war films profess the horrors of war, but this film only does that in an indirect way. Brotherhood is more about how war changes people than the actual 'horror' of it, and it's nice to see a different take. I wont close this review with any clichéd comments like "better than anything Hollywood have done, ever" or anything; but I will say that it's good.