Way more than what you bargained for!

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2004)

Like many here, I have seen many war movies. I grew up with them as my dad is a fan of WWII movies... And till now, Saving Private Ryan was one of the top war movie... It depicted the gruesome aspect of the war... however, that movie lacked one key aspect that this Korean movie was able to capture so well...
That aspect is the pure horror and evil effect it has on people. The older brother is the central figure in this as he changes 180 degrees in who he is as his originally sound reason to send his younger brother back becomes a nightmare and changes him into a devil.
The movie captures the essential element of any war: the horror of it. Saving Private Ryan tried to capture the heroic efforts of the people... this Korean movie tried to capture the evil of the war. Being able to understand Korean fully helps a lot to capture the essence of the movie... and also having known previously the history of the Korean War.
So I would say that I come out on top of the most of the reviewers here in terms of background... but come out the same in how we are all affected by the movie. Sure it tries to be Hollywood-ish but it is far more than that... so much more that it made me write my very first movie review for IMDb!
Just note and keep in mind that this movie is NOT for the faint at heart... and I don't just mean the picture aspect, but rather what it draws inside of you.