It's not a forgotten war in Korea

Rating: 9/10 (2 December 2005)

This epic film about the Korean civil war of 1950-1953, despite some typical historical inaccuracies, is such a powerful portrayal of Korea's greatest modern tragedy that I feel almost unqualified to review it. Yet I shall try.
The protagonists in the film are characters named Lee Jin Tae and Lee Jin Seok, brothers who are recruited into the South Korean army in 1950 just after North Korea invades the south.
The film opens in modern day Korea, with a team of archaeologists digging up remains of troops killed in that horrible war from half a century earlier. Jin Seok is still alive as an old man, and he hopes for news that his brother's remains have been identified, so that he can properly mourn the loss of his brother. Yet there remains the possibility that his brother still lives, that he either defected to or was captured by the North Koreans and became inculcated into the odd sort of "communist" society that was created by that regime. Throughout the bulk of the movie, a two-hour flashback which highlights the horrors of various Korean war battles, Jin Tae and Jin Seok try to remain together and hopeful in the face of desperation, starvation, destruction and maddening violence. As the elder brother, Jin Tae is determined to earn a medal, whether or not it kills him, so that Jin Seok can go home. The preservation of the life of at least one son for every family is a central theme, not unlike that which centered "Saving Private Ryan."
This film, this "Tae Guk Gi" (translated as "Brotherhood of War") goes where no American film has yet dared, into the trenches and hills and valleys of a terribly gruesome war which the US would rather forget. But the war is not forgotten among Koreans, as this film deftly demonstrates.
The cinematography, the editing and the direction of "Tae Guk Gi" are superb. Location settings enliven the visual quality of the film. The editing, particularly during the battle scenes, is ingenious. Horrid images of war violence run rampant. In many scenes, such stomach-turning events as a soldier's face being blown off are presented. But the editing only allows the viewer to see such horrific gore for a fraction of a second. As a viewer, one does not see the beheaded body falling to the ground. These scenes are presented this way to allow viewers to see how the soldiers must have seen them. A soldier who is fighting may see a comrade get shot in the face, but he is not likely to approach the scene of the crime to dwell on it. He is more likely to move on, with the terrible images of such brutality left lingering at the edges of his mind, for he has his own life to defend and his own duty to attend. Only in retrospect can a soldier's mind recall such horrific scenes, and they are probably as sketchy and brief, however unsettling, as this film portrays.
"Tae Guk Gi" roars with frighteningly graphic and gruesome images of war violence, including scenes of civilian slaughter. A bomb exploding from inside a booby-trapped dead body is one of the films most disturbing scenes. It is not for the squeamish. While the US lost about 50,000 troops in its so-called "Forgotten War," millions of Koreans were killed in their brutal civil war. This film allows no one to forget that. And if the American audience of "Saving Private Ryan" can discover a sense of understanding about the incredible events of D-Day and the subsequent battles for Europe, the Korean audience of "Tae Guk Gi" can gain a sense of understanding about the realities of the terrible conflict which ended up defining their last two generations.
The film bursts with so many shocking moments of dialogue that it is nearly impossible to try to present any of it. I'll refer only to the scene when a soldier jumps up and announces, "We're all alike! We're all alike!" in a recognition of the lack of difference in the way both North and South Korean armies were treating prisoners and civilians. But the resonating phrase holds more than that. It speaks directly to the hope, held yet today, that the people of both nations are, indeed, alike enough to create one nation after all.
As for plot, Jin Tae finally earns a medal for his bravery during the South Korean battles against the Chinese in what is now North Korea. However, the prevailing suspicion of communists in the midst leads to an extremely tragic scene for Jin Tae, whose betrothed dies in his arms amidst scenes of thousands of falsely accused communists being shot down like unwanted pets.
Eventually, Jin Tae becomes lost to his brother and to the army, and he is suspected of defecting to the communists, bringing Jin Seok himself under suspicion. I will not reveal the payoff, in which it is finally revealed to Jin Seok precisely what happened to Jin Tae.
Brutal, horrific and realistic, this film was masterly crafted by writer/director Kang Je Gyu. Kudos go out to director of photography Hong Gyung Pyo and editor Park Gok Ji, without whose talents this film could have turned out to be a disaster. But it would be a greater disaster for anyone interested in quality film-making, especially films about war, and especially films about this so-called forgotten war, not to pay attention to this riveting, gritty, heart and gut wrenching film, written from the Korean perspective, about that country's most horrible modern tragedy.