Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War

[Weak2ndAct]

Just caught this, the Korean war flick that smashed all box office records in S. Korea.  It's the story of two brothers who are quite abruptly drafted (read: kidnapped) into service.  The eldest is a strong, courageous shoemaker, the other an ill, shy student.  Thrown onto the front lines, they fight side-by-side, but when the elder takes on suicide missions and engages in reckless maneuvers in a desperate hope to get his brother released from service, a wedge forms between them...

While at first the story delves into the horrors of war and and a Rah-Rah chant for South Korea, the story takes an unexpected turn and shows how the good guys actually ain't that good either.  We see the people starving, the soldiers suffering (a scene w/ maggots almost made me barf), and worst of all-- alleged communists being flat-out executed.  And it's here where the brothers become finally divided.  

The simpleton take on this movie is that it's the Korean 'Saving Private Ryan,' you have the similar looking battle scenes, the melodrama, the horrors of war... but to say Taegukgi is just an inferior foreign redux is plain wrong.  Just on the surface, this movie looks like a 100 million dollar Hollywood epic.  The scale, the action, the cinematography-- all of it is impeccable and spectacular.  I'm still reeling from the fact this movie cost 12 million!  The scope lensing is gorgeous, and while 'Ryan' took great lengths to degrade the image, everything is seen crystal clear here, which adds an even greater sense of horror to the proceedings.

I'm sure some will roll their eyes ar a couple of the plot turns (others I've talked to seem to be fiercely divided on whether the drama is cheezy or highly effectitive), but I was constantly wrapped up in every facet of this story.  The performances of both brothers are excellent, and watch out for a cameo from Choi Min-Sik (Oh Daesu, from 'Old Boy') as a North Korean Captain.  Well-made in every respect-- entertaining, fascinating, and exciting, this is one of the best films of the year.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

PS: I'm consistently impressed with the care that Asian companies put in packaging their dvds.  The boxes and discs are often works of art by themselves.

[cine]

Weak needs his own Asian Forum.

[modage]

yeah i feel bad i havent seen any of this stuff so i dont have much i can say about it.  most of it isnt even region 1 so i couldnt rent it if i wanted to.  

[Weak2ndAct]

Weak needs his own Asian Forum.

I was actually thinking of starting like a separate thread or something, so I could throw relevant dvd news and stuff as well.  I mean, God, today I just saw Miike's 'Graveyard of Honor' and 'House of Flying Daggers'... it would be easier to just chuck everything in one spot.  But I suspect I would end up talking to myself...

yeah i feel bad i havent seen any of this stuff so i dont have much i can say about it.  most of it isnt even region 1 so i couldnt rent it if i wanted to.  

Get a Cyberhome player for 60 bucks and the world is yours.  There's a hack-code you put in and you're set.  Aside from the Asian stuff, there's lots of good stuff from Region 2 to snag (I'm just starting to dip into British TV stuff).