Taegukgi - The Brotherhood of war
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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Movie: Taegukgi - The Brotherhood of war
Year: 2004
Director: Je-Kyu Kong
Cast: Dong-Kun Gang, Bin Won, Eun-Ju Lee
IMDB rating: 8.1/10.0
Plot:
"You know that I want both of us to go home alive at the end of the war. But if it is going to be only one of us, I want it to be you."
This dialogue from the movie explains the plot very well than I can do in any way. Taegukgi - The Brotherhood of war, is yet another visualization of the war between the South and North Korea, but this time Je-Kyu Kong manages to paint an extravagant emotional drama of two brothers drafted into the war.
Story:
We see many Korean movies still focus on the Korean war because there was never adequate time for the people to process what transpired. A war, in every sense is deadly and Taegukgi, makes this point very well established with its viewers. A strong well knitted story line, sound technicalities, near to perfect portrayal of characters, most of all, the cast and crew who brought out the story alive before our eyes makes this movie a must watch.
Well, Taegukgi is the story of two brothers - an aspiring shoemaker[Jin-Tae] and his younger brother[Jin-Seok], a studios intellectual youth, etched on the backdrop of the deadly war fought by South and North Korea. Jin-Tae lives with his mother, younger brother and his fiance [Young-Shin]. Jin-Tae works hard in a shoe shine stand to help his younger brother with his studies and both of them were aspiring for a good future. They have a struggling life, yet they were a strong happy family. The first few scenes of the movie well establishes the kind of love that's flowing through the family, especially the strong bond between the brothers.
As you would expect, all hell broke loose in the name of the war between South and North Korea making the life of the common people endangered. Everybody flees to the refugee camps in the dreams of safety, whereas the government had other plans for young men. All the young men where drafted into the war, so as Jin-Tae and Jin-Seok.
The war is brutal, Jin-Seok escapes a near to death heart attack after seeing the brutality of the war. Jin-Tae makes it a point to protect his brother and send him back home even if it costs his own life. The army officer of the battalion assures to release Jin-Seok if Jin-Tae gets the medal of honor for his services in the battle field and this sets off the fire in Jin-Tae.
Jin-Tae volunteers himself for every risky mission and manages to pull them off efficiently. I think, on the course of the war he really gets fully involved and likes everything he does. But, still his motive was clear, he has to get the medal of honor and send his younger brother to home. The brutality of Jin-Tae was very new for Jin-Seok and he could not digest it even though deep down he realizes that his elder brother does all these things for him. He can't accept Jin-Tae risking his life for him, and moreover he is very much afraid of totally losing the innocent, lovable Jin-Tae he had known all these years. The brutality of the war takes its toll on Jin-Seok and his relationship with his brother was estranged.
Jin-Tae, finally manages to get the coveted medal of honor and along with that, Jin-Seok's release. But, all in vain. Their battalion reaches the bothers home town, Jin-Seok visits his family and the unexpected slew of events makes you realize that our life is a very thin thread which is very easy to cut off. Jin-Tae and Jin-Seok couldn't save the life of Young-Shin, she gets killed by her own people. Jin-Seok was arrested and sent for interrogation. Jin-Tae was taken to the new battalion officer in-charge. Chinese forces attack the city massively, and the officer orders the soldiers to set fire to the prison. Jin-Tae tries his best to save his brother, but he couldn't and later finds the reminds of his brother's stuffs in the prison. He believes that his brother was dead and kills the battalion officer with a stone. Brutal.
The next scene opens up with Jin-Seok in a medical rehabilitation center, ready to go home in a week. Mean while, the death of Young-Shin and the believed death of Jin-Seok had triggered Jin-Tae against his own nationals and he joins the North Korean army. Jin-Seok gets a letter written by his brother to his mother, he realizes how much his brother meant to him and his family. The next day he was given the news of his brother taking sides with the opposites and at that moment Jin-Seok realizes that Jin-Tae did that thinking his younger brother was dead. Jin-Seok goes back to the battle field to find out his brother and get him back.
After a lot of struggle he manages to see Jin-Tae only to see him totally out of his mind. Jin-Tae couldn't realize Jin-Seok, he fights him off thinking he's a south Korean and when he realizes Jin-Seok, he was already stabbed. He convinces his younger brother to leave him, promises him that he will be back and covers his back when Jin-Seok runs for his life and finally, Jin-Tae was thrown off into pieces by the staggering bullets of the Chinese army.
Jin-Tae: "You know that I want both of us to go home alive at the end of the war. But if it is going to be only one of us, I want it to be you."
Review:
The movie is technically really sound. The director has pulled off the war scenes very well, a near to perfect reality. The blood, bullets, bombs, dead bodies, mutated limbs, heads and what not. He has covered the brutality of both the South and North Koreans, the blood thirsty people and the plight of the commons. Easily one of the best war and combat films I've seen all these while.
Next best thing is the story and the screen play. You start with the movie as a spectator and you never know when you became a part of the story. There are several heart-aching, furious, agitated moments which you really feel inside you on the course of the movie.
Best part is the climax, though, right from the beginning you know that Jin-Tae is going to die, you just wish that he would walk out alive, the victory of the character.
The only nagging thing is the cinematography, the camera is all shaky. May be that's for the best, you don't get to see those gory scenes very clearly.
Verdict:
A must watch, but seriously not for the human beings with a week heart [you might weep during and after the movie].
Year: 2004
Director: Je-Kyu Kong
Cast: Dong-Kun Gang, Bin Won, Eun-Ju Lee
IMDB rating: 8.1/10.0
Plot:
"You know that I want both of us to go home alive at the end of the war. But if it is going to be only one of us, I want it to be you."
This dialogue from the movie explains the plot very well than I can do in any way. Taegukgi - The Brotherhood of war, is yet another visualization of the war between the South and North Korea, but this time Je-Kyu Kong manages to paint an extravagant emotional drama of two brothers drafted into the war.
Story:
We see many Korean movies still focus on the Korean war because there was never adequate time for the people to process what transpired. A war, in every sense is deadly and Taegukgi, makes this point very well established with its viewers. A strong well knitted story line, sound technicalities, near to perfect portrayal of characters, most of all, the cast and crew who brought out the story alive before our eyes makes this movie a must watch.
Well, Taegukgi is the story of two brothers - an aspiring shoemaker[Jin-Tae] and his younger brother[Jin-Seok], a studios intellectual youth, etched on the backdrop of the deadly war fought by South and North Korea. Jin-Tae lives with his mother, younger brother and his fiance [Young-Shin]. Jin-Tae works hard in a shoe shine stand to help his younger brother with his studies and both of them were aspiring for a good future. They have a struggling life, yet they were a strong happy family. The first few scenes of the movie well establishes the kind of love that's flowing through the family, especially the strong bond between the brothers.
As you would expect, all hell broke loose in the name of the war between South and North Korea making the life of the common people endangered. Everybody flees to the refugee camps in the dreams of safety, whereas the government had other plans for young men. All the young men where drafted into the war, so as Jin-Tae and Jin-Seok.
The war is brutal, Jin-Seok escapes a near to death heart attack after seeing the brutality of the war. Jin-Tae makes it a point to protect his brother and send him back home even if it costs his own life. The army officer of the battalion assures to release Jin-Seok if Jin-Tae gets the medal of honor for his services in the battle field and this sets off the fire in Jin-Tae.
Jin-Tae volunteers himself for every risky mission and manages to pull them off efficiently. I think, on the course of the war he really gets fully involved and likes everything he does. But, still his motive was clear, he has to get the medal of honor and send his younger brother to home. The brutality of Jin-Tae was very new for Jin-Seok and he could not digest it even though deep down he realizes that his elder brother does all these things for him. He can't accept Jin-Tae risking his life for him, and moreover he is very much afraid of totally losing the innocent, lovable Jin-Tae he had known all these years. The brutality of the war takes its toll on Jin-Seok and his relationship with his brother was estranged.
Jin-Tae, finally manages to get the coveted medal of honor and along with that, Jin-Seok's release. But, all in vain. Their battalion reaches the bothers home town, Jin-Seok visits his family and the unexpected slew of events makes you realize that our life is a very thin thread which is very easy to cut off. Jin-Tae and Jin-Seok couldn't save the life of Young-Shin, she gets killed by her own people. Jin-Seok was arrested and sent for interrogation. Jin-Tae was taken to the new battalion officer in-charge. Chinese forces attack the city massively, and the officer orders the soldiers to set fire to the prison. Jin-Tae tries his best to save his brother, but he couldn't and later finds the reminds of his brother's stuffs in the prison. He believes that his brother was dead and kills the battalion officer with a stone. Brutal.
The next scene opens up with Jin-Seok in a medical rehabilitation center, ready to go home in a week. Mean while, the death of Young-Shin and the believed death of Jin-Seok had triggered Jin-Tae against his own nationals and he joins the North Korean army. Jin-Seok gets a letter written by his brother to his mother, he realizes how much his brother meant to him and his family. The next day he was given the news of his brother taking sides with the opposites and at that moment Jin-Seok realizes that Jin-Tae did that thinking his younger brother was dead. Jin-Seok goes back to the battle field to find out his brother and get him back.
After a lot of struggle he manages to see Jin-Tae only to see him totally out of his mind. Jin-Tae couldn't realize Jin-Seok, he fights him off thinking he's a south Korean and when he realizes Jin-Seok, he was already stabbed. He convinces his younger brother to leave him, promises him that he will be back and covers his back when Jin-Seok runs for his life and finally, Jin-Tae was thrown off into pieces by the staggering bullets of the Chinese army.
Jin-Tae: "You know that I want both of us to go home alive at the end of the war. But if it is going to be only one of us, I want it to be you."
Review:
The movie is technically really sound. The director has pulled off the war scenes very well, a near to perfect reality. The blood, bullets, bombs, dead bodies, mutated limbs, heads and what not. He has covered the brutality of both the South and North Koreans, the blood thirsty people and the plight of the commons. Easily one of the best war and combat films I've seen all these while.
Next best thing is the story and the screen play. You start with the movie as a spectator and you never know when you became a part of the story. There are several heart-aching, furious, agitated moments which you really feel inside you on the course of the movie.
Best part is the climax, though, right from the beginning you know that Jin-Tae is going to die, you just wish that he would walk out alive, the victory of the character.
The only nagging thing is the cinematography, the camera is all shaky. May be that's for the best, you don't get to see those gory scenes very clearly.
Verdict:
A must watch, but seriously not for the human beings with a week heart [you might weep during and after the movie].
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