DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood Of War (RECOMMENDED) (1 Viewer)

[Anthony Wolfe]

Well, first off, it's about the Korean conflict which has always interested me but is largely untouched in the realm of 'big budget' movie making. It's much like The Pacific Theater of WWII (Which BoB2 aka The Pacific Theater) will soon fix.

Great review BTW, I've heard quite a bit about what South Korea is doing on the filmmaking circuit. Tae Guk Gi, Silmido, OldBoy, and 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And Spring' just to name a few. I'm looking forward to more releases from that region of the world as I'm sure most of you are.

Once again, Kudos on the great review.

 

[Robert Wainwright]

I have been corrected by the wife, Robert Sohn is absolutely correct about the flag name.

Watched the movie, another great film from South Korea. Not that Saving Prvt Ryan wasn't emotional, this movie is just a gut punch. The end with Jin-tae trying to kill his brother...Whew!


I'm still debating on getting it for my in-laws. As they experienced this first hand, I'm afraid it might be too much for them.

Robert, just curious...Did you happen to watch the movie with English subtitles (assuming that you speak Korean)? My wife laughed just a few times when they didn't match. One spot, the actual track was more profane then the subtitles.

 

[Robert Sohn]

I haven't gotten the film yet so I don't know if the subtitles will track with spoken Korean. I will order from Amazon after next paycheck. However, my Korean is not the best, but I can get the gist of most conversations, and I'm sure my wife will help me with the more difficult portions of the script. I can follow some Korean videos that my wife rents without the subtitles, but not all. Bob Sohn

 

[Jim-M]

I watched this movie yesterday (surprisingly BBV had 8-10 copies) and thought it was very good. It didn't have anywhere near the same impact on me as Saving Private Ryan did. While there are certainly similarities with SPR, there are also profound differences in the directions the characters take. The war basically overtakes the characters here, while in SPR Capt. Miller is trying to maintain his sense of decency that is his normal self, much like Richard Winters in Band of Brothers.

I find myself contrasting Tae Guk Gi to Windtalkers. Both try to show the relationship between two characters during constant battle scenes. Both Windtalkers and Tae Guk Gi seem to consist of many more battle scenes than SPR. Where Windtalkers takes an interesting concept and utterly fails, Tae Guk Gi succeeds tremendously in showing the progression of the brothers' relationship amidst the battles. They did a great job of showing a complex relationship with a limited number of interactions between fighting scenes.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Thanks for the kudos, guys!


Absolutely agreed! The film definitely assumes some knowledge of the war -- more than most Americans have. (Although that knowledge isn't necessary to enjoy the movie.) That's why I tried to give a bit of historical background in the review.

It's wonderful to get the Korean perspective on this war. I believe that pretty much all of the American films on the subject have focused on American participants.

 

[ChrisYK]

The two actors who played JinSeok and JinTae are two of the top actors in Korea right now. A lot of the bit parts are played by fairly well-known actors. The North Korean commander/general that JinTae captures
is also a very famous actor (his must-see movie is Old Boy... in my opinion one of the best Korean movies out there) who also appeared in the director's "Shiri."

Interestingly (and I think disappointingly in retrospect), MacArthur wanted to drop a nuclear warhead on the North Korean forces when they had them pinned all the way up north near the Yalu river. The US government refused and this led to MacArthur's stepping down/dismissal as commander. Soon thereafter, the north made a push back south with the help of the Chinese forces. Though I don't condone the use of nuclear weapons, I think that in this case it may have averted what is now a divided country that to this day sees families separated.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

One can only guess at how the Chinese would have reacted to MacArthur dropping an a-bomb. Interesting to think about, though.

 

[Runar_R]

Somewhat off-topic:

One of the female stars of Tae Guk Gi, Lee Eun-ju, was found dead yesterday.


Appearantly a suicide, according to The Korea Times
:frowning:

 

[Edwin-S]

What a waste! May she Rest in Peace.

 

[ChrisYK]

Unfortunately, while Lee EunJu was becoming increasingly famous, her management company was making all the money off her rising fame (not an uncommon occurrence in Korean entertainment) and she was no better off than when she started in the industry. Apparently, this was one of the reasons she took her own life.

 

[Robert Wainwright]

Chris,
I'm guessing that you're Korean?

MacArthur is a sore spot in my extended family. Being a distant (and I mean really distant) namesake for General Wainwright. "I will return" my ass. Mac didn't walk Bataan.

But I digress. Lee EunJu was really very good in this movie, I'll have to seek out more of her performances. Such a waste.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

That's awful.

I remember noticing that she looked extremely emaciated in the interviews on disc 2, and wondering whether she had an eating disorder. (She actually looked *healthier* in the film, where she's playing a starving refugee!)

The titles of some of her other films translate kinda funny:

 

[ChrisYK]

Lee was also in "Scarlet Letter" with Han SukGyu, the star of "Shiri."

 

[Phil Kim]

I finally got a chance to watch the film last night. I came from Seoul nearly 20 years ago and my mom was just a 3-year-old living just south of Seoul when the war started. Even though I disliked Shiri/Swiri (director’s previous effort), I watched the film with great interest, hoping to pick up historical details that I’ve only heard about (and seen in black and white photos). FYI, the literal translation of its title is roughly “Waving the Korean Flag.”

The film starts strong enough, possibly due to my own emotional investment (my mom’s dad was one of the business leaders at the time, so he was promptly captured and executed by communists -- upper class elites becoming destitute overnight).

Alas, historical details were rather disappointing. It did not focus on attention to details much. Even the Hershey’s chocolate looked modern (nutritional values printed back in 1950’s?). No offense to recently deceased Eun-ju Lee (older brother’s fiancé), but aside from excellent Dong-Kun Jang (older brother), I thought acting was rather uneven. Sometimes good… sometimes weak.

That said, it was still surreal watching the recreation of a war I have only heard about. Even with so-so historical details, the general framework worked. It is interesting how plenty of curse words were used for North Korean soldiers, but none toward Chinese soldiers (probably due to political reason).

The film became too “Hollywood” towards the end with many convenient plot devices but overall, an ambitious film that met most of its intended goals.

 

[JoshB]

I just finished watching it tonight after having to stop it half way through the other night and just getting around to finishing it tonight.

A superb effort all around that I was suprised to see was not up for an oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. It could have at least been nominated in several other categories as well (most of them technical) but without much studio backing or a famous American director/actor promoting it (ala Tarantino with Hero, etc) it went unnoticed over here until now.

I myself only heard of it after I saw several reviews posted on the net (HTF among them) saying how great it really was and I decided to make a blind buy for this film, which I rarely do.

The film was quite lengthy but given what they were trying to cover in the time, I thought they did a great job. It does fall into the trappings that plague many Hollywood films nowadays, and had they avoided those they could have made something very unique that could have had it not being compared to SPR or BoB, which is hard to ignore given the stylistic choices. Either way, I was amazed that they pulled this how effort off with a relatively small budget ($14 million) compared to the tens of millions spent on Hollywood films that cannot amount to a tenth of the technical skill or level of emotion that this film had in it.

It seems Hollywood only wants to make big money on films they know will draw in audiences based on what they think is the next big draw. Hero did good because they attached Tarantion's name to the banner and tried to make it out liek the next Crouching Tiger. Both of those films were still great, but studios often think American audiences are dumbed down on what Foreign cinema really is.

This film should find its audience over here and I hope many will get a chance to see it.

 

[Matt_M]

Josh...
If u liked this one watch Old Boy! I guarantee it will not be a blind buy you will regret.

 

[Jonathan White]

I don't agree with this. Don't get me wrong I love Oldboy, but it is nothing like Tae Guk Gi. If you liked Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance then get Oldboy.

 

[JoshB]

I have heard quite a bit about Old Boy, but have been hesitant to pick it up. Can anyone give me any details about what its about, and the best DVD release of it to pick up if it really is that good?

 

[Jonathan White]

Oldboy is about a bloke who for reasons unknown to him is kidnapped and kept imprisoned for 15 years. He is then released (again for reasons unknown to him) and is hell bent on getting revenge. Don't want to tell you more as it could spoil the film. But if you are easily offended then I would stay away.

If you are going into this blind then I would look to get a cheap import there are loads around.

 

[Matt_M]

Jonathan..for sure Old Boy is a very different movie. But Josh mentioned .If he wants to avoid the typical Hollywood formula that movie definately offers something different.
Anyhow, as was mentioned Old Boy was recently released in HK and can be had at a good price.