Continuing the North and South themes that divide the country, Secret Reunion director Jang Hoon returns with a drama set during the end of the Korean War itself…

London Korean Film Festival 2011(This review contains spoilers – sorry!)

After some candid comments in front of his superiors, CIC officer Kang (Sin Ha-gyoon, Welcome to Dongmakgol, JSA: Joint Security Area, Thirst) is sent to the furthermost Eastern peninsula of the front line of the war to investigate volatile happenings and the possibility of a North Korean spy in their midst.

There he finds a battalion on the edge of rules and regulations, and himself face to face with a collage friend he thought killed in action three years before, Soo-hyeok (Ko Soo, White Night, Some, Haunters). Most shocking of all is how much his friend has changed; having becomes a heartless killing machine only interested in winning against the enemy.

The battalion are caught in an endless battle to capture a hill that is a strategic hill in the border between both countries. Ownership of this small plot of land flows back and forth between North and South often on a daily basis. With the ceasefire between the two sides an increasingly close possibility, the fighting becomes more vicious and the resulting loss of lives countless until one side can take victory.

If you didn’t know better, you’d probably be thinking by now that war films are as popular a topic for South Korea as Vietnam films were for America in the 1980s. That’s not quite true, but we’ve definitely seen some notable entries in recent years, Taegukgi (aka Brotherhood), Welcome To Dongmakgol and most recently 71 – Into The Fire, which played at last years London Korean Film Festival and was released in the UK by Cine-Asia.

Indeed themes exploring the contemporary divide between North and South in Korea seem as prevalent as ever, with several releases this year alone pivoting heavily on it, including The Yellow Sea, Dance Town and Poongsan (directed by Juhn Jai-hong, another graduate of Kim Ki-duk – but more about that there!). Throughout these films the message seems to be how utterly pointless a confrontation this is between two sides who were, until very very recently, the same country.

Of course, this was also the theme of director Jang Hoon’s release last year, Secret Reunion, which was a sizable hit, but shows no sign of being picked up for UK release anytime soon. (Not with an English title like that anyway!) Though this film may have been much more intrinsically Korean in tone and pacing – becoming a bizarre cross between Shiri and The Odd Couple – I have to say any film with Song Kang-ho is worth watching, particularly when it includes a performance that good. (In other words, readers: find it and watch; distributors: take a chance will you!)

Unsurprisingly, the emphasis this time steers well away from the more humorous side of Secret Reunion (and arguably, as we’ve noted elsewhere, seems more Western in pacing and style – or is that just me?). Scriptwriter Park Sang-yeon, who wrote the book DMZ that became the source material for JSA: Joint Security Area, brings a great knowledge of the conflict together with a sense of the utter ridiculousness of it.

The picture of a dysfunctional battalion so far away from rules and authority that they have for all intensive purposes gone feral, mainly just to survive, is a potent one. It raises questions about exactly what a man must become not only to survive a war, but to actually be effective in it. The distance between the two friends is expertly played out as Kang can barely recognise Soo-hyeok. The suspicion that he could be a spy cleverly interweaves a more acceptable answer than the truth – war has changed him.

The utter futility of war, particularly the Korean War, is brilliantly made over the allegory of the small stretch of land continually claimed and lost by both sides. Often just in the matter of a day. Burying the dead just uncovers the previous fatalities, barely below the surface soil.

The peculiar arrangement members of both sides have, to leave behind goods for each and letters to loved ones, may highlight their similarities, but when faces are finally put against them it becomes truly shocking. Both sides are the same. More The Thin Red Line than Saving Private Ryan, there’s little to be celebrated in the conflict here.

I have to admit that, after having seen the remnants of the troop make it through to the signing of the armistice only to realise that the war was going to continue for another 12 hours, my heart sank. Which was the point, of course. It wasn’t just that I knew there was no way anyone else would survive, but that I knew the film would continue for some time more having brought itself to a breathtaking crescendo.

Alongside the core performances of Ko Soo and Sin Ha-gyoon (once again cast as an army officer) there’s a solid supporting cast, including Ryoo Seung-soo (The Good, the Bad, the Weird, Winter Sonata, Hi, Dharma), Ko Chang-seok (Secret Reunion, The Host, Lady Vengeance), Lee Je-hoon (Bleak Night, Ghost), Jo Jin-woong (Bestseller, The Slave Hunters, The Guard Post, Once Upon A Time In High School), Jeong In-gi (Breathless, Detective K, Woochi – The Demon Slayer), Kim Ok-bin (Thirst, Dasepo Girl, Arang) and Ryoo Seung-yong (Blades of Blood, Bestseller, Cruel Winter Blues) playing the worthy adversary – effectively the exact same part he played in War Of The Arrows.

Action scenes are well choreographed and shot. One particular standout scene sees the Chinese Army descend on the South Korean battalion in the midst of a thunderstorm. Lightning strikes once, nothing, twice, nothing, then a third time to reveal hundreds upon hundreds of the enemy. This is a solid war film that doesn’t exclude those of us who don’t necessarily like war films.

It’s a dazzling production, and deservedly Korea’s official entry for best foreign language film. And if that’s not enough to raise its profile in the UK, it will also be released by Cine-Asia next year.

The Front Line was screened as part of the London Korean Film Festival 2011, and is released on Blu-ray and DVD on Monday 27 February.

Review originally published 8 November 2011.

DVD details

Distributor: Cine-Asia (UK)

Edition: 2-Disc DVD (2012)

Strong release from Cine-Asia comes with great picture and sound on main feature, and a full length commentary by Bey Logan.

The bonus disc comes with four featurettes: a very short Making of; Aero-K - Making of Pre-Production; A Daily Record Of Battle - Making of Production; Ceasefire Agreement - Production Design. All are very production/B-roll footage led, which gives a great insight into the filming process but as a whole lack in-depth interviews with the cast and crew.

Related and associated posts

This entry was published by Andy H on Monday, February 20th, 2012 at 10:00 am and is filed under Action / Thrillers, Festivals, Films, Reviews, Screenings, South Korea. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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