Review XI - Joint Security Area

Review XI
Joint Security Area (2000)

Park Chan-wook is an extremely talented director, thus when I saw he directed the film Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA, also known as Joint Security Area in English, which stars Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-kyn, and Lee Byung-hun, actors I know and love, as well as Lee Yeong-ae and Kim Tae-woo, I made it a film I had to watch.

The film revolves around Major Sophie E. Jean (Lee Yeong-ae), a Swiss major who is accompanied by Swedish lieutenant colonel Perrson (Herbert Ulrich), both part of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, as the two investigate the death of two North Korean soldiers by a South Korean soldier, sergeant Lee Soo-hyeok (Lee Byung-hun).

I found the story heart-warming, and it was told very well. It shows the hardships of war, but the good things that can come out of it as well. It also gives some history on the conflict between North Korea and South Korea, which I enjoyed. While I know a bit about it (I knew about the "Bridge of No Return" and the "Axe Murder Incident" that are mentioned in the film), it still taught me new things, as well as actually demonstrated the way procedure is followed in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. While I wouldn't say it goes in great depth, it does talk about the Korean war, and without bias. I like that. It doesn't glorify one side (even if North Korea is Best Korea); the film shows how both North Korea and South Korea is composed of human beings who share similar feelings and needs.

The acting was grand, as well as the writing. The story was really interesting, and it wasn't over-dramatised, which I find Asian films can suffer from at times. I love the way story resolves at the end too; it's very human, and, as I said, it wasn't over-dramatised. I really wouldn't like to give anything away, so I'll stop here, but if you watch the film, you'll know what I mean.

While I found Major Sophie E. Jean was kind of just placed there, you still got a bit of history about her. I also think the Swedish lieutenant was unnecessary to the plot, but at the same time, they wouldn't only send one person in on an investigation like this. While I enjoyed the story, I found some elements rushed. The idea of the investigation was appropriate, but I find the way they incorporated itself into the story was not well done. We get a flashback instead of the Major discovering stuff on her own. I think the flashback was amazing, but I think they should have incorporated the flashback into the investigation a lot better. It seems almost like they added in the Major and Lieutenant at the end to add to the story instead of really making them part of the story. Either they should have put more emphasis on the investigation part, or taken it out altogether.

Overall, I'd give the movie eight stars on ten. While I found the story a bit rushed at some points, the main story was well shown, by acting and by writing. I found it very heart-warming and informative. If you like historical films or a good dramatic film, it's definitely worth the watch.

Pirate Bay torrent