This is a wonderfully crafted masterpiece that evokes the strongest emotions in a person's heart. The movie is set in the DMZ of two Koreas and portrays how different people can set asides their differences and be able to see each other in the purest form, that we are the same, brothers and sisters.
I found myself on a roller coaster ride of emotions, laughing one minute, in with tears in another. All the actors and actress have done a superb job in this one. The most emotionally powerful scene was the last scene. Only a photograph but conveys so much meaning and emotions.
Definitely a must watch movie, no matter where you're from, you will be enchanted and inspired by this movie's magic, and understand a bit more about what it means to be a person.
Did I mention The master Park Chan Wook who later directed the infamous "Vengeance series" one of which - Old boy went on to win the Grand-prize of Jury at the Cannes, directed this one?
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About the geopolitical aspect of the story, it is certainly an optimistic and dramatized take on what really goes on at the JSA, a reflection of Korean sentiment at the time of its making. It raises the question of whether the mutual distrust of almost 60 years can be overcome, and this is painfully highlighted in the climax of the movie. The introduction of the background to Lee Young Ae's character felt like a last minute addition to the story and didn't add anything of significance to the story for me, though it may be of significance in the history of the Korean War.
Song Kang Ho gives a very controlled performance, and I've enjoyed many of his subsequent movies. Lee Young Ae plays a non-resident Korean and so uses English heavily during the show, which, being a non-native language, does make her delivery awkward and affects her portrayal during those chunks of dialogue. However, she still does a better job than the English you hear from Korean actors in many contemporary Korean dramas, so it's hard to fault the movie for that. Lee Byung Hun's character's story and the gravitas of his character is certainly handed to him on a silver platter and he does a good job of it.
Overall, a movie worthy of its place in the history of Korean film.
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"Here the peace is preserved by hiding the truth"
Joint Security Area showcased how people are still people even when their ideologies clash. They enjoy talking, drawing, playing games, and can be both heroic and cowardly. Set along the DMZ it related how four men tried “to open the dam to reunification.”Swiss officer Sophie Jean arrives in South Korea to conduct a neutral investigation on an incident involving one South Korean soldier and three North Korean soldiers, two of which were killed. Warned that “a spark in a dry forest could burn the whole forest down,” she was told that the what wasn’t as important as the why. Sgt Lee is in custody stating that he was kidnapped and confessed to killing the soldiers during an escape. North Korean Sgt Oh gave a different story stating that the SK soldier attacked them. Sophie faced a network of conflicting eye witness accounts not seen since Rashomon.
The investigation scaffolding of the movie was the least interesting part of it, exasperated by heavily accented and stilted English speaking skills. It would not have been as big of a problem for me, except that the version I watched had no subtitles for the English, meaning I missed about half of what they said. It felt like the investigators purpose was to fill the viewer in on Korean history and the complications of working on the border.
What made this movie fascinating to watch was the slowly evolving illicit friendship between the two South Korean guards (Lee and Nam) and the North Korean guards (Oh and Jung). They shared gifts, gossip, and laughter. Ever present though was the tension between the two countries reminding them of how dangerous their shared time was. Song Kang Ho as Sgt. Oh gave a beautifully complex performance as the more experienced soldier who still possessed empathy. Lee Byung Hun’s Sgt. Lee was less mature and quicker to draw. With an overabundance of foreshadowing the writing was on the wall regarding the fate of the friends which made their time together all the more poignant.
The military scenes showed the lack of training some of the soldiers had. When Lee went off to relieve himself he either didn’t tell his squad or they didn’t do a head count as they retreated. There was also an awful lot of “battle rattle” where equipment wasn’t taped down properly to allow the troops to move more silently.
Joint Security Area highlighted how all men are brothers but also often enemies. The central part of the film sharing the men’s bromance was wonderfully comforting, which unfortunately made the fall all the more painful in the end.
27 April 2025
Trigger warning: Full frontal nudity of a male body in the morgue.
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Everyone should watch this
I am watching this on 1.1.2022. I mention this because it was wonderful to start my year off with such a powerful, profound movie. It is basically a story about whether reunification is a possibility. On one side you have people who have surmounted the propaganda issued on both sides of Korea, and realize that people are people, and the other side, who have been so indoctrinated with the propaganda that all they can see is an enemy.In using the term “side”, I am not speaking particularly of North or South Korea, but of people in general. Although we mostly attribute this discussion to North and South Korea, still in 2022 it is applicable here in the U.S. Will we eventually become just like the Korea’s….some people so entrenched in hate that they have chosen to typify anyone who does not match up to their own agenda….as enemies? It is a real possibility here…and in this movie it shows the ramifications of such thinking.
I was moved to tears…seeing that the end game of this type of divisional thinking….leaves lives scarred so traumatically that they can not move on emotionally. Then survivors, ones who could move on…..often pass their hatred on to further generations and so it never ends.
It is beyond my capability to understand how South Korea has allowed the U.S. government to tear apart a whole country; that they would give allegiance to another country who literally slaughtered millions of their countrymen, instead of embracing their own peoples, their own culture. To me, it isn’t as simple as choosing communism or so-called democracy - that is just an excuse, a rationalization. Millions died during the Korean War and yet South Korea chooses the U.S. as their father instead of embracing the rest of their country. It saddens me no end. There are families on both sides that have not seen their families in decades.
Watching this movie will perhaps remind you of the important things that are really at stake in this situation.
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Started off a bit rough, the English parts were painful a bit, but by the time the ending came on, I had almost entirely forgotten about the bland early parts.
This is one unique story of friendship. It can be found in the unlikeliest of places indeed. You can always count on Park Chan-wook to deliver the heart-wrenching moments when it truly counts. He knows where his movie's goods are, and he goes all-in on them.
Song Kang-ho delivers, as do all the actors involved (at least, as long as they're speaking korean). I like how even though this is a mystery movie, it isn't the focus so much. The focus is on the dynamic akin to a "lovers on opposite camps" but with friendship instead, and it's effective. It's a nuanced piece done with respect for the characters and their relationships.
It also feels less like a Park Chan-wook movie than his other, highly-stylized work he would later direct. I must say I prefer the latter.
I would put it above Stoker so far, and under the rest. It did take a while to get going.
If a movie like this sits at the bottom of his filmography for me... damn, that's some consistency
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