Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War

I never liked subtitled movies, until this one. Just watched it last night and couldn't stop thinking about it.

The movie started with the life of two brothers before the war, a life that was almost perfect until the war shatters all. Everything goes downhill from there. Despite all their best intentions, the two brothers helplessly watched their fate sinking and themselves drifting apart, with only dotted moments of hope and triumgh, when unconditional love and human spirit break through the darkness.

Comparing to "Saving Private Ryan", this movie gives characters a more human touch. "SPR" seems to moralize too much, no flaws, just hero's. The result is the characters came off plain and two-dimensional. Agree with Saturday-3's comment on SPR posted on 9/13/04 that "SPR almost seems like nothing more than a visually stunning, flag-waving movie". By the way, I am a big fan of Steven Spielburg and Tom Hanks, so there wasn't any bias there. On a side note, "Band of brothers", on the contrary, is very very good.

What I don't get, is how a mediocre subtitled movies such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero" gets so much marketing effort and a truly amazing one like this gets nothing. By the way, I am a Chinese currently living in the States. So I guess that wasn't a very patriotic thing to say. IMHO, "Hero" is just a compilation of beautiful pictures. "Crouching Tiger" is even worse. (It's probably because I was able to understand the original dialogue and can tell how little effort was put into anything other than making the pictures look pretty.)

Hats off to Koreans for making such a great epic. "Tae Guk Gi" is a reminder of the difference between art and entertainment, a reminder that wars, as well as movies, are not about bang-bang actions and special effects. They are about human beings.

The only complaints that I could think of are: 1. The music during the beginning of the movie seems a little too sentimental. 2. The camera shakes too much during action scenes, probably deliberately, to create the chaos with a limited budget. But I don't have a problem with the length of the movie. The two and half hours felt like 1.5 hour when you were drawn into the intensity of the film.

If you are still wondering if you want to see this movie, go watch the trailer on the internet. Make sure you watch the one starting with the announcement of "ShowBox". Oh, hell, just watch the movie. Chances are you won't regret it.

As for myself, I am going to pre-order the DVD. I can't remember when was the last time that I want to see the bonus material of a movie so badly.

If you like the movie, I would also recommend "When trumpets fade" and "Band of Brothers".

This 2.5 hour long movie was wonderful! As a Korean, this movie was very emotionally moving and touching. Some people (mainly Westerners) think this movie was "over-dramatic", but it's actually a part of korean custom, culture and history. If you do not speak or understand Korean, a lot of the "meaning" is lost and cannot be portrayed in subtitles. That is a true shame. The story-line between the two brothers was heart-felt and emotional. Korea has remained divided for decades since and is subject to the possibility of a new war at any time. It was considered one of the most destructive and bloodiest wars of the 20th century with over 4 million koreans dead (2/3 of them were civilian). The Korean War will always be remembered as the "Forgotten War" since it came on the heels of World War II and was overshadowed by the Vietnam War.

Nations do not fight wars. Citizens fight them, and these citizens are honorable men and women who serve their country willingly or, as history shows, by decree of a desperate government.

As a result, patriotism has become the unlikeliest casualty. Once welcomed in the trenches of battle, patriotism has lost its limbs, fought back from life support, and suffered shell shock. Once easily recognized, patriotism has become a bit of a chimera, an ideal more easily attached to definable characteristics than it is any single soldier. However, in the bitter end, patriotism is defined by the actions of these individuals who serve; it is rewarded by the nations who sponsor this service; and, more often than not, it is measured in hardships endured.

Such is the complex, ever-changing battleground of writer/director Kang Je-Gyu's 'Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War.'

In 1950's Seoul, Jin-Seok (Won Bin) and his older brother Jin-Tae (Jang Dong-gun) are enjoying a strong family life of perfect happiness. Suddenly, they find their lives turned upside down as soldiers of the South Korean government seize them – all men aged 18 to 30 are taken – and they are forced to take up arms – despite their lack of training – against the approaching North Koreans. On one brutal battlefield after another, the bonds of family are put to increasingly demanding tests as Jin-Tae – originally driven by his responsibility to protect his younger brother – continues to further exhaust his physical and emotional prowess despite the protests of Jin-Seok. He learns that he is a good soldier, one with a talent for inspiring others as well as an unanticipated thirst for killing the enemy. Eventually, these two brothers – once bound by a love for family – find themselves at odds within this new brotherhood of war, and the pressures to prove one another continue to exact heavier and heavier tolls as the war escalates. As circumstances evolve, the brothers inevitably find themselves on opposite sides of a losing conflict … but can either find a path to redemption or reconciliation that can save both of them?

There are many elements of 'Taegukgi' that elevate the film from the status of standard war film to a message of hope set against the backdrop of war. The film's scope is grand, dealing with the far more intimate themes of family, brotherhood, and personal responsibility when Director Kang Je-Gyu could have easily opted for banging the drum of nationalism. At its core, 'Taegukgi' is the story of two brothers, a strikingly poignant analogy for the entire North Korea / South Korea dilemma. While the battlefield choreography is as frenetic as it is harrowing, it never takes the film's center: this picture is founded on relationships – the human perspective to the world outside – and it never falters. Instead of focusing on history, Kang Je-Gyu crafts every scene to highlight the thoughts, actions, and emotions of the participants of history, and, for that, 'Taegukgi' deserves countless accolades.

Much like exploring the heart of darkness as depicted in American classics as Francis Ford Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now' and Oliver Stone's 'Platoon,' Kang Je-Gyu forces Jin-tae to explore his own budding evil, and this journey is not without its own relative scars. Once a man has crossed over and embraced wartime madness, can he ever truly find a way out? Arguably, if 'Taegukgi' suffers from any setback, it is that perhaps Jin-tae goes too far for an audience to accept his madness: believing his brother to have been killed by North Koreans, Jin-tae turns traitor once he is captured and seeks to wipe out every soldier serving South Korea. While the story offers the motivation for so drastic a change, it's hard to believe that the man who once fought so valiantly against the spread of Communism would suddenly choose to embrace it.

Still, it's a small diversion … but it's necessary to bring the aspect of brotherhood full circle, to have these two unique men face their darkest hour, and to make one final statement on the role that family inevitably plays in every man's life.

Recently, thanks to the worldwide success of 'Taegukgi' and 1999's blockbuster 'Shiri,' Director Kang Je-Gyu has signed an agreement with Hollywood's own powerhouse, CAA, to produce his next film in America. Only time will tell whether or not this agreement will afford some of the 'Korean sensibility' to American films, but certainly having one of South Korea's premier directors breaking into the Hollywood film system is a tremendous advantage for fans of international film.

Only the passage of time will earn 'Taegukgi' its rightful spot alongside the other great films dealing with the consequences of war.

When North Korea invades the South, two brothers are forcibly drafted into the army. The older of the two, hoping to win a medal and ticket home for his younger brother, begins going on every suicide mission offered. This, however, puts a strain on his relationship with his brother and those in the platoon. Worse the course of the war has several nasty turns waiting for them...

I'm of two minds about this film. Despite the fact this is a graphic example of both the physical and psychic effects of war, the narrative is more than a bit disjointed. The film is loosely connected snapshots of the course of the war, beginning right before the invasion, then several weeks later before jumping about a month at a time to certain key events. I'm sure that had I better grasp of the history of the war I would have understood the events better. I felt lost and wished there had been more explanation. The lack of a narrative that follows all the way from start to finish hurts the film since we're moved a bit too much from place to place and situation to situation

But the course of the war is not the purpose of the film, rather its the relationship between two brothers. How war changes them and everything in and around them except the love they have for each other. Its a bit hokey but its dead on, just ask anyone who's ever loved their sibling unquestioningly. You understand how one brother would spend 50 years trying to find the other.

And then there are the battle scenes which are wonderful and frightening and seem to be the total chaos that war really is. People die horribly and the experience is far from fun.

Is the movie worth seeing?

Yes. Its not perfect but its a kick in the pants.

8 out of 10.

Let's be real; Saving Private Ryan is a better movie then Tae Guk Gi. This is movie tries too hard to be exactly like Saving Private Ryan- the action, the cinematography, the camera work... But behind all the technicalities comes a very moving and powerful character-driven story that is more riveting then Saving Private Ryan. In comparison to the incredibly gritty "Saving Private Ryan", Tae Guk Gi is more of a blockbuster movie that has more stylized action and drama. Still, this is a must watch.