R E V I E W
JOINT SECURITY AREA
The film was released in South Korea in September 2000. It played in Hong Kong cinemas in early 2002.
MOVIE
Plot: An incident has occurred in the Joint Security Area, the closely-guarded dividing line between North and South Korea. The United Nations Neutral Nations Security Commission must investigate, and one representative from both Sweden and Switzerland is assigned. The investigator from Switzerland is a half-Korean woman.
One version of events is that a South Korean soldier was kidnapped by North Korean soldiers and escaped, in the process killing two of the enemy. The North Korean version is that the soldier entered the North Korean guardhouse, killed two soldiers, and fled, all as a pretext to blame the North Koreans. The investigators attempt to discover the truth.
Performances: The entire cast is very strong. The main players are Lee Byong-Heon as Sergeant Lee (a South Korean), Song Kang-Ho as Captain Oh (a North Korean), and Lee Young-Ae in a smaller part as the Korean/Swiss investigator.
Production: It's easy to draw conclusions about a movie before seeing it. In the case at hand, the film broke box office records in Korea and has won acclaim at film festivals. That raises expectations to an unreasonably high level.
On the surface, the film is a legal drama that contains a few unexpected twists and turns. Yet the story is deeper than that simple description. It's filled, by turns, with tension, emotion, gentle humor, briefly blazing guns, beauty, and tragedy.
Here we have a very good film, well made, thoughtful, and full of insights about the nature of friendship and the intense pressures that nationalism exerts upon people. It avoids being heavy handed about its subject matter, and uses subtle methods to reel the viewer in.
The direction, script, cinematography, musical score, and editing are all excellent. Highly recommended.
Rating: Category IIB or equivalent. Some explicit gunshot violence and blood spray, along with occasional profanities.
DVD
Look: The letterboxed presentation looked good; however, numerous imperfections in the source print (dust, speckling, and occasional scratches) were evident. The generally somber colors were reproduced accurately.
Sound: I listened to the Korean DTS track, which sounded thunderous as needed, with good balance in the surround channels. Also includes are Korean DD 2.0 and DD 5.1 tracks.
Subtitles: The white removable English subtitles are easy to read and well timed. An excellent job, with no misspellings that I noticed. Traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles are also provided.
Features: Twelve chapters can be selected from a two-page video capture menu. A trailer is included, as is a music video. The edition I purchased includes a small booklet with story and cast information, along with brief historical background on the region, along with four postcards. The DVD keepcase comes in a slipcover.
RECOMMENDATION
Buy. An excellent, dramatic examination of unrelenting pressures and undying friendships.
(Reviewed by Peter A. Martin; April 4, 2002)
Copyright 2000-2002 by Peter A. Martin. All rights reserved.
No part of this review may be reproduced without express permission by the copyright owner.