fludd.org - Movie Review

Technically, we, as Westerners, are convinced that all the war movies that we have seen in our life are made in Hollywood or in Europe. To be very honest with you, even though the Korean War is a war that can be hardly copied, we can see that if Saving Private Ryan wasn’t launched to the big screen, Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War couldn’t have been produced, because at the beginning, an old man goes to an archaeology site in order to recollect all the events that he lived during the Korean War, as a soldier. In spite of the lack of originality, Taekgukgi: The Brotherhood of War is a war movie that deserves to be seen, because it is one of the few war movies that contains a rare historical depth and it attempts to show the “other side”, that means the losers’ side.

Following the tradition of memorable war movies such as Saving Private Ryan most of the war movies are normally based on friendship (soldiers were considering themselves as brothers), patriotism, courage and honor. Besides these themes, Taekgukgi: The Brotherhood of War has the merit to present a compelling story about the bond between two brothers, which is quite rare. As opposed to many war movies, we can clearly see that this one is completely miles away from most of its counterparts, because it has a great historical depth. The movie is, hopefully, not biased and we do get to see a little bit what’s happening on the “other side”, thus everybody is presented as real human beings, because one South Korean soldier in the movie said that nobody is “worse or better”. Even if the movie is made in South Korea, the movie’s director doesn’t turn his back to the atrocities that were committed by the South Korean soldiers, otherwise, Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War could have terribly suffered from its own historical poverty just the same way many American war movies do.

Even though the action scenes are not as spectacular as we can see it in Saving Private Ryan or other war movies, Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War, generally speaking, is more brutal and violent than many war movies that I have seen. Hopefully, the violence that is being shown here is not gratuitous and after we have watched the movie, the violence scenes, along with the movie, permanently leave their stamp in our mind, because of the shocking realism. Moreover, since director Kang Je-Gyu is well known in South Korea for making daring action movies, he shows us that he really knows how to immerse us in the movie; in other words, those who watch the movie will have the odd feeling that they are participating, as a soldier, to the Korean War.

Although the movie does explore the most recurrent themes in war movies very well, certain clichés could be easily found in Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War: a soldier is watching at his wife’s picture or soldiers who are willing to die as if they were samurais. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it means that you haven't seen enough war movies in your life, but at least, the actors play with those clichés in a very convincing way that makes us forget those little cute mistakes. Despite its huge budget, I had the feeling that the money was spent correctly, because the story doesn't show us a poor story line and a bunch of one-dimensional characters struggling for their survival just like in a movie like John Woo's Windtalkers. Even if the movie is quite explosive, the script is not used as a stupid excuse to pile up action scenes that have little to do with the story. Many movie lovers will consider Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War as an international masterpiece that must be seen by those who likes war movies not only filled with action, but also drama, suspense and psychological evolution, in spite of the flaws that could have been easily taken out.

Despite its impressive budget, Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War’s action scenes are not as spectacular as Saving Private Ryan’s, but it is way better than its American counterpart, because it is even more brutal, violent and above all, realistic. Since it is quite easy to identify ourselves to the two leading characters, there are no words that can describe thoroughly the immersion experience and those who are willing to study Asian History will be delighted to see so much historical depth in this movie.

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