Joint Security Area

Rating:
Summary: Great Thriller
Review: This offering reminds me so much of "A Few Good Men". The movie started by laying out the groundwork, of soldiers from both North & South Korea died in a conflict. It's up to a neutral party, which is unbiased towards North & South Korea to be involved in the investigation. The investigator was in the form of this beautiful & intelligent officer. She claimed to be in the military and from Switzerland. Yet, her slim physique told me otherwise & at times, it was bleeming difficult to understand her English & one could only imagine how many times she would need to rehearse to read her lines properly. Anyhow, the question about who did it & why were what made this movie so interesting. In the end, the twisting end would definitely caught you by surprise. Along the way, we were given a succinct but concise explanation about the origin of DMZ and the reason why Koreans from 1950's Korean War were scattered throughout the world. Then, the investigator's family background came back to haunt her & she started to question about her own identity and about where her allegiance belonged to. In the end, it doesn't matter because among the craziness of the world, humanity prevails. Still, the notion about family members being segregated from one another for more than half a century by one line due to ideological difference is brought to forefront. Moreover, we are also reminded constantly about the fragile truce between North & South Korea and a slight misunderstanding would undoubtedly start a civil war and would most certainly disturb the peace in the East Asia region. A very well-made movie with tight script & good composition. Highly recommended. What made this movie different from "A Few Good Men" is that it doesn't provide a pedestal for the superstars to show off their acting skills but rather, all actors & actresses are making a cohesive effort to make this movie fluid and effective, which they have done to almost perfection. Keep up the good work.

Rating:
Summary: Great Thriller
Review: This offering reminds me so much of "A Few Good Men". The movie started by laying out the groundwork, of soldiers from both North & South Korea died in a conflict. It's up to a neutral party, which is unbiased towards North & South Korea to be involved in the investigation. The investigator was in the form of this beautiful & intelligent officer. She claimed to be in the military and from Switzerland. Yet, her slim physique told me otherwise & at times, it was bleeming difficult to understand her English & one could only imagine how many times she would need to rehearse to read her lines properly. Anyhow, the question about who did it & why were what made this movie so interesting. In the end, the twisting end would definitely caught you by surprise. Along the way, we were given a succinct but concise explanation about the origin of DMZ and the reason why Koreans from 1950's Korean War were scattered throughout the world. Then, the investigator's family background came back to haunt her & she started to question about her own identity and about where her allegiance belonged to. In the end, it doesn't matter because among the craziness of the world, humanity prevails. Still, the notion about family members being segregated from one another for more than half a century by one line due to ideological difference is brought to forefront. Moreover, we are also reminded constantly about the fragile truce between North & South Korea and a slight misunderstanding would undoubtedly start a civil war and would most certainly disturb the peace in the East Asia region. A very well-made movie with tight script & good composition. Highly recommended. What made this movie different from "A Few Good Men" is that it doesn't provide a pedestal for the superstars to show off their acting skills but rather, all actors & actresses are making a cohesive effort to make this movie fluid and effective, which they have done to almost perfection. Keep up the good work.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect representation of Korean tragedy
Review: Those who study, or have lived in, Korea will appreciate the dynamism and importance of this impeccably made film. Outside of a passing awareness most Americans have no idea what the split nations of south and north Korea mean. This film captures, in a slowly building awareness, the true tragedy and heart break that is the modern Korean nation: one racially, ethnically and culturally monolithic people harshly divided in two with one the last vestige of a dead socioeconomic theory (communism) and the other a raging Asian Tiger and the world's 11th largest economy. While the north has clearly lost this last stand off of the Cold War, the nations remain divided and JSA does a superb job of bringing this into the human dimension. Note the subtle jabs at the US as well as the neutral nations. This gives Americans a view into a world most do not understand, but one that could consume our military in a flash. Not to be missed.