Review of Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004) by Ieremias — 06 Oct 2012

I'm of Korean background, so I might be biased, but I think it's not only Koreans who would say that this has to be possibly one of the best war films made to date. The realist antagonising of both the North and South is enough to satisfy any impartial historian, the battle scenes are on par with famous Western staples like Saving Private Ryan (if not even better), and the story of the brotherhood woven into the plot is heart-wrenching - I couldn't see a dry eye in the cinema when I watched this movie as a kid.

Now, having reached a more mature age, I now shed tears every time I watch this. It does more than just focus on the gore and tactics and indiscriminate killing that so many modern war films focus on, and it portrays a link to the family stronger than what I think was in Private Ryan ("Your brothers are dead" isn't exactly the most touching way to put something like that).

But it's not unrealistic about it either (a.k.a. not as unrealistic as all the dramas that the Koreans make nowadays), and it would make even the most warmongering person want to call it quits with North Korea and just look for any peaceful solution to bring this war and any other war to an end.