Korean War story from Korean viewpoint
The South Korean film “The Battle of Jangsari,” based on a reallife incident in the Korean War in which illtrained students made up the bulk of the soldiers for a doordie mission, doesn’t break any new ground in telling a story about young, heroic men going up against a betterequipped enemy. Not only that, but the acting is uneven and the mawkishness threatens to kill as many people as the bullets.
But, for those unfamiliar with Korean history, the setting and viewpoint are unique and the battle scenes engrossing.
As the movie opens, the 772 volunteers, under the command of Capt. Lee (Kim MyungMin), are on a boat heading to Jangsari beach in the midst of a typhoon. Vomiting and scared, the soldiers are in no condition to fight the more disciplined North Korean army. But it doesn’t much matter, as they’re being used as a diversionary tactic to buy time for American Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s attack at Inchon.
Neither the South Korean nor the American high commands seem to have much interest in the young soldiers. Promises of air and naval support seem like nothing more than words. It’s interesting to see the Korean War from the Korean point of view, in which the Americans are the supporting players.
But, faster than you can say “Gallipoli,” if these kids are going to go down, they’re going to go down swinging. Whether it’s Choi Sungpil (Choi Minho, a member of the Kpop band Shinee), a refugee from North Korea who wants to prove he has no divided loyalties, or Ki HaRyun (Kim SungCheol), a hothead who at first takes an active dislike to Sungpil, they’re not going to let their inexperience hinder them.
A scene where Sungpil meets a cousin, who is in North Korean ranks, may be improbable, but it reminds viewers how deeply personal this war could be for those living on the peninsula.
If director Kwak KyungTaek and writers Brian Chung and Cory Gustke have a tendency to fall deep into predictability, the battle scenes make up for it, even if they don’t have the budget of “Dunkirk.” The trench warfare attack, which comes about 30 minutes in, is closequarters brutal.
Less believable are the two Americans in the cast, Megan Fox and George Eads (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”). She’s a journalist who wants to let the world know about what she considers to be a suicide mission for these men, and he’s the commanding officer who keeps telling her that there can be no press about this classified action. The movie comes to a halt when they’re onscreen.
Unsurprisingly by the film’s end, KyungTaek just wants to make you weep. That even the most hardhearted might find themselves with a small lump in the throat shows just how effective KyungTaek’s mastery of warmovie cliches is.