Reviews

I've scored this a 9 but I think I may have been a little harsh! I have just read a review that says the reviewer cannot understand the hype. I can see no hype. Everything the film promised and more was delivered. This is a truly wonderful film. It is beautifully acted, brutally and painstakingly directed and as good a display of raw emotion as I have witnessed in any language. The story is gripping, the characters believable and well rounded, the emotion human and the feeling I was left with at the end of the film is one of awe. And that was after I had watched it twice. Honestly, this is a truly, truly wonderful film. Do not miss it under any circumstances!

Very few war films manage to find the balance between the blood and guts required to make it realistic and the human emotions required to make it stick in the mind. I have just finished watching this film and it has without doubt managed this to perfection.

The story is of how a family is torn apart by the Korean War, one of the most intense and bloody wars of the 20th century. The characters in the film are human and flawed, believable and in turns likable and infuriating. Overall, though they are real and you can feel their pain throughout the film. The acting is superb, particularly Dong-Kun Jang who gives a sublime performance, the directing is magnificent and the battle scenes are on a par with almost anything I have seen in any war movie.

I give this 10 out of 10 as it has shaken me and moved me in equal parts. The only other war film I would give a rating of 10 is Apocalypse Now. Which is better? Probably Apocalypse Now, but only by a whisker. This is one of the greatest films I have seen.