Brotherhood

I never liked subtitled movies, until this one. Just watched it last night and couldn't stop thinking about it.

The movie started with the life of two brothers before the war, a life that was almost perfect until the war shatters all. Everything goes downhill from there. Despite all their best intentions, the two brothers helplessly watched their fate sinking and themselves drifting apart, with only dotted moments of hope and triumgh, when unconditional love and human spirit break through the darkness.

Comparing to "Saving Private Ryan", this movie gives characters a more human touch. "SPR" seems to moralize too much, no flaws, just hero's. The result is the characters came off plain and two-dimensional. Agree with Saturday-3's comment on SPR posted on 9/13/04 that "SPR almost seems like nothing more than a visually stunning, flag-waving movie". By the way, I am a big fan of Steven Spielburg and Tom Hanks, so there wasn't any bias there. On a side note, "Band of brothers", on the contrary, is very very good.

What I don't get, is how a mediocre subtitled movies such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero" gets so much marketing effort and a truly amazing one like this gets nothing. By the way, I am a Chinese currently living in the States. So I guess that wasn't a very patriotic thing to say. IMHO, "Hero" is just a compilation of beautiful pictures. "Crouching Tiger" is even worse. (It's probably because I was able to understand the original dialogue and can tell how little effort was put into anything other than making the pictures look pretty.)

Hats off to Koreans for making such a great epic. "Tae Guk Gi" is a reminder of the difference between art and entertainment, a reminder that wars, as well as movies, are not about bang-bang actions and special effects. They are about human beings.

The only complaints that I could think of are: 1. The music during the beginning of the movie seems a little too sentimental. 2. The camera shakes too much during action scenes, probably deliberately, to create the chaos with a limited budget. But I don't have a problem with the length of the movie. The two and half hours felt like 1.5 hour when you were drawn into the intensity of the film.

If you are still wondering if you want to see this movie, go watch the trailer on the internet. Make sure you watch the one starting with the announcement of "ShowBox". Oh, hell, just watch the movie. Chances are you won't regret it.

As for myself, I am going to pre-order the DVD. I can't remember when was the last time that I want to see the bonus material of a movie so badly.

If you like the movie, I would also recommend "When trumpets fade" and "Band of Brothers".

I have watched Taegukgi for the first time just yesterday, so my impressions of the movie are still fresh. I have not known much about the Korean War that took place at the beginning of the 1950's, but that was a history lesson I will not easily forget. Taegukgi is really the best (anti-)war movie I have ever seen. And believe me, I have seen a lot. But no movie ever before has impressed me so much. In most Hollywood productions there is only one perspective, the winners view. Many directors tried to make a movie that shows both sides of the conflict, but all of them failed. Until now: Taegugki is showing the situation mostly from the south korean view too, but it is the first movie which shows also the "other side". I was very surprised, that the director showed also the crime that his own government committed to their own people at this time. That movie is the first war movie that is not glorifying war - it's horrifying, terrifying, scary - like in reality.

That's what this movie is. Pure hell. If you're that person that screamed in agony when Shakespeare IN LOVE beat SAVING PRIVATE RYAN – find this movie and realize just how much better TAE GUK GI: BROTHERHOOD OF WAR is than just about every war film ever made. A story of two brothers during the Korean War. The movie is spectacle larger than any film made this year, but as intimate as a tale of brothers could ever be. I grew up with Sam Fuller, Peckinpah, Spielberg and the war films of Hollywood. This thing… it's just amazing. I went to see it on "Can Day" here in Austin… where you donate 3 cans of food to the homeless and see any movie you want. I saw 4 films that day, this was the 3rd – and it just completely blew me away. I instantly got the Korean Box Set – and have seen it many times since… Unfortunately – the day I saw it in the theater was the last day it was showing in Austin. A BRILLIANT FILM. The film will just shake you to the core. The South Koreans are making brutally brilliant films. Amazing. Should be re-released with a major advertising campaign. The trailers you could cut of this thing… my god. Stunning film and my pick for the best film of 2004 ! Check the site - http://aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=19054

Let's be real; Saving Private Ryan is a better movie then Tae Guk Gi. This is movie tries too hard to be exactly like Saving Private Ryan- the action, the cinematography, the camera work... But behind all the technicalities comes a very moving and powerful character-driven story that is more riveting then Saving Private Ryan. In comparison to the incredibly gritty "Saving Private Ryan", Tae Guk Gi is more of a blockbuster movie that has more stylized action and drama. Still, this is a must watch.

South Korea puts Saving Private Ryan to shame with this amazing war movie. Taegukgi (or Brotherhood of War) is probably the best traditional war movie i have ever seen. The battle scenes are intense and brutal, even more so then Spielberg's classic film (which is a movie i really like, too.) They also kick in at unexpected places. They are sitting around eating and suddenly bombs are exploding and limbs are flying. The acting is incredible and emotional even though i watched it in subtitles (dubbed English voices are horrible). The facial expressions said it all. The story is a heartbreaking tale of two brothers who are drafted into the Korean conflict in 1950. By the end, i came this close to tearing up. And i am a tough guy. Or so i think.

Now i know a lot of people in America tend to overlook foreign movies because their afraid of reading, or can't read, but i am finding more and more that foreign flicks are a lot better than recent Hollywood movies. Hollywood needs to take a lesson and make more creative stories.

This is truly a masterpiece of modern cinema, a milestone in war movies, and one of the best films i have seen in a long time. Incredible.---9/10