THE FRONT LINE is a typical addition to the recent wave of South Korean war movies that strive to explore new avenues on a very famous theatre of war. The last two I saw were WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL and 71 INTO THE FIRE; the former was a politically intriguing exploration of the nature of conflict itself, while the latter was a flag-waving crowd-pleaser.
THE FRONT LINE falls somewhere between the two, refusing to demonise opponents while at the same time providing plenty of gritty war action. The earth-flying battle sequences are by far the highlight of this film as the screen is transformed into a nightmarish and barren landscape of blown-up hillsides, dingy trenches and muddy holes in the ground. This is real warfare, post-SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, throwing you into the thick of realistic action and making you feel like you're fighting at the side of the protagonists.
It's a pleasure to report that the non-battle storyline is every bit as watchable as the scenes taking place on the battlefield. As in the earlier BROTHERHOOD, much of the plot revolves around the developing relationship between two characters whom the war transforms in different ways: one becomes battle-weary and resigned, the other slightly unhinged and with a real killer instinct. It's a poignant, carefully-drawn relationship and one that sustains the running time admirably. Okay, so some of the sub-plots openly copy those of earlier movies (the whole sniper thing in particular) but that doesn't detract from what is a very good recent war movie.
