Jiokhwa

This film essentially begins five years after the economic devastation brought on by the Korean War with a young man named "Dong-sik" (Haw-won Jo) traveling to Seoul from the countryside in search of his older brother "Young-sik" (Hak Kim). When he eventually catches up to him, he discovers that Young-sik is the head of a small gang of thieves that burglarize American warehouses that store military goods and equipment. In addition to that, Young-sik also has a girlfriend named "Sonya" (Eun-hie Choi) who works as a prostitute for American servicemen. To his surprise, when he asks Young-sik to come back home with him, his brother refuses and insists that he return on his own. For her part, Sonya becomes attracted to Dong-sik--and this creates problems for all concerned. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I liked this movie largely because of the realistic scenarios depicted throughout the course of the film. Likewise, the fact that the South Korean film industry was still in its infancy made this film even more impressive, in my opinion. Admittedly, some of the scenes could have used a bit more suspense or intensity, but all things considered, this certainly wasn't a bad film by any means, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.