Go-ji-jeon

an epic movie about the korean war. same people in the same origin, same ancestor, just because the ideological manipulation by the soviet and Chinese communists, a nation on the peninsula turned into a purgatory during the early 1950s. all the critical important ingredients/elements making a film this great were well provided: great screenplay full of atrocity of killings, sacrifices, ridiculousness of war and battles, stupid ideology, the greatness and the smallness of human natures, great directing, casting, cinematography, locations, stunts, graphic design, editing, sound effects, background music arrangement....and most memorable acting/performance, all well combined and turned this movie into a great viewing experience.

the most important message of this film: the ridiculousness of the war, the stupidity of battling with a non-exist but well manipulated cause. the blindness of human nature, the helpless of being a soldier, an expendable pawn by higher ranking officers and their nations' political and military leaders, the foreign countries' ideology manipulations. all the human lives consumed in wars and battles are just meaningless and forgettable. they are just statistic numbers in history books.

this ridiculously sad war movie only sent you a strong message: for what and what for?

The war (or specific battles/events during the war) between North and South Korea has been the backbone of quite a few South Korean movies. Most of them really get something good out of this mess. And this movie is no different. Staying mostly on one side, you still get to see "the enemy" and their points of view from time to time. It is superbly cut together and acted very fine.

While I'm not sure about how accurate the movie is by presenting the events (I'm guessing it takes a few creative freedoms), it does not hold back when it comes to punches (or bullets for that matter). The lines between good and evil are really thin. You might argue there are none. The grey area is very big, that is one thing that is very true though. Not the best war movie to come out of Korea, it still is superior to a lot of other war movies.

I can't even come up with how to define this movie, and I've watched a lot of war films, but I think this one just has to be the best I've seen that is as serious as it comes to the consequences of war. Besides just the horrific scenes as in any war movie, it has touched and got through to the emotions multiple times in what seems like a never ending battle. The acting is beyond incredible, especially the brothers, and doesn't show that their enemies are the most evil in the planet but that war itself and who leads them are what makes this conflict. They gone as far as showing scenes that you never or rarely expect to see, and it's remarkable because you'll remember this film for it. A great movie.

First review here on IMDb so I'll keep it short.

This movie is fresh in my mind as I can literally see the credits fading on the other portion of the screen.

This is a great, superbly acted movie about the horrors and futility of war. There really are no "villains" just different shades of grey, as both side is portrayed as just as guilty as the other.

It shows both sides of the war and how they are both fighting for control a small piece of land and at the same time continuously asking the question of "why?"

There are some moments of camaraderie between the two different sides as well, so it isn't all just blood and guts, yet it is more gruesome than Hollywood films.

In summary, if you want to see a good war film aside from the usual Hollywood remakes and rehashes then this one is a good one.

Great acting ,sets and costumes.One of the best war films I have seen for a while ,the story is also really good .