The Fortress

Surprisingly good Korean history flic. Very good performance by the actors. No overacting. No trash. No cringe. Characters are well drawn. The script well written, featuring the predicament of the main protagonists. But note! if u want battle action, please opt for Lord of the rings or Avengers Endgame. Sry no offense. This is more a political movie!

Hard to watch such suffering for power and greed, but script production, direction, and most certainly the acting made it worth my while. Kudos again Korea!

That gloomy sentiment, beyond the plot, is also perfectly represented via cinematography and sound design, granting The Fortress the uniquely dark aesthetic of showing us history from the side of the losers.

This film recently came up on NowTV and thought would give it a try without knowing anything about it. Very glad that I did! If you think you would enjoy an insight into a brutal period of medieval history not well known in the west with a mix of realistic battle scenes and court intrigue (and you don't mind subtitles) then I could recommend this. Central to the story being the kings aides who have differing advice for the King on how to deal with the invading Chinese army against a backdrop of a society with very distinct rich and poor divide where honour is sacrosanct. The film captures well the bleak remote location of the fortress while the combat is refreshingly devoid of the extensive use of cgi.

Enjoyed this as it's not black and white morally and you genuinely don't know where it's going. A bit of a gem actually.It's quite brutal in parts but not gratuitously as it is about a very desperate battle.