Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The sergeant is the shooter, but the lead investigator, a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides.
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On paper, this plot promises much - Joint Security Area between two Koreas and a conflict there. Koreans know how to cut great war epics. Here, they tried and mostly failed due to a very usual and thus very schematic plot, often too poor and corny performances, often too predictable a next step. Seems like Koreas want to break down that wall, but the film does not break any - we have seen such twists and turns in The Base or any other political thriller with some shooting involved. That being said, we have to commend camera work and awesome nature views. Apart and beyond, we are fed with a very trivial casual political soup of no fresh value
While the scenario of the incident itself is pretty good, the introduction and embodiment of it into an investigation is a disaster. The acting of the so-called neutral investigators were miserable, Yeong ae Lee as the major was disappointing, and her Swedish colleague is not worth mentioning.While lacking a bit of originality the movie still highlights the absurd border tension between the North and the South.The major problem was the lack of character development leading to nonexistent affiliation to their feelings resulting in an emotionless conclusion.Apart from this the direction was on point, as you would expect from Chan-wook Park, and the movie ends on a stunning note leaving you with a sweet aftertaste that the film doesn't truly deserves.The movie isn't bad, but if you're looking for yet another of Park's masterpiece, sadly this isn't one.Special mention for Song Kang-ho for his impeccable performance!
A noteworthy movie that keeps viewer's interest till the end, "Joint Security Area" is abstaining the glaring calumnies and propagandistic political innuendos against the DPR of Korea. And the movie sticks till the end on this "political sobriety" with the exception of some divergences. And just on account of the absence of a structured anticommunism, the movie gets quite convincing, while the development of the main characters and the script itself are remarkable.However, the film appears to suffer from historical imprecision and ideological disorientation, since: 1. The division of Korea with all the tragic consequences for the Korean people is somehow presented as result of the political struggle between capitalism and communism. But this is only the half "truth".The truth is that after the end of WWII, the allies (USA, Soviet Union and Britain) committed themselves that "the two zones of military responsibility (in Korea) should be unified as fast as possible in order to form a united and independent state. However, the intentions of the United States and the reactionary circles of Korea were different. Their objective was the socio-political control of the whole country, something that wasn't an easy task for them, since the Korean People's Movement was powerful, and so were the revolutionary forces themselves. Under these conditions, it was obvious that a unified Korean state could not satisfy the interests of the domestic reactionary circles and American imperialism. Thus, despite the international agreements and the will of the Korean people, in August 1948 they established a puppet regime in the southern part of the country with head Lee Seung-Man (Syngman Rhee) that was named "Republic of Korea". These developments compelled the progressive forces of the Korean people to respond with the founding of a proportionate type of formation in the north. One month later, in September 1948, Democratic People's Republic of Korea was founded."2. The viewer is emotionally loaded as the movie underlines the necessity of reunification, but it never puts the question: "what kind of reunification shall it be". And this constitutes a pitfall for the unsuspected viewer. What shall be the political direction of the resulting new state? Because any reunification process has to lead to a definite economic, social and political status. It cannot be neither apolitical, nor neutral, nor completely independent from any ideology. Today there is a lot of experience on the issue of "reunification", and an excellent example is the reunification of Germany and its consequences. What do the Germans who were living in the Socialist East Germany, the German Democratic Republic (DDR), what do they say today about the capitalistic reunification of the two Germanies that took place on 1990? What happened afterwards? What is happening the last years to the social and labour rights of the workers of the former DDR and West Germany? The answer is given in a relatively recent poll of the German political magazine "Der Spiegel". (Majority of Eastern Germans Feel Life Better under Communism).Consequently, it is undoubtedly sure that a reunification in a capitalistic social-economic direction will lead, on one hand to the constant deterioration of workers' life in North and South Korea, and on the other hand on the rise of the profitability and the possibilities of exploitation for the south Korean and foreign bourgeoisie. That's why it is not adequate to talk about reunification without determining the political direction of the reunification. Concluding, the struggle for reunification of the Korean Working people of South and North is inevitably coincided with their common anti-imperialist struggle and the struggle for a Socialist Korea.3. The movie is covering up the huge and dominating military presence of the USA in the DMZ, obscuring the "bonds of blood" between the South Korean bourgeoisie and American imperialism.
After a shootout at the common security area at the border of the two Koreas, when two soldiers were murdered, Maj. Sophie E. Jean (Yeong-ae Lee) is assigned by the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission to investigate the incident. The smart Major finds lack of consistency in the statements of the survivors, and in spite of being pressed by her superior, she interviews South Koreans Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeok (Byung-hun Lee) and private Nam Sung-shik (Tae-woo Kim), and the North Korean Sgt. Oh Kyeong-pil (Kang-ho Song), disclosing a tragic story of friendship. In the end, peace and Sgt. Oh are preserved hiding the truth in her report."Gongdong Gyeongbi Guyeok JSA" is a magnificent and touching antiwar movie. Directed by Chan-wook Park, the director of the cult "Oldboy", only now this film was released in Brazil, after the success of "Oldboy". This movie has a fantastic screenplay that keeps the interest in the impressive story until the very last scene. I was moved with the sad story of friendship between brothers in this polemic theme. The Common Security Area, created on 27 July 1953 with the armistice between the two Koreas after three years of war, and their reunification, seem to be a taboo for these peoples and I appreciate the courage of this group of excellent actors and actress in approaching such theme. In the Extras of the DVD, the cast and director give interviews about the story but never give their opinion about the reunification of these nations. The stunning cinematography and camera work are also very beautiful. My vote is nine.Yitle (Brazil): "Zona de Risco" ("Zone of Risk")
