After the Armistice was signed in 1954 the two sides and the United Nations built in Panmumjom an 800 meter diameter Joint Security Area. The border between the Koreas is considered to be the most heavily guarded in the world. North and South Korea are still technically at war.
May I begin with a few quotes from the actors themselves?
Song Kang-Ho (plays Sgt Oh Kyeong-Pil) :“ This was not just a politically challenging film…The division between the North and South, their HUMAN story is told…I can proudly say this…aside from the political and social aspect, come out for the film aspect of it all!”
Lee Byung-Hun (plays Sgt Lee Soo-Hyuk): (about the character he plays) “Sgt Soo-Hyuk...represents your current everyday young man that is unaware of the reality that goes on with the division. He is a very curious young man and through that curiosity the film unfolds layers which leads to the shootout at the border…Ultimately he becomes a victim of that division. …Hopefully this film will make it a little more clear as to what goes on in the JSA between the North and South.”
Shin Ha-Kyun (plays Pvt. Jeong Woo-Jin): “I think this movie 'JSA' is…not quite refreshing like a glass of orange juice but more like fruit punch or fermented rice drink for their depth in flavor. You’ll be able to feel a lot from this film. It’s safe to say you won’t be sorry.”
Indeed, after the third viewing of ‘JSA’ I am not sorry. What a great movie. And what a great STORY!!!
Some images that stuck with me:(in order of appearance)
- The owl in the opening as it flies upward towards the moon.
- The sound of the bullet coupled with the beam of light pouring through the bullet hole in the building.
- All the shots and activity that took place on ‘The Bridge of no Return”.
- The billboard at the entrance to North Korea, “Rice is Communism”.
- The dancing stuffed animals in the scene with Lee’s girlfriend.
- The entire episode that takes place at the JSA with the tourists and the baseball cap.
- The entire scene shot in the field, especially while Lee is on the mine.
- The entire scene shot in the winter snow where all the soldiers meet during the rabbit hunt.
- “Hey, your shadows crossing over the line, better watch it…”
- The look of shock in Jeong’s face when he and Oh open the door to Lee on his first visit to their place.
- When Oh says his hope is that “One day our republic will make the best damn sweets, until then all I can do is dream of these Coco Pies,” as he devours one with a smile.
- Come to think of it, EVERY smile that came from Oh melted me.
- And oh yeah, EVERY shot of the puppy.
- The four friends playing like gleeful children outside in the moonlight.
- When Oh and Lee are being interrogated together in the blue building.
- When Sophie asks Oh if he has a message for Lee and he walks towards her whistling (as he did in the field) and gives her the lighter.
- The sadness that struck my heart when I realized (along with Sophie) that Lee was going to kill himself.
- The final flashback to the ‘hat’ incident and the still photo of the four of them.
If you enjoyed ‘JSA’ as much as I did I suggest you check out more films by this talented director, Park Chan-wook.
The last time a film involving war affected me this powerfully, DNA ,DNA,DNA , was way way back with 'Apocalypse Now' (and to some extent 'Deer Hunter'...) I look forward to hearing your reactions.
10 comments:
This movie, like Kontroll, gets better with each viewing. There is just enough ambiguity to let us have different opinions about what really happened. And, like I did with Kontroll, I have watched key scenes frame by frame to suss out whatever meaning I could. I think I know who shot who, and in what order. But I cant make sense of the final encounter between Maj Sophie Jean (the investigator) and Sgt Lee:
*What was in her mind when she told Lee about the discrepancy in the stories, that Oh claimed Lee shot first? What was going on when she told Lee "I hope you heal soon." It was almost as if there is an undertone of "but you never will."
*Why did she "choose to fail" in her investigation? Did it have something to do with what Gen Botta told her earlier?
*What was the General's whole story about Maj Jean's father about? I don't get it.
We watched the film twice and agree with David that it gets better each time. It was hard to tell what every detail of the 'truth' was...we are going to go slowly through those flashback scenes and see if we can conclude who exactly did shoot Jeong, Was it Lee or Nam or both. We counted three shots? And who's shot was first, second, third?
But the story itself was just so mesmerizing. Talk about EOS! We loved all of the main characters, especially Oh. And his smile was so warm, as Lee mentioned. This may well be put on our top ten list. Lee, for us, Apocalypse Now and DeerHunter had a similar level of LLI. We see you have added 'Looking for Richard'. We ejoyed it a lot, especially good for Al Pacino fans...
Hello, sorry I'm running late this week. I'll be watching JSA in the next few days, time willing....I am already experiencing the EOS factor based on the comments so far! (ps: To Oldman, great post on last discussion. Hope everything is well with your family,)
HI EVERYONE
NO COMMENT ON THE FILMAS THERE WAS A NETFLIX GLITCH. JUST WANTED TO SAY HELLO AND I WILL BE CHECKING ON COMMENTS.
David -
Good question. I see it this way:
Maj Sophie just got taken off the investigation because her father wouldn't play by the rules (that is, choose between the two Koreas). She knew who her father was, and knew she had to hide him (she folded the family picture she had so you didnt see him), and hoped she could escape. She knew what happened but decided that Oh (North Korean with the neat smile) was a good guy who didnt need to be punished by the N Korean army (which he would be if the truth were told). Lee, on the other hand, was a cry baby who truly feared death. He had no mind of his own but just aped whatever cool sounding thing Oh said. She believed Lee that shot his friend. She told him and mocked his pride in being a quick shot. She evwen said "you killed your friend" without any mediating comments like "under the circumstances" or "high tension situation." She may not have known Lee was going to kill himself, but she wanted him to know the truth and to suffer. You're rithg, there is an undertone of "you'll never feel better" in what she says.
Hello Breather, David, Kate&JIm,
I felt that Maj Sophie Jean was acting in a compassionate manner as to her handling of both Lee and Oh, ESPECIALLY in the final scenes they all had together. I COMPLETELY disagree with Breather that she wanted Lee to suffer and that Lee was a 'crybaby'. No, he was certainly not as mature as Oh, but in truth he had far less experience than Oh. He acted with great bravery in choosing to connect with the North Koreans and to cross the 'Bridge of No Return' by himself! Breather, Could you please explain what exactly you are referring to when you say that Lee only 'apes' what Oh says?
I agree with Lee and Kate&Jim regarding the quality of the main characters, they were all portrayed as complex and decent human beings. (including Sophie) Sophie 'failed' in her investigation because she ultimately felt that it was the correct thing to do. She was more interested in following her conscience than in furthering her career. As to who shot Jeong, from what I could figure, the first shot was from NAm but the second shot came from Lee. Both were responsible for his death. However, in the extreme tension of the situation (to put it mildly) it would not be unusual for them to react by firing toward the noise they heard, especially when Jeong had told Oh that he was sorry but he could not put his gun down. Everyone was terrified and I think they all did the best they could given the situation. It was a miracle that anyone came out alive in the end!
I too found this film very very powerful and am really glad that I watched it. LLI, EOS, NWIE, WWW.
FilmLuvr -
There are several instances where Lee says something somewhat profound which we later find he picked up directly (word for word) from Oh. Example: Early in the film, while being interviewd by Maj. Jean she says that his comrades say he is a quick shot. He replies with something like "speed isn't important in battle, bravery is." Impressive sounding. A good pick-up line too. Later we see that he learned that from Oh. As to my charge of crybaby, I need only remind you of how he reacted when on the landmine. An understandable reaction, but not what I expect from the brave warrior he and his comrades portray him as.
Yes, they are all complex characters and it is a great film. I would love to hear more voices on the "What was she doing at the end?" debate.
As to the tediously told story about her father: (Watching/hearing the ramblings of a pipe-smoking "armchair anthroplogist" was just a step above watching grass grow) Its a parable (allegory?) of the whole war: Korean POW won't stay in Korea, wont play the cards he is dealt, tries to make his own hand. Most Koreans today have never known anything but the division. N and S Vietnam have unified, E and W Germany have unified, Korea hasn't. Maybe they will unify after the US and China settle their differences. And the North lose that pyscho Kim Jung Il.
Hey everyone,
INteresting posts! I'm with filmluver in disagreeing with Breather about Lee's character. I believe his 'aping' of Oh's wise words were because he had so much respect for Oh and was trying to emulate him. Lee's comrades did indeed look up to Lee and he seem's to have become quite the hero to them. But I see no serious flaw in Lee's character. I chalk up his accepting the embellished tales about his bravery to youth. To a large extent he is still an immature young man who has not yet had enough life experience to fully understand and come to terms with himself.
Loved the movie, found it totally absorbing from start to finish, however, in spite of that I'm not sure I could really say with any certainty why some of the characters behaved as they did, what their motivations were, etc. Perhaps this is partially due to the inadequacy of the subtitles, or more likely the cultural divide, but whatever the reason I seem to be left with more questions than answers where Maj Sophie's motivation, Sgt Lee's character and more are concerned. And I don't think Breather's points can be so easily dismissed. Maj Sophie's father, after all, wasn't simply a North Korean, but a general in the North Korean army who ended the war in the hellish conditions of a South Korean prisoner of war camp which had become -- as the film points out -- a war within a war. Of course Sophie is aware of this -- nor does she ever deny it -- and Breather is quite right to point out her folded family picture in evidence. But not only is she aware of her father's history, but clearly also that if known, this information would automatically disqualify her from this particular posting. So, why did she accept it, and what really were her motivations in the later scenes. Though she is ultimately dismissed -- not just due to her father's past, but also her own subterfuge in hiding this information -- but not before this daughter of a North Korean general has driven both of the South Korean soldiers involved to suicide attempts, actions which insure permanent protection to the North Korean, Sgt Oh. Are we really expected to believe that an investigator so intelligent, so subtle, someone who has come in and almost immediately grasped the hidden truth of what had happened, a truth no one else had even suspected, suddenly becomes so clumsy, so stupid in her interrogations of both Lee and Nam that she unintentionally pushes them both to kill themselves. And remember, her superiors didn't see it that way. She is warned after Nam's suicide attempt that she could be dismissed just for that, for her actions in provoking this action. Then, she does it again? I realize we all want to believe her intentions are good; after all she's pretty, and you know how it is with movies. Nonetheless, if she's really so innocent then why is she Sherlock Holmes most of the time, but so conveniently Watson when it suits her? As to Sgt Lee, I don't see anything malevolent in his character, but again Breather is certainly accurate in calling him a crybaby. Lee, like Sophie, is a character we're supposed to like. He is, by his own admission, "a pretty man." Remember his comment, "tell me something I don't know"? He is pleasant, even - as he is described - warm-hearted, but he is obviously not very bright, or amongst other things he'd have never set the events of this film in motion. Maybe today, as Joe Jackson said, we wonder who the real men are, but clearly in this film Sgt Oh is the only person with much of a claim to that title -- whatever it may mean. Sgt Lee is extremely good looking, something he has no doubt traded on his entire life. Ultimately he is a boy who has watched too many American movies. He is smart enough to recognize Sgt Oh as a man to be emulated, but nowhere near wise enough to really understand a word of what he's saying. Lee can parrot Oh's words, but hasn't the composure or bravery to turn those words into actions -- and in the end that is what (albeit with a little push from Maj Sophie) really causes not only his own death, but that of his friends as well.
Welcome again Oldman!
I appreciate how well you expounded upon the points that you agreeed with Breather on. Thanks for helping me rethink the reasons that I had for disagreeing with him (her?) This is what I love about these discussions. By reading everyone else's take on various elements of the films I am able to engage in a deeper and wider perspective than my own viewing would have left me with. THrough our dialogues in the last months I have found myself amazed at some of the details I either missed, disregarded, misinterpereted and or simply didn't think through. I tend to go with my original 'gut' reaction and without all your wonderful feedback and intense analysis I would probably have just stayed with my original feelings. This is my nature, to feel first and analyze later. (However....I can go way in the other direction when called upon!)) I am very open to hearing all sides of an argument and to reevaluate my own position. On that note, I will go ponder David, Breather,Filmluver and Oldman's posts. Much food for thought.......
And thanks Kate&Jim , so glad you enjoyed the movie!
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