Welcome To Dongmakgol (Malaysia Version) VCD

The odd thing is, though, that it's a nice movie about the insanity of war. Let me clarify what I mean here. It's not a movie about the pain and suffering of war, and how it traumatizes people, as is, for example, Taegukgi (a.k.a. Brotherhood of War). Nor is it about the brutality that must be enacted on people to allow them to kill easily, as is Silmido. It's a movie about the simple fact that war is a really stupid thing to do.

How, you may well ask, does it manage to contain both a lot of niceness and an anti-war message? Very skillfully, and in a very entertaining package. It's funny, in a warm, we're-all-human, sort of way. The message about the dumbness of war is subtle and never hammered: you never feel that you're being preached at, or that the entertainment value is being sacrificed on the altar of politics. It's done by setting a simple story in a war context, and populating it with engaging characters.

The setup is about as simple as it gets, and it's been used before: soldiers from opposing sides meet up in a remote village. The war in this case is the Korean War, and the village is high in the mountains. So high, and so remote, that the villagers don't know there's a war on. They don’t even know what guns are.

This invariably leads to confusion and a humorous standoff. There's a noticeable contrast between the villagers, friendly but innocent, and the soldiers, whose sole job is to kill anyone wearing the wrong uniform. The villagers are understandably more concerned about the fact that wild boars are ripping up their fields than about the fact that some men are shouting a lot and pointing sticks and potatoes (as they see guns and grenades) at each other. And while at first we laugh at what we see as the naivete of the villagers, as the film progresses we begin to realize that it's the soldiers who are acting strangely.

While it's clear that skillful scripting and light-handed direction make this a polished product, what really lifts the film are the performances. Shin Ha-Kyun, an enormously talented actor who's given dazzling performances in Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, JSA, and Save The Green Planet, provides a solid center for the film in his role as Lieutenant Pyo. I can't rave about this man enough: the character that could have sunk the film like a lead weight, when animated by Shin becomes the very heart of the film.

Jung Jae-Young, as Commander Lee of the North, performs a similar miracle. In the wrong hands, Lee could have become either a two-dimensional action hero or a shallow loser, but Jung fleshes out his character in unexpected ways. And, of course, there's the luminously goofy Kang Hye-Jung, last seen in Old Boy, who turns her crazy girl role into a combination of Puckish sprite and ethereal butterfly.

There's some fine visual work, too. The wild boar scene is a wonderful piece of semi-fantasy that teeters on the edge of parody but never quite drops over. The whole scene is conducted entirely in slow motion, alternating shots of the enormous CGI animal pursuing various soldiers, with shots of villagers looking frightened, or amazed, or giving directions ("take it that way").

I could continue enthusing indefinitely, but I shan't. I shall only say that Welcome To Dongmakgol was hugely successful in Korea for a reason. See it, and you'll understand what I'm talking about. It's funny, it's sad, it's warm and fuzzy, it's a gem of Cinema polished to a brilliant shine.

10 unexpected caches of weapons out of 10

by Alison Jobling - heroic-cinema.com

This accidental "gathering" begins when a U.S. pilot named Smith (Steve Taschler) crash lands on the outskirts of Dongmakgol, and is taken in by the locals, who despite some hilarious language difficulties, try their best to make the American feel right at home. Smith is soon joined by the last surviving members of a doomed platoon of North Korean soldiers - Commander Lee Su Hwa (Jung Jae Young), Private Jang (Im Ha Ryong), and patriotic teen soldier Taek Ki (Ryoo Deok-Hwan), all of whom end up following a spaced out villager named Yeo Il (Kang Hye Jung) back to the village. Of course, the North Koreans get a little hot under the collar when two South Korean soldiers – Lieutenant Pyo Hyun Chul (Shin Ha Kyun) and the comical medic Moon (Seo Jae Gyung) – show up at the peaceful hamlet as well. The villagers, who don't have a clue that war is ravaging the country, are left wondering just what all the fuss is about.

After an intense standoff involving the soldiers that quickly turns hilarious thanks to the bewildered, matter-of-fact reactions of the villagers, a stray hand grenade ends up destroying the village's food stores in a popcorn-infused blaze of glory. Realizing the severity of their actions, the two sides form a tentative truce, agreeing to help the villagers restock the warehouse. Although puzzled by the villagers' way of life, the soldiers soon understand that they have found a kind of utopia, where ideology means nothing and the sins of the past can be left far, far behind. But just as they start to settle into this peaceful new world, outside forces threaten to destroy Dongmakgol. Yet even if the soldiers can join forces to protect their new friends, will they survive? Will Dongmakgol?

Based on the play by Jang Jin and featuring a score by Joe Hisaishi, Welcome To Dongmakgol is a total film experience – you'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll definitely be engaged, that's for sure. It's the kind of anti-war film that feels neither heavy-handed nor facile. Despite its Korean setting, it's not so much a movie about Korean reunification, but instead focuses on the idea of peace in general, using the North and South conflict as a way to point out the absurdity of war. But again, it does so without preaching.

What is perhaps most striking about Welcome To Dongmakgol is its ample use of humor and magical realism to weave its charming little tale. Although "serious" in its message, the film balances its more sober aspects with a healthy dose of comedy. In some ways, the film feels like a successful gag-a-minute comedy, whose jokes are too numerous to mention here, but never seem to fall flat. One standout sequence in the film is the impromptu slow-motion boar hunt, which left this viewer and perhaps the entire theater as well, laughing for the entirety of its duration. Again, it's something that has to be seen to be believed, and it's a credit to the filmmakers (and the actors as well) that they would include such an over-the-top CGI-laden interlude (one that wouldn't look out of place in Kung Fu Hustle), yet still retain the overall realist bent. Part of the reason for this has to be because the scene serves a purpose beyond eliciting chuckles – it marks the beginning of true camaraderie between the rival soldiers. And besides, by that point, Welcome To Dongmakgol can do no wrong.

The performances are pitch-perfect, from the leads down to the supporting cast, with Jung Jae Young's conflicted North Korean commander and Kang Hye Jung as the childlike Yeo Il being the standouts. And while Americans are usually given the short shrift, even Steve Taschler's Smith (or "Su Mi Su" as the villagers call him) figures heavily into the narrative, becoming an active participant in the plot even though his character has no idea what anyone is saying. Within the time allotted, the filmmakers do their best to make the characters well-rounded, particularly the soldiers.

Although Park Kwang Hyeon cites Miyazaki as an influence (a visible one in the film, to be sure), there's another Japanese filmmaker that he echoes, particularly in the rousing finale. When the men end up strapping on their weapons and fighting the good fight for the sake of the village, the sequence calls to mind Seven Samurai. But rather than feel perfunctory or contrived, there's a sense of true fellowship that comes right off the screen thanks not only to the performances of the actors involved, but all that has come before. It's a triumphant conclusion, even in its inevitably tragic outcome.

Ultimately, watching Welcome To Dongmakgol is an experience that mirrors the feelings of the characters it depicts. Like the soldiers in the film, the audience will likely find that they don't want their time in Dongmakgol to end. I certainly didn't, and am eagerly awaiting the next film from its talented young director. If it's even half as good as Welcome To Dongmakgol, then it'll be worth the wait.

By Calvin McMillin