Joint Security Area
Joint Security Area is a mystery/thriller based fictional
incident which takes place in the demilitarized zone: the
buffer area which divides North and South Korea. A half
Swiss-half Korean military officer is sent to the DMZ to
conduct an impartial investigation of an incident which
left two North Korean soldiers dead and one South Korean
soldier wounded. The investigation is met with suspicion
and both sides are very secretive about the details of the
incident. After her inquiry, the officer discovers two conflicting
accounts of what happened. According to the North Koreans,
a South Korean officer crossed ‘the bridge of no return’
(a bridge where POW’s were exchanged at the end of
the Korean War) and opened fire. According to the South
Koreans, one of their soldiers was kidnapped by North Korean
troops and forced to come to the north. During his escape,
he killed two North Korean soldiers in self defense. A further
probe reveals that neither story is consistent with the
evidence found at the site of the killings.
The sumptuous cinematography, the intriguing historical
plot and the actors’ emotionally charged performances
made this big-budget film a huge hit at the Korean cinema.
JSA was also critically acclaimed overseas and was one of
the first movies that launched a world wide interest in
Korean films and dramas.
JSA is not one of those movies which relies on action packed
sequences and special effects to wow moviegoers. What makes
this movie interesting is that fact that it explores the
struggle of the divided Koreas though human relationships.
However, there isn’t a whole lot of background given
on how the Koreas separated. This leads me to wonder if
people who are unaware of Korean history could really understand
the driving force behind the characters’ actions.
Another drawback of the movie was the weak English-language
scenes. Lee, Young-Ae, the actress who plays the Swiss military
office, has to say several lines in English. It’s
completely unbelievable because it’s obvious she doesn’t
know the language. However, regardless of these minute setbacks,
the movie is definitely worth watching.
Interestingly enough, the army was not at all pleased with
the subject matter of this film. Not too long after the
film’s release, 20 older veterans of the JSA stormed
into the office of the company that produced the film and
demanded that there be disclaimers before and after the
movie saying this film was a complete work of fiction. They
also demanded a public apology.
Before JSA, the movie Shiri was the first blockbuster to
have a theme involving the North and South Korea conflict.
These days, it seems like there’s a huge glut of movies
based on this same theme. It's obvious that the division
of the country is an important issue for Koreans; I just
hope filmmakers come up with some different plot ideas before
the north and south theme gets as played out as a Britney
Spears song.
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