JSA (Joint Security Area)
— A buddy film for those who like their nostalgia - and the sunshine policy - spread on thick.”
- Director: Park Chan Wook
- Korea, 2000
For those who argued that the North/South tensions depicted in Shiri(1999) took second place to a daft Bond-esque tech-fluff plot, JSA (Joint Security Area) succeeds in approaching the borderline. This hype enabled the movie to do brisk business when I was living in Korea.
For Park, who has since turned out some stunning – and subtler – essays in style, JSA was an opportunity to explore the sometimes bizarre realities of life at the DMZ.
The result is highly effective as classic Korean melodrama – Kang Ho Song shines again – but the bilingual scenes have all the truth of Cold War propaganda.
See also:
Y Tu Mamá También
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- Originally published: 4 Feb 2008 in Film
Brotherhood [Taegukgi]
The Korean War from a Korean (male) perspective and not a yank in sight.
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A Bittersweet Life
Yet another tour de force in a growing trend of Korean cool.
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Kika
Hair-brained, frivolous and fun. But also incredibly violent.
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Casablanca
Play it as many times as you want, Sam. I’ll not get tired of it!
- Originally published: 22 Feb 2007 in Film
Who you gonna call?
Hello you, I'm Mike Padgett. I'm not a Princeton curator, Knoxville mayoral candidate, Kentuckian pastor or Arizona journalist, I just share the same name. In fact, I am a consultant working in user experience and information design.
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