[Movie 2000] Joint Security Area 공동경비구역 J S A

Directed by: Park Chan Wook (OldBoy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance)

Actors:
Sgt. Oh Kyung Pil - Song Kang Ho
Sgt. Lee Soo Hyuk - Lee Byung Hun
Private Nam Sung Shik - Kim Tae Woo
Private Jung Woo Jin - Shin Ha Kyun
Major Sophie Jean - Le Young Ae



Joint Security Area

Review by Darcy Paquet @ www.koreanfilm.org

For the second year in a row, the Korean film industry has struck gold with a movie about North Korea. Many expected Joint Security Area (or JSA) to do well at the box office, given the current level of interest in North Korean affairs, but it has done much more than that, spawning headlines and breaking box-office records with ease. The film drew close to half a million viewers in Seoul alone its first week. On the following Saturday it set a one-day box office record, drawing 104,000 viewers in the capital. It broke the one million admissions mark in only 15 days -- last year it took Shiri 21 days to reach the same mark. By early 2001 it had become the best-selling film in Korean history (though it was eclipsed by Friend a few months later).

Park Chan-wook's film opens with a shooting in the truce village of Panmunjom which leaves two North Korean soldiers dead and one South Korean soldier wounded. With each country giving conflicting reports on what happened, the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) is asked to send in a Swiss military officer to conduct an investigation. After her arrival, however, she finds that no one is willing to talk to her, and the soldiers involved all seem to be hiding some secret...

JSA is described as a mystery/ human drama, and its structure is clearly divided into two parts: the investigation by Korean-Swiss Major Sophie Jean, and an extended flashback to the incident between the soldiers. I think most would agree that the film's biggest strength is the flashback, with actors Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-heon excelling in their roles. This part of the film also features some breathtaking cinematography for the scenes that take place along the Demilitarized Zone.

The mystery element contains less tension, particularly if the viewer knows too much about the plot beforehand. Attention is focused not so much on what happened, but why. This part also contains a large number of scenes in English, which may have to be redubbed if the film opens in English-speaking territories. Nonetheless it has been noted by critics and audience members alike for its rare casting of a female actor (Lee Young-ae) in a non-romantic part.

The producers of the film spared no expense in recreating the setting around Panmunjom. Since shooting at the actual site would obviously not be permitted, Myung Film built a 90% replica of the village of Panmunjom at a cost of some $800,000. The site can be visited to this day at the Seoul Cinema Complex. JSA is also notable for being the first Korean film ever to be shot on Super 35mm film, a special format used in some Hollywood blockbusters that allows for a wide screen (1:2.35) with very clear definition.

The film has won more or less unanimous praise from every sector of Korean society, with one exception: the army. Many in the military have derided the film as pure fantasy, based on an event which could never happen in real life (probably true). In a bizarre incident on September 26, twenty older members of the JSA Veterans' Association stormed into the office of Myung Film, breaking windows and physically threatening the employees of the company. They demanded that the production company issue a public apology to the army and insert notices at the beginning and end of the movie stating that it is a work of fiction. After four hours, the employees of Myung Film acquiesced, and despite vocal objection from the film industry, the group's demands are being met.

Some have compared this film to Shiri because of its superficial resemblance, but it really is a much different work. As relations with North Korea change and the two nations draw closer together, this film perhaps serves best as a record of South Koreans' fears and hopes for reconciliation. (Darcy Paquet)

Credits: Review from www.koreanfilm.org, images from PlanetBH0712

For more information on the Joint Security Area or DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), click HERE.


JSA - 2000 (from subwaycinema.com)

"The basic plotline of this pungent military drama...comes tightly tailored in the Hollywood style. Its interior, by contrast, is airy, subtle and playful, and showcases the best elements of modern Asian cinema." - Xan Brooks, The London Guardian

JOINT SECURITY AREA is a bizarrely proportioned movie. The biggest movie ever released in Korea (beating the previous box office record of every film, both foreign and domestic), sold for the highest price ever to Japan, opening at the top of the box office on its opening weekend there, filmed on the biggest and most expensive set ever built in Korea (an 80% replica of the Panmunjom truce village), and generally the BIGGEST! MOST EXPENSIVE! MOST! SUPER! ENORMOUS! HIT! in Korea, this stratospheric success is built around an intimate, character-driven drama that telescopes the psychic damage wrought by the entire Cold War into the lives of five, small people.

Awards:
Winner, Best Picture, Best Actor (Song Kang-Ho), Best Art Direction (Kim Sang-Man),the 38th Grand Bell Awards.
Winner, Audience Award, Best Picture, Best Actor (Song Kang-Ho), Deauville Asian Film Festival.
Winner, Best Cinematography, Kim Seong-Bok, 21st Chongryong Awards
Runner-Up, Best Picture, Seattle International Film Festival.

The full article, here.

JSA VODS



Torrent Link (1 CD, 694 MB) - thanks to cute girl/haru2subs
http://www.box.net/shared/4ka1jaeo97

Music Video
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J..._music_300k.asf

The making clips for JSA
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...king01_300k.asf
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...king02_300k.asf
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...king03_300k.asf
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...king04_300k.asf
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...king05_300k.asf
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...king06_300k.asf
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...king07_300k.asf
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...king08_300k.asf
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...king09_300k.asf

The cast interview on actor, Kim Tae Woo
http://www.taewookim.com/filmography/img/J...mtw_to_300k.asf

Gratitude: www.taewookim.com & Everything Lee Byung Hun

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