Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)It is hard to tell you the exact nature of the film; it is basically a fantasy, but is also a war movie. Anyway the film is pretty impressive, though.
`Welcome to Dongmakgol' is made in South Korea, where it became a huge hit in 2005. It was selected as the nation's entry for Oscars, but in spite of the film's better-than average quality it was not nominated. If you see the film, you will know why it was ignored by the voters of the Academy. (I will come back to the supposed reasons later.) Let me first say that `Welcome to Dongmakgol' is a highly entertaining film for all its deep flaws.
The film begins with a close-up of a strange girl Yeo-il (played by Hye-jeong Kang, 'Old Boy') who is happily staring something falling from the sky. Actually she is watching a US fighter airplane which lands near the sleepy and peaceful village of Dongmakgol.
The story is in fact set in the 1950s, during the Korean War, and two groups of soldiers are seen heading for the same village Dongmakgol without knowing the presence of each other. When three soldiers of the North Korean army led by Chief Comrade Lee Su-Hwa (Jae-yeong Jeong) arrive at Dongmakgol after a bloody battle, they are surprised to find that there are not only two South Korean soldiers, 2nd Lt. Pyo (Ha-kyun Shin) and Army Medic Mun Sang-sang (Jae-kyeong Seo) but also an American pilot Smith (called Su-Misu, played by Steve Taschler).
Well I think you already know the rest of the story, which is pretty predictable. The soldiers of both sides confront one another at first, but the kind villagers and the life in the peaceful village gradually change their minds.
Something happens in the middle of the film, which I won't disclose here. All I can say is that some characters of the film, especially the Westerns (or Americans to be precise), are depicted in a very negative light. True, the filmmakers did not forget to refer to the painful facts as to who started the war, or who killed the (South/North) Koreans, and they present this Smith as a very nice guy. However, it is also true that some Western soldiers are violent, trigger-happy (and bomb-happy too), extremely negative stereotypes, and their nagative traits are shown on the screen with truly stereotypical villain's acting.
Though some scenes reflect the today's political climate in this country, the film has lots of wonderful fantasy-like moments that would be universally appealing, accompanied by the beautifull music of Jo Hisaishi (known for his works in the films of Miyazaki and Kitano), and the friendship between the characters are really moving. The ending has a surreal beauty, which is surely touching, but like many other films from South Korea, the film is sometimes very nationalistic, alienating some of us from the content of the film. `Welcome to Dongmakgol' is worth a look for the good acting from the Korean stars, and its unique visuals (see the funny slow-motion hunting sequence), but could be better with well-balanced descriptions of some characters.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Welcome to DongMakGol DVD (2005 Korean Movie)
Click here for more information about Welcome to DongMakGol DVD (2005 Korean Movie)
