Joint Security Area, Review

Last night I watched "Joint Security Area," a 2000 release by the acclaimed director of Old Boy. The pacing and cinematography were great. It brought me closer to my Korean friend, because it acted as a window into military duty: the camaraderie between soldiers, the games played, the late night talks.

Later, over Japanese food, we discussed day to day life in the military service and he disclosed some disturbing incidents, which I'll talk about later.

The story, focusing on North South relations, unfolds in flashback as Korean-born Swiss-raised Sophie E. Jean investigates an incident on the DMZ zone- and also learns the truth about her father. Two North Korean soldiers left dead raise tensions, and there is a threat of full scale war.

The film is beautiful and lyrical, but it could have been thrilling, with some performance tweaking and a better interweaving of narrative threads (the Major's personal discovery was, to me, underdeveloped and distracting).

I haven't seen Old Boy yet but plan to, very soon!