Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo (2004)

Director:

Je-gyu Kang

Writer:

Je-gyu Kang (writer)

Release Date:

6 February 2004 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Plot:

A drama about the fate of brothers forced to fight in the Korean War.

Plot Keywords:

Korean War | Korea | 1950s | Medal | North Korea

Awards:

9 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Dong-Kun Jang	...	Jin-tae Lee
Bin Won	...	Jin-seok Lee
Eun-ju Lee	...	Young-shin Kim
Hyeong-jin Kong	...	Yong-man
Yeong-ran Lee	...	Mother
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kil-Kang Ahn	...	Sergeant Huh
Joe Cappelletti	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Min-sik Choi	...	North Korean commander
D.C. Douglas	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Min-ho Jang	...	Old Jin-seok Lee
Dae-Hoon Jeong
Jae-hyeong Jeon	...	Yong-seok
Yun-hie Jo	...	Jin-seok Lee's grandaughter
Doo-hong Jung
Bo-kyeong Kim
Su-ro Kim	...	Anti-Communist Federation member

Also Known As:

Brotherhood (International: English title) (UK)
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (International: English title) (USA)
Taegukgi (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic sequences of war violence.

Runtime:

140 min | 148 min (director's cut)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB (original rating) | Hong Kong:III (video rating) | Ireland:15A (cinema release) | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 (original rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 (director's cut) | USA:R | Mexico:C | Argentina:16 | Indonesia:Dewasa

Company:

Kang Je-Kyu Film Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

One of four Korean movies screened at the 2006 International Fajr Film Festival in Iran.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scene where North Korean soldiers ambush Jin Tae and several other South Korean soldiers while they're laying mines, one of the South Koreans steps on a mine and it blows his leg off. However, the M15 Anti-tank mine, which was the mine they were using, requires a force of 350 to 750 lbs to detonate.

Quotes:

Young-shin: [while trying to decide what to take along as they evacuate the house upon declaration of war] There's Kimchi pots buried in the yard. What will happen to them?

Movie Connections:

References Saving Private Ryan (1998)

One of the Best Movie About War

It started out like so many other movies, a short clip of the present and then a long flashback. And then it blew me away with its depiction of war and all of its complexities. The changes in the attitudes of the two brothers as the Korean War progresses helps us understand that war is not merely about good and evil. The most well intentioned soldier or commander can go astray. The Korean War turned brother against brother based on little more than time and place, conviction, or happenstance.

Take Guk Gi is the best antiwar movie that I have seen since Johnny Got His Gun.

It reminded me of the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, which I thought captured some of the reality of war while avoiding the pitfalls that Saving Private Ryan fell.

If the DC crowd watched the Battle of Algiers but missed the message, All Americans should see Tae Guk Gi to better understand the horror and tragedy of war.