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Silmido (2003) More at IMDbPro »

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21 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Loyalty and KCIA, 10 April 2005
Author: Atavisten from Tellus

In the 1960s a Korea controlled by its intelligence KCIA (guess where it came from ..) after a North Korean attempt to assassinate the South Korean president Park Chung-hee. South Korea responds by making a special force to kill Kim Il-sung, commander of North Korea. This force is made up of criminals judged to death sentence who get the choice of playing hangman or be in the force.

What we see from now on is people not treated as people, but are trained as machines of war for one mission which will take their lives in the end. The fact that this is based on a true story is very depressing and even more sadly, not so surprising.

This film was far superior to the more heroism focused 'Taegukgi' but received far less acclaim in South Korea, understandably so since 'Silmido' is very critical about recent happenings and has a much smaller budget. You on the other hand if given the choice, know what to pick. ;)

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16 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Riveting account of Korean govt doublecross, 30 December 2004
8/10
Author: Dan Starkey from Belfast, NI

Korean film is blossoming, from the action thriller "Shiri" to the delightful romantic "My Sassy Girl." "Silmido" takes this ability to make excellent films in a political direction. "Silmido" is to South Korea as Costa-Gavras' "Z" was to Greece: truth-telling about terrible government misdeeds. Unlike "Z," however, "Silmido" is not only shown at home, but is hugely successful, demonstrating the increasing strength of Korean democracy. One hopes that films like "Silmido" are a sign of increasing openness, and better times ahead for the Korean people.

As was the case with "Z," the excellence of the film guarantees an international audience for the story, and the widespread attention may well lead to additional revelations. Although the details of the government plot are sordid, the film romanticizes the actions of death-row convicts, and one suspects that the filmmakers took some liberties in portraying some of their noble and comradely behavior. Nevertheless, an first-rate movie and highly recommended.

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15 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Dirty Dozen meets Eagle Has Landed meets Gauntlet, 28 March 2004
10/10
Author: futenma from TQ

As the South Korean movie industry matures, more of their feature movies should become of interest to mainstream western audiences. Silmido is one of these movies.

The Korean peninsula continues to experience behind-the-scenes low intensity engagements between the two nations. Set in the 1960's, the nK strikes at the ROK leadership and prompts a response. The KCIA sponsors the formation of a special army unit to strike back at Pyongyang. Comprised of civil prisoners and other outcasts, the movie follows their formation, training, and deployment.

The film covers a great deal of cultural ground. The viewer gets a sense of the male-dominated, hierarchical government with its intrigues and power brokers. The spartan living conditions, training and discipline are not inconsistent with ROK practices. The motto used in the film - "Loyalty" - illustrates the conservative bent of the military system and the social schism which exists between it and the South Korean people at large. The film could have used "Strength and Honor" from Gladiator to the same effect. As a code of behavior, the concept of loyalty is the thematic underpinning for the major plot turns.

While lacking some of the pacing and plot roll-out elements of first tier film efforts, Silmido still delivers an interesting story line and succeeds as an action movie. It offers a harsh indictment of the government's leadership, not unlike American Viet Nam conflict movies, and the viewer is left with a perspective of Korean soldiers as army ants whose sole function is to live and die protecting their society.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
very good ***minor spoiler***, 28 July 2004
8/10
Author: Michael Clough from Melbourne Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Do you the most amazing thing about Silmido is, is the fact that it is based on a true story.

It's hard to find much fault with this film, the acting & production quality is very good. Silmido is an engrossing drama from start to finish, firstly see our death-row crims cum crack soldiers preparing for their mission & secondly to see their eventual demise.

Silmido is another example of the huge steps taken by the South Korean film industry in the past decade, making films far more original than Hollywood, with in many cases production & acting standards equal to Hollywood with budgets a fraction of the Hollywood machine.

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11 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Melodramatic almost to a fault - but intense to the end, 6 May 2005
7/10
Author: RedDogEnglishman from United Kingdom

This one shouldn't be seen while feeling vulnerable.

In 1968, a group of 31 death-row prisoners were selected by the South Korean military with the intention of crafting them into a super-tough unit to slash the throat of the North's President, in retaliation for a similar attempt by the Communist government.

The endured an unspeakably gruelling training, but became the ultimate fighting unit: no past and no worries about the fate (just as long as they don't get captured). However, at the 11th Hour, the South Korean government altered policy and retracted the standing orders: no go on the mission. So the condemned men, 'Unit 684', who lived, trained and survived together were left with no purpose, and were a potential powder keg on the diplomatic level… I expect you can guess what happened next.

This movie went stellar in Korea, and given the success of films like Shiri, JSA, Taegukgi and Champion I can appreciate why. This is concerned heavily with national identity, loyalty, responsibility, duty, faith and friendship. It's also gutsy, violent and tough – so much so you might end up feeling you've trained with the men themselves. One of the strengths of Woo-Suk Kang's film is that it's engaging: you feel like you evolve with the men, that you live with them. Is this isn't brought about by any particularly subtle techniques, but by cinematic brute force. The film pummels you over the head with images of torment, crushing, bombastic Hans Zimmer-esquire music, gunfire, widescreen effects, explosions, and close-ups of bodies smashing rocks.

It's melodramatic to the bone. OTT, posturing and hard to take seriously.

But for some reason, I was moved, and impressed. Despite it's excesses and bombast, the film gets under your skin. The issues surrounding the country's responsibility to the men it sentences, then entrusts with its dirty work are raised, but not properly examined, ditched in favour of loud speeches and actors being manly. But the film's resolve to take itself absolutely seriously pays off. Despite the length and tracks of boredom that set in, director Kang's decision to milk scenes for all their worth makes you care. And you will be moved for the men.

There is also some genuine food for thought. The film lacks the scale to examine some of its more controversial issues properly, and the villains it creates are your basic dispassionate men-in-high-places-in-suits, but the betrayal wrought on the prisoners is made more complex by the changes in some superiors' characters, and by the ideas of bravery and cowardice that are briefly raised.

I find it slightly dispiriting that a Hollywood-like lack if complexity has seeped into some of South Korea's film (e.g. Shiri, Tube, Taegukgi), this is an angry dog of a film, committed to the men it depicts. I'm sure major historical liberties were taken, and for Korean cinema, sample Save The Green Planet above this, but this still an accomplishment, and a tough experience.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Better to watch before "call of duty", 21 October 2008
8/10
Author: (silversurfer_umit) from Turkey

Firstly I must say that nearly there is no woman in the movie. Thats make this movie more strict and harsh. As you know the story, this is a hard movie also. You must have nerves like steel to watch this movie without getting upset. I get some stress while watching the movie and after watching it. Because everybody shouting each other and beating each other realistically and periodically.

This is a good movie. A good story. You cannot guess the end of the movie that has a surprising ending. Most of the emotions in the movie is at the tops. Acting is very very good. Effects are also okey,not the best but very good for a foreign movie.

Finally I think,war movie lovers must see this movie.Others with strong nerves also will like this movie. Better to watch before "call of duty".

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silmido..That's great!!, 18 March 2009
9/10
Author: tim-itc from Korea (Republic of)

'Shilmido' This movie is very sad...

A group of 31 constituted with criminals including convicts on death rows were forcibly lead to an island to be trained for a special mission after penetrating into North Korea.

The government, however, is trying to secretly kill them all due to a abrupt change of South-North international diplomatic relationship.

I can hardly forget the last scene in which all of those who could survive thanks to what they have been trained killed themselves.

This movie partially teaches us history of this country and for that I would like to recommend it to Korean people regardless of sexes nor ages.

The best movie of my entire life.

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4 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
The most tragic & incredible event in Korean history, 8 July 2004
10/10
Author: Musashi Zatoichi (info@dvdstockholm.com) from Stockholm

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

January 1968, 31 members of North Korean Special Unit 124 infiltrated South Korea with the ultimate mission of attacking the Blue House (Presidential Palace in Korea) and assassinating President PARK Chung-hee. When KIM Shin-jo, the only member who was captured alive, was asked 'What was the purpose of infiltration?' on a live TV program, he shouted 'I came to slit the throat of President PARK Chung-hee!' and made the whole country's blood run cold.

At the same time, In-chan escapes the death penalty for being an accessory to a crime when he accepts an unexpected proposal from Jae-hyun , a general at Silmido H.I.D. Project and is transported to Silmido Special Unit. Silmido Special Unit is a unit composed of dysfunctional social outcasts and criminals under the death or life sentences. Sang-pil and Won-hee are also among the members of this unit. When they arrive at the island, Jae-hyun gives them the classified national duty, which is to explode the North Korean presidential palace and behead KIM Il-sung, the North Korean president. It is a retaliatory project. To its all 31 members, it is the ultimate patriotic mission with pride and loyalty; and it is the only chance they have to start a new life that is promised once the mission is successfully accomplished. With their hopes and promising vision, they survive through the most hellish inhumane 'killing' training and are reborn as human armories. They are the human killing machines, with strong comradeship and respect for each other.

Finally, the day arrives and they receive an order from the head office to carry out the mission. With their supreme confidence, they depart for the North. However, the project is suddenly revoked and they return to Silmido with much discouragement and stress. After then, the hellish training continues but, there is no more mission. The psychological frustration and physical tolerance start to reach their limits. And soon, the members start to lose their focus and unity. In order to regain complete control of the unit, the head office performs public executions of its own members. Meanwhile in 1970, with growing nationwide peacemaking movement between the North and the South, the government quickly decides to demolish Silmido Special Unit and executes all its members...

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1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Loyalty, 28 June 2005
9/10
Author: goatboy500 from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Silmido was better acted, edited and directed than most Hollywood movies, telling the true story of a group of conscripts sent to a remote Korean Island (Silmido of the title) to train as elite troops to assassinate the leader of North Korea. The men form strong bonds with each other and their guards (read: captors) Their bonds are not based on friendship as in most Hollywood movies, but on loyalty, which is also the salute mantra of all the soldiers on the island. It is the theme of loyalty that pervades the movie....loyalty to each other, to your country, and what you get in return for that loyalty. There are some truly incredible moments in this film , including an extended action sequence that instead of going for gymnastic pyrotechnics, focuses on the human interaction between the characters, who have been forced to act in certain ways based on where their loyalties lie. Look out for Sergeant Jo, my favourite character from the film, who for most of the movie plays the typical hard-assed drill Sergeant. His performance alone would be enough to make this movie great, but all acting in the movie is excellent. See it.

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2 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic film and very sad indeed, 5 January 2006
10/10
Author: triplexchiu from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

You'll know what I mean when I say sad film, just watch the ending. It is a film where we see the dark side of Kym Park Chung Hee's regime during the 70s. A very important leader he was in helping South Korea as it is today but he abused human rights which was the reason why he was criticized as well. I think this is what the film here paints.

The film depicts a group of prisoners who are on death row and just when they are about to be executed, an assassination attempt occurs but fails miserably on Park Chung Hee. So the government gathers these groups of death row prisoners and trains them up so they go into North Korea to execute Kim Il Sung. However as the political climate changes so does the mission and you'll see why this is a sad film

I really wished he had....... I won't mention it because it is a spoiler!

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