The Front Line

THE FRONT LINE is a typical addition to the recent wave of South Korean war movies that strive to explore new avenues on a very famous theatre of war. The last two I saw were WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL and 71 INTO THE FIRE; the former was a politically intriguing exploration of the nature of conflict itself, while the latter was a flag-waving crowd-pleaser.

THE FRONT LINE falls somewhere between the two, refusing to demonise opponents while at the same time providing plenty of gritty war action. The earth-flying battle sequences are by far the highlight of this film as the screen is transformed into a nightmarish and barren landscape of blown-up hillsides, dingy trenches and muddy holes in the ground. This is real warfare, post-SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, throwing you into the thick of realistic action and making you feel like you're fighting at the side of the protagonists.

It's a pleasure to report that the non-battle storyline is every bit as watchable as the scenes taking place on the battlefield. As in the earlier BROTHERHOOD, much of the plot revolves around the developing relationship between two characters whom the war transforms in different ways: one becomes battle-weary and resigned, the other slightly unhinged and with a real killer instinct. It's a poignant, carefully-drawn relationship and one that sustains the running time admirably. Okay, so some of the sub-plots openly copy those of earlier movies (the whole sniper thing in particular) but that doesn't detract from what is a very good recent war movie.

The main problem with this movie is its runtime and the ungodly amount of side plots. A movie can have multiple side plots, but it must not forget then and remember them only for short amounts of time. These plots ad unnecessary length to the film especially at the end when you just want the movie to end.

Otherwise it was quite good. Combat scenes were quite brutal and captured the horrors of war. The dialogue was bad only a couple of times.

It was weird to not see any actual artillery in the movie. Explosions come mostly from mortars and bombs. It also has a rarely seen rifle granede which is used in one scene.

Great acting ,sets and costumes.One of the best war films I have seen for a while ,the story is also really good .

Based on the Korean War of 1953, Aerok Hill is the border between North and South Korea, and both countries did everything they could to defend the hill. During the war, the hill was claimed numerous times by both countries. Each time, the soldiers would bury something in a bunker for the other soldiers to find: beer, wine, photos, letters, etc. This created the feeling that these soldiers might even have been friends if it wasn't for war and the high ranking officials sitting behind their desks declaring war and urging soldiers to fight to the end.

The film starts a bit slow, but this gives us a very good chance to get to know the characters and their backgrounds. It was interesting, effective and never boring. The entire cast is very good. The suspense is elevated when a few men hunt a sniper they call 'Two Seconds'. The film also illustrates how one simple wrong decision can change the fate of so many soldiers. War certainly takes its toll on man's sanity, and is very well depicted in this film.

Even after an armistice was signed, the soldiers were still urged to fight another 12 hours before it took effect. The dismay and reluctance to fight was so evident in the soldiers during the final hours. The film is a very emotional journey and excellent character study of soldiers. The final act was heart wrenching! This is an amazingly well done film.

The war (or specific battles/events during the war) between North and South Korea has been the backbone of quite a few South Korean movies. Most of them really get something good out of this mess. And this movie is no different. Staying mostly on one side, you still get to see "the enemy" and their points of view from time to time. It is superbly cut together and acted very fine.

While I'm not sure about how accurate the movie is by presenting the events (I'm guessing it takes a few creative freedoms), it does not hold back when it comes to punches (or bullets for that matter). The lines between good and evil are really thin. You might argue there are none. The grey area is very big, that is one thing that is very true though. Not the best war movie to come out of Korea, it still is superior to a lot of other war movies.