Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo (2004)

When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.

Director:

Je-kyu Kang (as Je-gyu Kang)

Writers:

Richard Epcar, Ji-hoon Han

Stars:

Dong-Gun Jang, Won Bin, Eun-ju Lee

12 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Dong-Gun Jang	...	Jin-tae Lee
Won Bin	...	Jin-seok Lee
Eun-ju Lee	...	Young-shin Kim
Hyeong-jin Kong	...	Yong-man
Yeong-ran Lee	...	Mother Lee
Kil-kang Ahn	...	Sergeant Huh (as Kil-Kang Ahn)
Jin Jung	...	Sergeant Lim
Jae-hyeong Jeon	...	Yong-seok
Min-ho Jang	...	Old Jin-seok Lee
Yun-hie Jo	...	Jin-seok Lee's grandaughter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jang-Su Bae	...	Noodles guest
Won-hee Cho
Min-sik Choi	...	North Korean Captain
Do-Hee Go	...	Young-Guk Kim
Taek-ha Hwang	...	Platoon Soldier #2

Storyline

In 1950, in South Korea, shoe-shiner Jin-tae Lee and his 18-year-old old student brother, Jin-seok Lee, form a poor but happy family with their mother, Jin-tae's fiancé Young-shin Kim, and her young sisters. Jin-tae and his mother are tough workers, who sacrifice themselves to send Jin-seok to the university. When North Korea invades the South, the family escapes to a relative's house in the country, but along their journey, Jin-seok is forced to join the army to fight in the front, and Jin-tae enlists too to protect his young brother. The commander promises Jin-tae that if he gets a medal he would release his brother, and Jin-tae becomes the braver soldier in the company. Along the bloody war between brothers, the relationship of Jin-seok with his older brother deteriorates leading to a dramatic and tragic end.

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Plot Keywords:

korean war | 1950s | frontline | firearm | south korean soldier | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic sequences of war violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actor who plays the North Korean captain in the Pyongyang battle scene called in sick and was replaced with another actor with similar features.

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Goofs

In the scene where the South Koreans are retreating from the Chinese, one of the POWs takes a pistol from an injured soldier, shooting him twice. When he shoots the soldier a second time, the sound of the gunshot is out of sync with the slide kicking back (Just before it shows the soldier getting shot, you can clearly see the slide is back, but the gunshot is heard a few seconds later).

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Quotes

Jin-tae: [tears up the last will that Jin-seok was writing] Wills are for dying people. You've got to be strong.

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Alternate Versions

Also released in a directors cut running 148min.8min longer than the US and original version

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Connections

References O Resgate do Soldado Ryan (1998)

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Soundtracks

Oppaneun punggakjaengi
Written by Kim Song Kyu and Park Yeong Ho
Sung by Park Hyang Rim.

User Reviews

Wonderful

This 2.5 hour long movie was wonderful! As a Korean, this movie was very emotionally moving and touching. Some people (mainly Westerners) think this movie was "over-dramatic", but it's actually a part of korean custom, culture and history. If you do not speak or understand Korean, a lot of the "meaning" is lost and cannot be portrayed in subtitles. That is a true shame. The story-line between the two brothers was heart-felt and emotional. Korea has remained divided for decades since and is subject to the possibility of a new war at any time. It was considered one of the most destructive and bloodiest wars of the 20th century with over 4 million koreans dead (2/3 of them were civilian). The Korean War will always be remembered as the "Forgotten War" since it came on the heels of World War II and was overshadowed by the Vietnam War.

Details

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

6 February 2004 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Brotherhood

Filming Locations:

A-San City, South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

$12,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$260,135, 5 September 2004

Gross USA:

$1,111,061

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$76,459,252

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kang Je-Kyu Film Co. Ltd., KD Media, KTB Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min 148 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1