talltale-1 Review of Joint Security Area

Joint Security Area (2000)

This must have been a knockout in Korea (well, the South, at least)

[9/10 · 27 September 2004]

JOINT SECURITY AREA is pretty amazing, but the less said about the plot, the better to insure your full enjoyment, surprise and emotional connection. Another member puts the film down for its sentimentality. I don't know about that: When a country has been as divided as has Korea for the past half-century, a movie like this must have really knocked the socks off of a lot of South Koreans (I doubt it could be shown in the North). I'm trying to think of some equivalently themed American film, but nothing comes to mind. "A Midnight Clear"--or a film about comradeship on either side of, say, America's Civil War-- just couldn't provide the sense of long-term division/separation that Korea has experienced. Beautifully filmed, with flashbacks and varied points-of-view, this puzzle movie eventually comes together, offering some of its best moments toward the end. The last shot is astonishing: simple and reminiscent, but now seen with enough clarity and irony to open mouths and overflow tear ducts.