Towards the end of the Korean War an uneasy ceasefire is ordered, but out on the Eastern front line of the Aerok Hills fierce fighting continues. A race to capture a strategic point to determine a new border between the two Koreas is the ultimate prize. A bullet is then found in the body of dead company commander of the South Korean army. The bullet that killed the company commander belongs to the South Korean army. Lieutenant of the Defense Security Command Kang Eun-Pyo is ordered to go out into the Eastern front line and investigate the murder. When Kang Eun-Pyo arrives in the Aerok Hills he is surprised to find his old friend Kim Soo-Hyeok commanding troops in the Aerok Hills. Kang Eun-Pyo believed Kim Soo-Hyeok was dead. In their younger years, Kim Soo-Hyeok was a meek student, but he eventually became the leader of Aerok company as a lieutenant. The situation in the Aerok company raises many flags in the eyes of Kang Eun-Pyo. Soldiers wear North Korean uniforms inside due to the cold weather, a 20-year-old leads troops as a captain and the reappearance of his old friend Kim Soo-Hyeok. The countdown to the ceasefire begins as the lives of countless soldiers fall to the wayside. –IMDb
Three years of brutal combat as North and South Korean troops trade possession of a single hill. A bit reliant on soldier stereotypes but the actors credibly fill out even the most stereotypical roles. The sense of adjustment to the ongoing horror and the odd type of camaraderie that develops between the opposing sides sets us up for the especially taxing exercise in wasted humanity that concludes the film.
It was rather good. The acting and the cinematography were ace. They went overboard with the ending though.
Also: Free Korean films in New York, first reviews of Geoff Dyer’s Zona and more.
Tsui Hark’s Flying Swords of Dragon Gate leads with seven, followed by Flowers of War and Seediq Bale, with six each.
