Brotherhood DVD Review:

The place is a small township in Korea. The year is 1950. The township centre is busy and full of life and people going about their daily business. Two young men chase each other round and banter about how their day has been. They seem very happy together. Cut to a scene where the Korean army is asking all men between the ages of 18 to 30 to get on the train and one of the men we saw earlier gets on the train. The other man runs after the man looking for where he has gone. He finds him and orders him to get off. But his efforts are worthless because a soldier beats him down to the ground. And so begins the delicate war between two brothers who want to do the right thing by each other and their families. The older brother tries to lead the younger in the right direction with devestating consequences.

Brotherhood is the story of two brothers who get caught up in a personal conflict of virtues between themselves, played out in the brutality and very real Korean war. And this film depicts the very real horror of war, with realistic showpieces of utter annhilation and brutal killing. Korean cinema has never really made a huge impact on the world stage, but with efforts like this in the mainstream, Asian cinema deserves a huge step forward.

One of the most edifying qualities of this film is the presence of war. It is one of the most realistic that I have seen ever put to celluloid. The film has been likened to Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, Saving Private Ryan which is a brilliant fim within itself, but Taegukgi is in a different realm all of its own. This is one of the first war films where you feel you are in the midst of the battle itself. There are explosions, executions, blood gore of the worst kind. It gives the viewer a realistic and very true nature as to the barbarity and madness of what it means to be in a battle.

Features List

The War room

Battle Plans -
This is the first in the line of many wonderful features on this DVD set and includes storyboards of various scenes from the film.

Special Operations -
This is an extended documentary about how the filmakers and producers came up with the idea of the film and how the money became available..

Honoured Dispatches -
The debate avbout dealing with the issue of the Korean War and setting up a story about it.

Captains Orders -
The training and stunt direction documentary interview with Jung Doo- hung, the action director.

Making History

History through the Lens-
This is the story of how the film was created and is a close up of all the refinements of filmaking from art direction to costume design and the task of getting it right for factual and historic effect.

Brotherhood-
A talk with the actors and their reaction to making the film and how the casting was completed.

Tears of Fire-
This is an extensive look at what it was like on the set of the movie.

Ministry of Propoganda

Trailers - The usual up and coming attractions from the Korean cinematic production line

Don't Look Back in Anger- A fascinating insight into the real soldiers who fought in the Korean War of 1950.



Catherine Emenike