Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)

The story is quite a touching one. Soldiers from the opposite side end up living side by side in a little town, they help the residents after destroying their crops and find friendship with their enemies.First of all, I thought this was going to be another 'trying to be profound films that dictates friendship over war' and went in with low expectations..At the end..I was an emotional wreck.There is something so haunting about that song that sets the tone before the film even starts, we meet the characters a man on the run from his past, a commander who does not know how to lead his men...these characters are beautifully portrayed by brilliant actors..course then there is one of the most wonderful characters..the crazy village girl..whose sweet, innocent nature is heartwarming amongst the ruthless soldiers. Then there is the comedy...Just hilarious...I do not know why..I loved 'The Good, Bad and Weird'...and this gives TGBW a run for its money. I loved the American pilot, Smith..Whose growing bond with the boy is quite sweet.In essence the message is why are we fighting? Neither side seems to know as to why they are fighting each other..They seem to enjoy the same things and even grow to become very good friends, so good in fact that it feels natural to call another 'brother' or 'uncle, some may feels its a lost message..But I speak only for myself..I thought it was profound and endearing, especially the heart-wrenching end.

"Welcome to Dongmakgol" is a quirky and fantasy like tale about a bunch of soldiers who happen on a remote village during Korean war. A village where nobody knows anything about the war and nobody has even seen a gun. The basic premise is a little ridiculous and over the top. But if you are willing to believe it, then the movie is very rewarding.It has some excellent cinematography. A few scenes are exaggerated but that is for the comic effect. The village and the villagers maybe silly but other characters are still believable which is necessary for the film to maintain its grip on reality.Many reviewers have complained about the politics of the film. But the movie is not about politics. Just like that village it exists in its own world and is not aware of the reasons of war. It just know instinctively that violence is bad.

During the Korean war, soldiers on both sides find themselves in a mountain town where the villagers didn't even know that a conflict was being fought. The battle scenes are chaotic, brutal and intense, in the vein of Saving Private Ryan, with strong emotional impact following the humanity seen from everyone. We aren't led to believe that anyone is "evil", there is good and bad in everyone(yes, that goes for the American troops seen, as well). You really find yourself responding to the characters, recognizing traits and such. Do we like everyone? No, just like in real life. The FX are great with occasional exceptions(especially the CGI, I'm afraid... though it really isn't that big a part of this). This is well-acted, and I implore you to accept the subtitles. The realism is impeccable, and you can practically feel the pain and impact when a bullet hits. This is filmed and edited rather well. It keeps to a good pace, so the 133 minutes pass pretty smoothly. There is a moderate amount of bloody, violent and disturbing content in this. I recommend this to any fan of dramas. 8/10

I found the movie simply brilliant, and i must say i find weird that many people focus their attention on the war, which is not the key of the movie itself. In my opinion the war is roughly depicted because it is just a "place" within which the main story unfolds. The emphasis is on the characters, their unpredictable encounter and the situations that make possible for them to become friends and maybe even companions. There is a phrase said Smith taking back the grandma while the village keeps up with the party that somehow sums up the movie: "Such a good time. That's life.".Besides, i particularly appreciated the acting of the crazy girl, Hye-jeong Kang (which i already saw in Old Boy) which is also probably the best character. Watching the movie i found more than a similitude with two movies from Hayao Miyazaki: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (for the hidden village idea and the lantern-statues as well) and Mononoke Hime (for the wild boar scene, which by the way is one of the best of Dongmakgol, original and simply brilliant). Only later i realized it was mostly due to the music, which is in fact composed by Joe Hisaishi, who made the music for these Miyazaki movies too; once again, his work is superb.One thing i always wait for is a movie's ending scene (mostly cause i've seen too many movies ruined in the last part... A.I. for example), and i must say i loved this one, when we see why the young communist soldier had a flower too, and who gave him it. No special happy ending for the village or whatever, just a moment when all of them where together, 6 as the 6 butterflies that we saw flying away from the snow a few moments before. ;)