Joint Security Area (Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok jsa, 2000)
Park Chan-Wook
Korea
110 mins, color, Korean (English subtitles)
Review © 2001 Branislav L. Slantchev
Sparking protests upon its release (remarkable timing just when talks between the two Koreas
were under way), JSA went on to become one of the highest-grossing and most popular films in
Korea. Set in the JSA (a demilitarized zone between the two countries under the control of
neutral UN members, like Switzerland and Sweden), the film relates a fairly conventional
murder mystery with potentially explosive international implications. Since the emphasis on
the film is not as much on "who" but on "why," it is safe to summarize the plot.
One morning, shots echo across the border and as troops mass to exchange fire on both sides, the Southern soldiers manage to retrieve one of their own, wounded in the leg and staggering across the bridge from the North side. The incident has left two North Korean soldiers dead, and another one wounded. To ensure impartial investigation (or perhaps to avoid having to reveal the truth), the two sides agree to an investigation by the neutral Swiss, who send Major Sophie Lang (Lee Yeong-ae), a naturalized citizen of Korean stock. She plunges into questioning the survivors oblivious to the somewhat obvious fact that neither side seems particularly keen on uncovering the truth.
One should pay close attention to the dates that appear frequently in the film because the story jumps about quite a bit and it may sometimes be difficult to follow without them. As Lang bears closer to the facts by discovering various inconsistencies in the stories she is fed both by the Southerner Sgt. Lee (Lee Byung-hun) and the Northerner Sgt. Oh (Song Kang-ho), she gradually becomes aware of some secret bond between the two, who seem intent on persevering in their lies for some unknown purpose. Eventually, even the Swiss superiors tire of Lang's single-minded pursuit that is straining their relationship with both sides, and they decide to withdraw her from the investigation under a flimsy pretext.
It would be remiss to suggest that the above capsule summary exhausts the story, but to go into deeper analysis would require disclosing chunks of the film better left for screening. In any case, we quickly learn that Lee is not the model soldier everyone seems to think he is but is in fact a traitor because he has associated with the comrades across the border. It seems natural that he does, especially when keeping in mind that Sgt. Oh has saved him from getting blown up by a land mine. Lee involves his friend, and the four soldiers become friends, with the Southerners frequently visiting the North Korean outpost at night.
There is little that remains of the Cold War propaganda one would be served in similar films. There are, of course, amusing bits and pieces when Northerners are pictured as thirsting for Western (especially American) products but still insists that their country would produce them "in the future" (TM). Of course, anyone with a vague familiarity with the communist philosophy would realize that building the glorious future that never comes is part and parcel of the ideology. On the other hand, when Lee completely misreads Oh's fondness for Western toys, the latter is quick to dispel his confusion. In fact, the camaraderie that forms among the soldiers is personal and not political. This, in a sense, is a shortcoming of the film, which ends up portraying that even though regular folks from both sides can become friends, their political convictions still present an unbridgeable gap. I am not sure that this was the message intended, but this is what it turned out to be, especially with OH's remark that had he been in Lee's shoes, he would have fired without a second thought.
Of course, the ideological indoctrination probably fits just about every cliché in the West (and, by extension, South Korea). The tragedy, however, is not in being brainwashed, but in being indoctrinated and knowing it. There is thus no political comment in the film for neither of the North Koreans seems to mind the regime he serves. Amusingly, these two emerge as the heroes in the film. First, they are far more admirable, especially Sgt. Oh, than their Southern counterparts. They are perhaps more cynical (which is what one becomes from having lived under communist rule), but on the other hand, they are far better grounded. In the end, Sgt. Oh comes out the strongest, especially compared to Lee and his friend, who do not seem to be able to overcome the incident and their guilt in precipitating it.
Most of the film probably resonates better with Korean audiences, but I can't help to think that the message it delivers is not entirely "up to date" in the sense that it does not represent a break from past hostility but instead serves to reinforce stereotypes about the possibility of reunion. I must say that I enjoyed the film immensely because it is one damn good piece of cinema, well shot and excellently produced. The acting is competent, although few reach Song Kang-ho's caliber. JSA is thus a story about the very human failings of five people and the disastrous consequences of forging a personal relationship in the impersonal and cold world of ideological confrontation.
August 23, 2001.