Hot damn. I mean I knew what I was getting into - no-holds-barred war drama. By Koreans, possibly the ruling class when it comes to melodramatic excess. Which means I was expecting the heartfelt set-up where you see all the characters in their relatively contented and peaceable civilian life (typical of a lot of war movies I guess, even American ones). And I braced myself for the dramatic, slow-motion coming-together and tearing-apart of families, loyalties, loves.
I wasn't quite expecting this level of carnage - (spoiler alert) - especially that one scene where a guy has had his guts ripped open and sewn back together again, only to be infested later with maggots.
And I certainly wasn't expecting big, fat, hot tears rolling down my cheeks when the inevitable end comes. The movie was released in 2004, about two South-Korean brothers sent off to fight "commies" in the Korean War, and all the older one wants to do is protect his kid brother. You can guess pretty much the whole plot form there. Yes, I'd say it was a good movie. Not particularly enjoyable, but good.
Oy, someone get me a handkerchief.