FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
J.S.A. (JOINT SECURITY AREA)
For what is supposedly one of its country's most expensive
productions ever, the South Korean blockbuster J.S.A. (Joint Security Area)
contains curiously few
explosions. Fortunately, the lack of pyrotechnics is to the audience's
benefit, as J.S.A. provides thrills not through big-budget special effects,
but rather through a tragic narrative.
Nearly the entire film is set in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas.
There one night, a shot rings out into the darkness as a bullet
pierces a nearby guardhouse. Two North Korean soldiers are gunned down in
what appears to be a cold-blooded massacre. Soon after, a Swiss team under
the auspices of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission arrives in South
Korea to investigate.
From this point on, director Park Chan-wook discloses the events leading up
to the murders via extensive flashbacks. Although the use of flashbacks in
murder mysteries tends to be trite, its use here effectively heightens
the dramatic impact of the story, since with each episode the viewer slowly
realizes what the inevitable and heartbreaking conclusion will be.
These revelatory flashbacks constitute the most interesting and poignant
portions of the film; most of the other scenes, such as those focusing on
Swiss-born investigator Major Sophie Jean's backstory, are far less
substantial. One of the movie's secondary themes concerns the dichotomy
between Jean's Korean ancestry and her need to remain neutral as a good
detective (and, the film implies, as a good Swiss citizen). However, a South
Korean military officer tells her, "Neutral has no place around here. You'll
have to choose." Weighty words indeed, if such aphoristic phrases were not
so contrived. There are a few other similarly heavy-handed moments that,
although minor, are noticeable and threaten to break the suspension of
disbelief.
Much worse, though, is the dubbing, which fails to capture the emotional tone
of each scene. In fact, the voice work is reminiscent of that usually found
in imported Hong Kong action movies. Luckily,
J.S.A.'s plot is enrapturing enough to divert the audience's attention from
the dubbing much of the time.
In the end, despite all its little flaws, J.S.A. is a moving story that
adequately depicts the tension between our divisive political ideologies.
It may not be a masterpiece by any stretch, but it is definitely deserving
of its blockbuster status. George Tan
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