Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The sergeant is the shooter, but the lead investigator, a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides.
Direction
Park's controlled chaos before Oldboy
Acting
Song Kang-ho's devastating final scene
Writing
Rashomon structure with actual emotional payoff
Director
Park Chan-wook
Lee Young-ae
Maj. Sophie E. Jean
Lee Byung-hun
Sgt. Lee Soo-hyuk
Song Kang-ho
Sgt. Oh Kyeong-pil
Kim Tae-woo
Pvt. Nam Sung-shik
Shin Ha-kyun
Pvt. Jeong Woo-jin
Herbert Ulrich
Capt. Persson
Christoph Hofrichter
Maj. Gen. Bruno Botta
Lee Han-wi
Major Kang
Koh In-bae
Ri Sun-hye
Lee Dae-yeon
Sgt. Hwang
Ki Joo-bong
General Pyo
Won Geun-hee
Autopsy Doctor
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was the highest-grossing Korean film ever at release, and single-handedly shifted South Korean attitudes toward North Korean soldiers as human beings rather than faceless enemies.
The iconic photo booth scene was inspired by a real 1996 incident where South Korean soldiers secretly partied with North Koreans at the DMZ. The government denied everything.
KR
