Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo (2004)

Director:

Je-gyu Kang

Writers:

Ji-hoon Han (writer)
Je-gyu Kang (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

6 February 2004 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Plot:

A drama about the fate of brothers forced to fight in the Korean War.

Plot Keywords:

Korean War | 1950s | Korea | Medal | North Korea

Awards:

9 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Dong-gun Jang	...	Jin-tae Lee
Bin Won	...	Jin-seok Lee
Eun-ju Lee	...	Young-shin Kim
Hyeong-jin Kong	...	Yong-man
Yeong-ran Lee	...	Mother
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kil-Kang Ahn	...	Sergeant Huh
Joe Cappelletti	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Min-sik Choi	...	North Korean commander
D.C. Douglas	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Min-ho Jang	...	Old Jin-seok Lee
Dae-Hoon Jeong
Jae-hyeong Jeon	...	Yong-seok
Yun-hie Jo	...	Jin-seok Lee's grandaughter
Doo-hong Jung
Bo-kyeong Kim
Su-ro Kim	...	Anti-Communist Federation member
Adam Epstein	...	Additional Voices (uncredited)

Directed by
Je-gyu Kang

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ji-hoon Han		writer
Je-gyu Kang		writer
Sang-don Kim		writer

Produced by
Ha-na Lee	....	planning producer
Seong-hun Lee	....	producer

Original Music by
Dong-jun Lee

Cinematography by
Kyung-Pyo Hong

Film Editing by
Kyeong-hie Choi

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Doo-hong Jung	....	martial arts director

Visual Effects by
Danyo Donghyun Yoon	....	pre-visualization artist

Other crew
John Charles	....	software engineer: Sony DAC
Winston Emano	....	publicist
David Magdael	....	publicist

Production Companies

• Kang Je-Kyu Film Co. Ltd.

Distributors

• Showbox Entertainment (2004) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Min Gyo Group (2004) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Samuel Goldwyn Films (2004) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• 1More Film (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Filmhouse (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2005) (Argentina) (all media)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (all media)
• 3L Filmverleih (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• 3L Filmverleih (2006) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Contender Entertainment Group (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (Japan) (theatrical)
• Contender Entertainment Group (2005) (UK) (DVD)

Other Companies

• HFR  dailies

Also Known As:

Brotherhood (International: English title) (UK)
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (International: English title) (USA)
Taegukgi (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic sequences of war violence.

Runtime:

140 min | 148 min (director's cut)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB (original rating) | Hong Kong:III (video rating) | Ireland:15A (cinema release) | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 (original rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 (director's cut) | USA:R | Mexico:C | Argentina:16 | Indonesia:Dewasa

Company:

Kang Je-Kyu Film Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

The second film to sell over 10 million tickets in South Korea after breaking the highest grossing record set earlier by Silmido (2003).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the scene where the South Koreans are retreating from the Chinese, one of the POWs takes a pistol from an injured soldier, shooting him twice. When he shoots the soldier a second time, the sound of the gunshot is out of sync with the slide kicking back (Just before it shows the soldier getting shot, you can clearly see the slide is back, but the gunshot is heard a few seconds later).

Quotes:

Jin-tae: Look at me. Trust me.

Movie Connections:

References Saving Private Ryan (1998)

One of the Best Movie About War

It started out like so many other movies, a short clip of the present and then a long flashback. And then it blew me away with its depiction of war and all of its complexities. The changes in the attitudes of the two brothers as the Korean War progresses helps us understand that war is not merely about good and evil. The most well intentioned soldier or commander can go astray. The Korean War turned brother against brother based on little more than time and place, conviction, or happenstance.

Take Guk Gi is the best antiwar movie that I have seen since Johnny Got His Gun.

It reminded me of the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, which I thought captured some of the reality of war while avoiding the pitfalls that Saving Private Ryan fell.

If the DC crowd watched the Battle of Algiers but missed the message, All Americans should see Tae Guk Gi to better understand the horror and tragedy of war.