|
 elcome
to Dongmakgol" proved to be the sleeper
Korean hit of 2005, earning enough to become the
fourth biggest grossing domestic film of all time,
as well as being chosen as the country's entry for
the Oscars. However, the film's success has not
spread beyond its native shores, having been
ignored by international festivals and failing to
generate the same kind of interest as the likes of
"Sympathy
for Lady Vengeance", which
"Dongmakgol" far out-grossed at the box
office. Perhaps the main reason for this is the
fact that "Dongmakgol" is essentially a
nationalistic piece, a cry for unity and a
nostalgic look back at a highly idealised time of
peaceful and prosperous rural existence.
Unfortunately for foreign
viewers or those unfamiliar with Korean history,
these factors do little to hide the film's glaring
faults, chief amongst which is an over reliance on
predictable clichés and a plot whose conclusion
is glaringly obvious from the first frame. Despite
this, and some stunningly hideous Western acting
from the film's only major American character,
"Welcome to Dongmakgol" remains an
entertaining and genuinely heartfelt film, though
one which fails to engage or ring true.
The film is set in the 1950s,
following the U.S. landing at Incheon, when a
group of fleeing communist soldiers led by Lee
Su-hwa (Jeong Jae-yeong, also in the excellent
"Silmido")
come across a strange girl named Yeo-il (played by
Kang Hye-jeong, from "Oldboy")
in the mountain forests. Yeo-il leads the North
Koreans to the titular
village
of
Dongmakgol
, a place seemingly untouched by the outside world
and completely oblivious to the ongoing Korean
War. On arrival, the soldiers are even more
surprised to find South Korean soldiers Sgt. Pyo
(Shin Ha-kyun, "Sympathy for Lady
Vengeance") and young medic Mun Sang-sang
(Seo Jae-kyeong, "Spring, Summer, Autumn,
Winter...and Spring"), as well as injured
American pilot Capt. Smith (the indescribable
Steve Taschler) whose plane has crashed nearby.
The story then proceeds
exactly as expected, with the soldiers overcoming
their mistrust of each other, finding common
ground, going through rituals of male bonding and
slipping with unnatural ease into the farming life
before taking arms once more to defend their
newfound home against bomb-happy psychotic
U.S.
troops. This takes up the bulk of the woefully
overlong film, and whilst the characters are
likeable enough and their relationships
sufficiently believable, there is simply no
getting away from the fact that this is little
more than plotting by numbers, and that every
aspect of the film is inherently predictable.
While the villagers and their
constant comedic misconceptions regarding the
soldiers and their weapons make for some amusing
gags, these tend to wear thin after the first half
hour. Similarly, the film's depiction of the
village as a pre-industrial paradise and its
preaching tone come to feel rather patronising.
This is especially true in the case of poor, crazy
Yeo-il, who acts as a sort of homespun symbol of
carefree and innocent living, and whose wacky
antics make the film at times resemble Park
Chan-wook's far superior "J.S.A."
crossed with "Forrest Gump".
Special mention must go to the awful performance of
Steve Taschler, whose atrocious acting in what is
a fairly pivotal role manages to ruin a number of
scenes. The script supplies him with some very odd
dialogue (most of which is based around phrases
starting or ending with "man" or
"you guys"); on top of which, Taschler's
delivery is excruciatingly lifeless and robotic,
as are all the Western members of the cast.
Although it may seem unfair to criticise a Korean
film in such a manner, this is a major problem,
and one which severely detracts from its potential
dramatic impact.
To be fair, there are a
number of good things to be said about
"Welcome to Dongmakgol". The
cinematography is quite beautiful and succeeds in
creating an almost other-worldly atmosphere,
really bringing the village and the lush
surrounding countryside to life. The film as a
whole has a polished, glossy look, with the
exception of some sub-standard scenes of CGI,
including a bizarre slow motion attack by a giant
pig.
There is no doubting the
sincerity of "Welcome to Dongmakgol", or
its genuinely warm heart. However, equally
prominent are its lack of ambition or attempts to
do anything new with a disappointingly formulaic
plot. As such, though entertaining and likeable
enough, at the end of the day
Kwang-Hyun
Park
's movie offers little more than an amusing, if
rather saccharine diversion. |
