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| I bet that boat lives a long successful life. |
Dear Internet,
Now I
have already done a North Korean film before, and the one South Korean film
that I have done is something that I rather not revisit. So, it is with a happier face that I present
to you "Silmido."
"Silmido"
centers on Unit 684, a real team of the South Korean Air Force. The unit was created as a reaction to the
North Korean attack on the Blue House and the attempt to assassinate the
president. Unit 684 was composed of
petty criminals, supposedly, who were trained under harsh conditions. Seven died during training. Their mission was to assassinate Km Il-Sung,
the leader of North Korea. However, the
mission was canceled due to inter-Korean relations. Three years after their training began, for
reasons unknown, they revolted, killed their guards, hijacked a bus, and drove
to Seoul where they were all but four killed by the army. The four remaining were executed in a
military trial. The mysteries as to why
they mutinied have either been lost to time or are kept secret from the
public.
"Silmido"
attempts to paint a picture as to the missing holes in the story, as well as
add a theatrical flair to the story. The
film starts off with the Blue House raid and the attempted murder of another
individual. The would-be assassin is
offered a chance to prevent himself from facing the hangman's noose. He takes it.
Those in similar situations find themselves on a boat heading for an unknown
island, except they are forced to swim to the island because the boat is rigged
to explode. There the group is put
through some of the most difficult training that could be done. They have to cross rope bridges with the
threat of being shot by rifle. They have
to hold their breath underwater with the threat of being shot by a
minigun. They have to deal with being
branded to show they can resist torture.
They learn to fight, shoot, duck, cover, and kill in any way
possible. They do this for a second
chance and for their country. As the
story unfolds, things take a turn for the worse as I have described.
The
highlight of the film is the various themes that are touched upon about a time
in South Korea's history that is more gilded than golden. It has been a while since I have thoroughly
gone through South Korean history, and even when I did, the number of
"presidential position holders" seems to change. For example: Park Chung-hee, the one who was
president during the events of the story, gained his position through a military
coup and held it for seventeen years before being assassinated by the head of
the KCIA. Under his leadership South
Korea boomed economically, but also took steps back with human rights. Park ruled with an iron fist. And besides him were numerous policies that
either sprung up from North Korean fears and reactions or was held onto from a
post-WWII era. The curfew that was in
effect after Korea's liberation from Japanese rule stayed in effect for 36
years. South Korea's nationalism during
the 70's can be taken as the other side of the DMZ coin that North Korea's cult
of personality is known for.
But I
think I am getting ahead of myself or am at least steering the letter towards
South Korean's foreign and domestic policy rather than the film. "Silmido" is constantly examining
the past, how the people of the time were affected, and the various
relationships of the character types.
One character that is a member of Unit 694 is a former gang leader. His past as a gang leader compounded with the
various traits that either made him what he was or was a result of his actions
places him as a team captain within the unit.
While it might seem like a simple choice to make a character a gang
leader considering that within the narrative that the film shows all the
members of Unit 684 are either death row inmates or sentenced for life, it is
more complicated than that. The presence
of a gang or mafia is always in a direct relationship with the government that
it crawls under. Some gangs are made to
act within the holes that the government is unable to deal with. Japanese gangs, called yakuza, have a somewhat
noble past when they were formed to protect the common man since the government
could not or would not help. Other
groups are formed as a direct antagonist to the government. In the case of South Korea's oppressive
government rule, the gang leader is a representative of the civilian reaction
against the government while not being pro-North. At the same time, the character is one, if
not the, oldest member of Unit 684. If
he is in his forties, he most likely fought in the Korean Civil War or
witnessed it. If he did then his rise as
a gang leader can be seen as a rebellion against the government that failed
him. Since he is older than some of the
soldiers that are training him, there is the generation gap that is directly
addressed in the film. One soldier
admits to being troubled having to beat him when he should be respecting his
elder. If taken within the context of
one generation interacting with another, instead of two characters as
themselves, the film paints a picture of how South Korea should be acting by
thinking about the past.
The
past is obviously a major theme that is part of this film. The whole thing is a based on a real
historical event. The fact that it was
covered up and forgotten about for approximately thirty years is a testament to
how the film was able to influence the people that saw it. The forgotten and covered up part is another
one of the things that the film wants to address. The attempted assassination on South Korea's
president is the first thing to be forgotten and covered up. When the mission for the retaliation strike is
canceled, it is a direct proof that the Blue House Raid is being erased. What county in the world would continue to
tolerate having another country attempt to kill their president and then try to
make peaceful unification with that country?
South Korea was one, and for many man years it held onto the belief that
the two Koreas could still be brought back together. The Sunshine Policy is perhaps the first
major attempt by the South to exist alongside the North with no intention of
unification, and that occurred in 1998.
But I digress again. The film goes
beyond showing the real attempt to forget the assassination attempt, but also
forget the reaction that the government planned. In the film, Unit 684 was set to be
eliminated. People become pawns and are
expendable for the advancement of politics.
It is the old defense that says the betterment of the whole is worth the
sacrifice of a few. The flaw is apparent
and evident when the film shows that the lives of the convicts turned soldiers
are worth the same as those who were not coerced to fulfill their duty to their
nation.
National
duty comes up heavily. The standard
solute throughout the film is a rising of a hand to the forehead along with the
shout of "Loyalty." While I
cannot be sure of my translation, the shout of "Loyalty" is most
likely an accurate word considering that the film questions what exactly these
soldiers are loyal to. Are they loyal to
the government, the ones in the government, the military, the ones in the military,
the people, the country as an idea, or some combination thereof. To an extent, each character has his own
answer to that and the film makes sure not to over paint the whole thing as a
simple answer. The men in the unit have
their answer. The regular military have
theirs. The ones in the government are either
the hardest or easiest to pin down since it seems that the only loyalty they
have is to themselves. If you want to
throw in the question of who does the country or the people have a loyalty
towards, you are going to sink even deeper down the hole.
On the
artistic side, "Silmido" is film that's well crafted. The soundtrack is a complete orchestra that
knows just when to start playing those violins or horns. The times when characters die, the camera
does not look away, so the effects must be somewhat realistic. It does this so that we as an audience can
feel the same disgust that the characters are feeling at that moment. Later on when the blood really starts to
flow, the film does not pull any punches by hiding the pain that the characters
are going through. Why should it? The emotional pain that occurs within the
story is brutal to begin with. The only
thing that I could say against the film from a technical standpoint is that none
of the branding iron marks that are made earlier in the film appears when the
recruits take off their shirts later on.
They all sort of disappear mysteriously.
I could say that the film does a somewhat poor job of distinguishing
between some of the members of Unit 684 but that would partially be my own incompetence
of being able to identify the actors and majorly be because the film makes a
point of not even naming the men until a moment of crescendo for them.
"Silmido"
does all this and more. I could spend
another entry analyzing the various things that the film wants to address. However, I might not even get a definite
answer as to what it wants to say since my Korean history is rusty and also
because over analyzing a work can ruin it.
The film is one that echoes long after you watch it, which is the mark
of either two things. Either it is
really good or really bad. From the tone
of my letter, I think you can guess which I think it is. "Silmido" raises questions that are
universal and not specifically addressed to South Koreans. Whether not it answers them is up for debate.
Yours in digital,
BeepBoop
P.S. Tomorrow is "Rhapsody in August" (1991).
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