[movie 2004] Taegukgi : The Brotherhood Of War 태극기 휘날리

Jang Dong Gun, WonBin, The Late Lee Eun Joo

QUOTE The full impact of brotherly love is shown in this touching Korean blockbuster that teams up superstars Jang Dong Gun and Won Bin. Its tale revolves around two brothers who are enlisted in the army by force during the outbreak of the Korean War in the 50's. Jang Dong Gun makes every effort to excel in his duties in order to achieve an early release from the military services for his younger brother (Won Bin). Unaware of his older brother's good intentions, the misunderstandings between the two involuntary soldiers keep on accumulating until the younger brother unintentionally comes across an un-posted letter to his family and makes a fateful decision ...

Breaking a new record in the history of Korean movies, TAEGUKGI devoured a production cost of $12.8 million. However, the expenses seem to have paid off well as it continued to become a week-long nationwide success selling no less than two million tickets in merely five days.
Credit: YesAsia

QUOTE Jin-tae (Jang Dong Gun) is a happy shoeshine boy, planning to marry Young-shin (Lee Eun Joo) soon. However, the outbreak of the Korean War (25 June 1950), Jin-tae and his younger brother, Jin-seok (Won Bin) are forcibly conscripted into the army. Jin-tae volunteers in every suicidal mission in order to earn the Medal of Honour, the only way that will secure the discharge of his younger brother. Jin-seok misunderstands Jin-tae's good intentions as an obsession with fame and glory. It is only at the fatal end that Jin-seok comes to realize the true meaning of his older brother's sacrifice.
Credit: Back of my Taegugki dvd box

watched the movie already and I looooove it to bits <3

so glad that it won the award of best movie in the recebt movie festival

sorry i forgot what the festival is called :x

watched the movie already and I looooove it to bits <3

so glad that it won the award of best movie in the recebt movie festival

sorry i forgot what the festival is called :x

Taegukgi won the best movie recently at the Asia Pacific Film Festival.

source: New Straits Times, Malaysia Online

Korean film bags top two awards

Faridul Anwar and Julia Jaafar

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Critically-acclaimed Korean film Tae Guk Gi bagged two awards, including the top honour of Best Film, in the Asia Pacific Film Festival (APFF) tonight.

Nominated in nine categories, the film also won the Best Director award (Kang Je-Gyu) at a ceremony held at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

"This was a very difficult project and the most expensive film made in Korea," said an elated Seoul, head of delegation, Kang Dai Jin who accepted the award on behalf of the director and producer who could not attend.

A heart-wrenching drama about two brothers faced with the horrors of war, the film beat four other contenders — Puteri Gunung Ledang (Kuala Lumpur), Tradition of Killing Lovers (Teheran), Buffalo Boy (Hanoi) and Janji Joni (Jakarta).

Tiara Jacquelina won the Best Actress award for her role as the lovelorn princess in the epic Puteri Gunung Ledang.

Malaysia also scored in two other categories for the Best Original Music Score (Ayob Ibrahim) for Qaisy & Laila and Best Documentary-short film (Pua).

Five Special Jury Awards were also given out to movies and film personalities for their contributions.

They included the films Path of Justice from Hanoi, for highlighting the impact of war on humanity, and Bangkok’s Beautiful, Wonderful, Perfect.

Hong Kong’s Jackie Chan received an award for International Success in Cinema, while Yang Kuei Mei from Taipei was honoured for her consistent performance.

Indonesian startlet Dian Sastrowardoyo was named the most promising talent.

Fireball (Taipei) bagged the Best Animation Film title.

The event, attended by Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim, also marked the end of the APFF, jointly organised by the ministry, Malaysian Film Producers Association (PFM) and the National Film Development Board.

Some 500 delegates from the 18 member cities of the Federation of Motion Picture Producers Association in Asia Pacific were also present at the highly anticipated event.

THE VIPs: Dr Rais Yatim (third from left) with his wife, Datin Seri Utama Maznah Rais (right) and his deputy, Datuk Wong Kam Hoong (second from left).

Filmmakers and celebrities have been in the city since Wednesday for the festival, an annual affair which has served as an important platform for the region’s industry players to exchange ideas and market their films.

Aired live over Astro, guests at the awards show were entertained by Siti Nurhaliza, Kris Dayanti as well as performers from Taipei.

THE WINNERS:

Best Film: Tae Guk Gui (Seoul)

Best Director: Kang Je-Gyu for Tae Guk Gui (Seoul)

Best Actor: Joo Hyun for A Family (Seoul)

Best Actress: Tiara Jacquelina for Puteri Gunung Ledang (Kuala Lumpur)

Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Wong for Initial D (Hong Kong)

Best Supporting Actress: Rima Melati for Ungu Violet (Jakarta)

Best Screenplay: The Moon Also Rises (Taipei)

Best Cinematography: Buffalo Boy (Hanoi)

Best Editing: Janji Joni (Jakarta)

Best Original Music Score: Ayob Ibrahim for Qaisy & Laila (Kuala Lumpur)

Best Special Effects: Necromancer (Bangkok)

Best Art Director: Tsuyoshi Shimizu for Samurai Commando-Mission 1549 (Tokyo)

Best Documentary/Short Film: Pua (Kuala Lumpur)

Best Animation: Fireball (Taipei)

Special Jury Awards: Path of Justice (Hanoi) Beautiful, Wonderful, Perfect (Bangkok) Jackie Chan (Hong Kong) Yang Kuei Mei (Taipei) Dian Sastrowardoyo (Jakarta)

grr i have been so busy that both time i try to watch the movie i had to do something else half way... grrrr... but i love it so far, besides all the gross scenes... very sad and very good actors and actresses... wonbin <3

I've just seen this movie recently and i thougt that it was great!......Won Bin and Jang Dong Gun were so good, especially the scene where he went crazy.............i thought it was better than Saving Private Ryan..................it is so much more emotional and it's so touching the love between brothers!.........if anyone still hasn't seen it i highly recommend it!

Me and my sister had tears comin' down all the way through!

I can't watch this movie until end coz I so serious .

I guess I have to start all over again chipping in by re-posting my past contributions on TGK so as to put them on record here. Although some news of TGK's recent win has been posted above I just need to put on record below my feelings of joy at learning of TGK's recent win.

REAL GOOD NEWS, FOLKS!!!

TAEGUKGI WON THE BEST FILM AWARD IN THE 50TH ASIA-PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL TONIGHT 1ST OCTOBER 2005 HERE IN KL!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TAEGUKGI & ALL INVOLVED IN ITS PRODUCTION!!

& this, of course includes OUR WON BIN WHO PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE MOVIE!!!

This is a fitting tribute indeed to one true classic movie of our times, a movie which in my mind reflects not only the turbulent state of Korea in the 1950s but also that of our present world.

More news of TGK's recent win in the APFF :

From The New Sunday Times (a local Malaysian daily), 2/10/2005

The Winning Team

Some background info of the Asia Pacific Film Festival to those who wanna know :

What is the Asia Pacific Film Festival ?

APFF is a film festival held every year (around September) in a country in the Asia Pacific region (which represents quite a chunk of the world) determined by the Board of Directors of the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific. It is “aimed at not only recognizing, saluting and honoring the best talents and films from the region, but also at forging a closer bond amongst the film fraternities of member countries”(1). So, it is supposed to feature the very best of what the Asia Pacific region has to offer the world in its film productions. “The Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific (FPA) is now fifty years old (since 1955) and Kuala Lumpur had been selected by the Board of FPA to be the host for the Golden Anniversary Asia-Pacific Film Festival”(2) for this year of 2005 . Last year it was held in Fu kuo ka, Japan. According to a local daily here, TheStar, “the film festival played host to about 700 (I think it’s really around 500) international and local delegates and featured numerous activities including the screening of films as well as symposiums” (3).

Taegukgi was nominated in nine categories : Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Music Score, Best Special Effects.

It won the top two awards for The Best Film and the Best Director with Kang Je-gyu. The best actor award also went to a Korean actor, Joo Hyun for his role in another korean feature film, A Family. Last year in Fu kuo ka, this also went to a Korean actor, Choi Min-Sik for his role in Old Boy, a psychological thriller. What I find interesting about the APFF in recent years is the high quality and creativity (in many aspects of filming) in the films being produced by the many members of FPA of the Asia Pacific region. And I’m very proud of Taegukgi’s win especially for I can never say it enough that I firmly believe that TGK deserves an oscar and this says a lot about the present level of film productions of the Asia Pacific region. I’ll try and look for relevant articles from the local dailies here regarding TGK’s win and post them here.

Sources of Reference:

1. “Part of welcoming message by Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Malaysia” at Official Site of APFF at http://www.50apff.com/

2. “Part of welcoming message by Pn Hajah Ruhani Abdul Rahman, Chairman of Organising Committee, 50th APFF” at Official Site of APFF at http://www.50apff.com/.

3. Article in “The Star” at http://thestar.com.my/asiapacfilmfest/

This is the best war film I have seen. Great acting, great storytelling and great cinematography. Even the music gives me goosebumps.

This is one of the best movies i have ever seen, if not the best.

Great storyline and the acting was just amazing, it was very emotional too.

Just simply wonderful <33

i never intended 2 watch this bcos it was about war..i had the chance 2 watch the whole movie in Korea when i was in the tour bus. altho it made me dizzy the whole journey..the movie kept me going on!! it was so touching n emotional.. i esp cried when JDG sacrificed himself 2 send WB back home.. the part where WB thought his brother changed by killing his fren...woahh....that was really a tearjerker!! it was one of the best Korean movies i haf watched!!

Best Actor should be gone to my 2nd emperor JANG DONG GUN (SEOUL)

Movie review: 'Tae Guk Gi'

By Robert K. Elder

Tribune Staff Reporter (Chicago Tribune)

3 1/2 stars out of 4

Korean wartime epic "Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War" belongs to that brand of sweeping, conflict-era drama epitomized by "Saving Private Ryan," "Gone with the Wind" and TV miniseries "North and South."

What makes "Tae Guk Gi" such an extraordinary film isn't its solid, family-based core or the choreographed chaos of its battle scenes--although both contribute. Instead, writer/director Kang Je-gyu dedicates himself to the human side of a grand tale, to people who've been uprooted by history.

When brothers Jin-tae (Jang Dong-gun) and Jin-seok (Won Bin) are forced into the South Korean army in 1950, an officer tells older sibling Jin-tae the only way to send his baby brother home is to win medals and fame. Thereafter, Jin-tae volunteers for the most brutal, dangerous missions (caught on film with handheld "Saving Private Ryan"-style cinematography) with little regard for his life.

This would ordinarily be enough to fill an entire movie, but Kang follows his characters into darker territory. As Jin-tae shelters his younger brother, he does so with almost blind disregard for anything else. War changes him, warping his moral compass until Jin-seok begins to question if his older brother's motives are for the good of the family, or his own glory.

When the brothers' platoon runs into a family friend forced to fight on the North Korean side, Jin-tae simply wants to slaughter him and his whole group--a conflict that draws one of many wedges between the two brothers.

Director Kang doesn't play politics, although the name "Tae Guk Gi" is the name of South Korea's national flag. He isn't interested in retelling the story of the war, or the finer philosophical points of each side. He's almost singularly preoccupied with war's realities, and how conflict lays siege to family and friends.

While Kang owes much to "Saving Private Ryan," he avoids Spielberg's tendency to make the military company a microcosm of ethnic and social stereotypes. Kang also doesn't moralize much, and the film is served much better by his embrace of the battlefield and its consequences.

As Jin-tae, famous Korean actor Jang has the most to do; his performance requires the most range and steely-eyed determination. Especially in a heart-wrenching scene on the train that takes the brothers to the boot camp, we're riveted to his inner struggle, even when the subsequent battle scenes run near-continuous to the point of desensitization.

If the gritty triumph of "Tae Guk Gi" suffers at all, it's from a lengthy running time and a twist ending that threatens the credibility of Jin-tae's character arc. But even with this damaging bit of cinematic shrapnel, "Tae Guk Gi" will be talked about for years to come--and it deserves to be.

Movie review: 'Tae Guk Gi'

By Robert K. Elder

Tribune Staff Reporter (Chicago Tribune)

3 1/2 stars out of 4

Korean wartime epic "Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War" belongs to that brand of sweeping, conflict-era drama epitomized by "Saving Private Ryan," "Gone with the Wind" and TV miniseries "North and South."

What makes "Tae Guk Gi" such an extraordinary film isn't its solid, family-based core or the choreographed chaos of its battle scenes--although both contribute. Instead, writer/director Kang Je-gyu dedicates himself to the human side of a grand tale, to people who've been uprooted by history.

When brothers Jin-tae (Jang Dong-gun) and Jin-seok (Won Bin) are forced into the South Korean army in 1950, an officer tells older sibling Jin-tae the only way to send his baby brother home is to win medals and fame. Thereafter, Jin-tae volunteers for the most brutal, dangerous missions (caught on film with handheld "Saving Private Ryan"-style cinematography) with little regard for his life.

This would ordinarily be enough to fill an entire movie, but Kang follows his characters into darker territory. As Jin-tae shelters his younger brother, he does so with almost blind disregard for anything else. War changes him, warping his moral compass until Jin-seok begins to question if his older brother's motives are for the good of the family, or his own glory.

When the brothers' platoon runs into a family friend forced to fight on the North Korean side, Jin-tae simply wants to slaughter him and his whole group--a conflict that draws one of many wedges between the two brothers.

Director Kang doesn't play politics, although the name "Tae Guk Gi" is the name of South Korea's national flag. He isn't interested in retelling the story of the war, or the finer philosophical points of each side. He's almost singularly preoccupied with war's realities, and how conflict lays siege to family and friends.

While Kang owes much to "Saving Private Ryan," he avoids Spielberg's tendency to make the military company a microcosm of ethnic and social stereotypes. Kang also doesn't moralize much, and the film is served much better by his embrace of the battlefield and its consequences.

As Jin-tae, famous Korean actor Jang has the most to do; his performance requires the most range and steely-eyed determination. Especially in a heart-wrenching scene on the train that takes the brothers to the boot camp, we're riveted to his inner struggle, even when the subsequent battle scenes run near-continuous to the point of desensitization.

If the gritty triumph of "Tae Guk Gi" suffers at all, it's from a lengthy running time and a twist ending that threatens the credibility of Jin-tae's character arc. But even with this damaging bit of cinematic shrapnel, "Tae Guk Gi" will be talked about for years to come--and it deserves to be.

Thanks jhing for the above, I'm sure there were other reviews given by others. If you've stored them somewhere, do post them up here. It'll be great if you'd care to highlight parts that you agree and disagree with in these reviews just to get some good discussions on this great movie going.

I don't think I've ever cried so much watching a movie until this one. It got me bawling xD I loved Jang Donggun's character in this movie.

i cried so much watching this movie

such a touching movie T.T

the greatest movie ever... a lot of tissues while watching... ㅠ0ㅠ

this was a good movie. made me cry too. but the part with the guy and the maggots. that was gross. haha.

i really dont like war movies but i thought id give Tae Guk Gi a try since i love korean movies =D

and when i bought it, i wasnt disappointed O_O

this is the best war movie i EVER seen and proabably the only that i will see.. haha the gross parts made me go (\ _ o/) xD

but im serious, this is the movie that i cried the most on in my entire life. the ending with Jin-tae telling Jin-seok to go made me cry hyterically. wah i get teary, just thinking about it. my friends were like, "christina, are you laughing or crying!?" lol.

won bin was a great actor! i couldnt keep my eyes off of him tee hee <3

and im mad. the stupid people shouldnt of given Tae Guk Gi a 3 1/2 stars, it should of been at least a 5, this is a very awsome movie.

-christina