The Front Line (2011) User Reviews

War is Hell

[yoshi-features · 8/10 · 23 July 2013]

First review here on IMDb so I'll keep it short.

This movie is fresh in my mind as I can literally see the credits fading on the other portion of the screen.

This is a great, superbly acted movie about the horrors and futility of war. There really are no "villains" just different shades of grey, as both side is portrayed as just as guilty as the other.

It shows both sides of the war and how they are both fighting for control a small piece of land and at the same time continuously asking the question of "why?"

There are some moments of camaraderie between the two different sides as well, so it isn't all just blood and guts, yet it is more gruesome than Hollywood films.

In summary, if you want to see a good war film aside from the usual Hollywood remakes and rehashes then this one is a good one.

Another very good Korean War Film

[mickeychasetan · 8/10 · 18 November 2011]

The Front Line Go-ji-jeon is not as good as Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War, which is one of the best war films from any country. What it does give you is a good example of the futility of war and how events in war can made little sense to a sane person. One of the interesting points in the movie was the signing of the peace documents during the ongoing peace negotiations and see General Mark Wayne Clark's signature focused on. General Mark Wayne Clark was considered by many to be one of the worst examples of the leadership chain in the US Army during World War II, do a little research on Clark and it will help you understand that there were a few very inept Generals in the US military just as there are poor CEO's in the corporate world today. Again very good war flick and another good movie from South Korea.

Brilliant and emotional.

[paulclaassen · 8/10 · 14 June 2019]

Based on the Korean War of 1953, Aerok Hill is the border between North and South Korea, and both countries did everything they could to defend the hill. During the war, the hill was claimed numerous times by both countries. Each time, the soldiers would bury something in a bunker for the other soldiers to find: beer, wine, photos, letters, etc. This created the feeling that these soldiers might even have been friends if it wasn't for war and the high ranking officials sitting behind their desks declaring war and urging soldiers to fight to the end.

The film starts a bit slow, but this gives us a very good chance to get to know the characters and their backgrounds. It was interesting, effective and never boring. The entire cast is very good. The suspense is elevated when a few men hunt a sniper they call 'Two Seconds'. The film also illustrates how one simple wrong decision can change the fate of so many soldiers. War certainly takes its toll on man's sanity, and is very well depicted in this film.

Even after an armistice was signed, the soldiers were still urged to fight another 12 hours before it took effect. The dismay and reluctance to fight was so evident in the soldiers during the final hours. The film is a very emotional journey and excellent character study of soldiers. The final act was heart wrenching! This is an amazingly well done film.

Wow, what a great movie!!!!

[rightwingisevil · 17 March 2012]

an epic movie about the korean war. same people in the same origin, same ancestor, just because the ideological manipulation by the soviet and Chinese communists, a nation on the peninsula turned into a purgatory during the early 1950s. all the critical important ingredients/elements making a film this great were well provided: great screenplay full of atrocity of killings, sacrifices, ridiculousness of war and battles, stupid ideology, the greatness and the smallness of human natures, great directing, casting, cinematography, locations, stunts, graphic design, editing, sound effects, background music arrangement....and most memorable acting/performance, all well combined and turned this movie into a great viewing experience.

the most important message of this film: the ridiculousness of the war, the stupidity of battling with a non-exist but well manipulated cause. the blindness of human nature, the helpless of being a soldier, an expendable pawn by higher ranking officers and their nations' political and military leaders, the foreign countries' ideology manipulations. all the human lives consumed in wars and battles are just meaningless and forgettable. they are just statistic numbers in history books.

this ridiculously sad war movie only sent you a strong message: for what and what for?

Typically gutsy Korean war outing

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 21 June 2013]

THE FRONT LINE is a typical addition to the recent wave of South Korean war movies that strive to explore new avenues on a very famous theatre of war. The last two I saw were WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL and 71 INTO THE FIRE; the former was a politically intriguing exploration of the nature of conflict itself, while the latter was a flag-waving crowd-pleaser.

THE FRONT LINE falls somewhere between the two, refusing to demonise opponents while at the same time providing plenty of gritty war action. The earth-flying battle sequences are by far the highlight of this film as the screen is transformed into a nightmarish and barren landscape of blown-up hillsides, dingy trenches and muddy holes in the ground. This is real warfare, post-SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, throwing you into the thick of realistic action and making you feel like you're fighting at the side of the protagonists.

It's a pleasure to report that the non-battle storyline is every bit as watchable as the scenes taking place on the battlefield. As in the earlier BROTHERHOOD, much of the plot revolves around the developing relationship between two characters whom the war transforms in different ways: one becomes battle-weary and resigned, the other slightly unhinged and with a real killer instinct. It's a poignant, carefully-drawn relationship and one that sustains the running time admirably. Okay, so some of the sub-plots openly copy those of earlier movies (the whole sniper thing in particular) but that doesn't detract from what is a very good recent war movie.

Speechless

[henriquez-kenneth · 10/10 · 29 July 2012]

I can't even come up with how to define this movie, and I've watched a lot of war films, but I think this one just has to be the best I've seen that is as serious as it comes to the consequences of war. Besides just the horrific scenes as in any war movie, it has touched and got through to the emotions multiple times in what seems like a never ending battle. The acting is beyond incredible, especially the brothers, and doesn't show that their enemies are the most evil in the planet but that war itself and who leads them are what makes this conflict. They gone as far as showing scenes that you never or rarely expect to see, and it's remarkable because you'll remember this film for it. A great movie.

One of, if not the best war movie I have ever seen. Emotionally powerful & great battle scenes. A must see for sure. I say A.

[cosmo_tiger · 9/10 · 28 March 2012]

"He said our enemy wasn't commies, but the war itself." Toward the end of Korean War Lieutenant Kang Eun-Pyo is sent to investigate a murder on the front lines. He reaches the area called Aerok Hill where the fighting is most intense. Soon after the truth is reveled a cease fire is signed and the two sides rejoice. But the war is far from over. This war movie interested me more then most of the recent ones. The main reason is that my grandfather served in the Korean War and there hasn't been a lot of movies made about that war. I was interested to see the stuff he refused to tell me about. After watching this I can see why. The movie is a Korean movie so the entire movie deals with a platoon of South Korean soldiers and their struggles. I have said before that for better or worse every war movie since it's release is compared to "Saving Private Ryan", and I never thought a movie could top that one. This is as close as I've seen and in some ways may be better. This is far and away better then "Letters From Iwo Jima" but like both of those movies you are so involved with the characters it is no longer a movie of nameless faces dying but people you feel a connection with. This movie makes you feel all kinds of emotions but the last half hour will make you feel things you never knew you could. Another example of how much power a movie has when it's done right. I highly recommend this movie. Overall, one of, if not the best war movie I have ever seen. I give it an A.

One of the greatest anti war movies

[phd_travel · 10/10 · 27 February 2020]

This is one of those Korean War movies that is hands down better than many Hollywood war movies. The production is superb the message is finely incorporated. Extremely well directed, the battle scenes are intense. The futility of this terrible conflict is shown with the back and forth over a hill. And the final battle leaves the viewer just devastated at the insanity of those in charge. The soldiers are well characterized as victims of the war not heroes or villains. The charismatic actors are to be applauded for getting the viewer emotionally involved and the director's clear style serves the story well. A must watch for war movie buffs.

Not done yet

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 28 March 2012]

The war (or specific battles/events during the war) between North and South Korea has been the backbone of quite a few South Korean movies. Most of them really get something good out of this mess. And this movie is no different. Staying mostly on one side, you still get to see "the enemy" and their points of view from time to time. It is superbly cut together and acted very fine.

While I'm not sure about how accurate the movie is by presenting the events (I'm guessing it takes a few creative freedoms), it does not hold back when it comes to punches (or bullets for that matter). The lines between good and evil are really thin. You might argue there are none. The grey area is very big, that is one thing that is very true though. Not the best war movie to come out of Korea, it still is superior to a lot of other war movies.

I don't know which movie I just watched

[nyankeesy01 · 2/10 · 6 January 2013]

Let me start off by saying that I'm a huge fan of any war movies/documentaries/TV-series/etc. It's hard to do wrong when I'm so interested in the subject manner. Technical aspects aside, my main gripe with The Front Line is that it is so full of clichés, overused tropes, imitations of other war films, and exaggerations. The fat guy as comedic relief? Check. Melodramatic reactions from just about everyone? Check. Blue filter to mean sad and orange filter to mean warmth? Check, please. Every other scene! Scenes that looked strangely and suspiciously familiar to Saving Private Ryan/Band of Brothers/Gone with the Wind/stereotypical war movies? CHECK.

The film was so over the top and aimlessly drawn out. More than 50 minutes could have been safely cut without sacrificing the plot line. At some point while writing the script, perhaps the writers felt the film could use a more personal/almost romantic story. Enter "Two Seconds", a sniper from the North Korean side. The two male characters and her do not share a particularly strong and personal relationship; yet, we're forced to place an uncalled for amount of value on their connections, especially between her and Su-Hyeok (this is how his name was subtitled in my DVD; different from the IMDb listing).

The writing and plot lines (that somehow felt as if there were too many and too few of the plot lines) were masterful examples of trite war film dialogs. Nary a quick chuckle escaped my mouth; probably because the joke was stale and again, derivative. I am fluent enough in Korean to understand the dialog, so I don't think it was lost in translation either. The acting, man. It was as if they read a manual on acting from the dollar store in the 1970s and followed it, word for word. It didn't feel organic, believable, or smart for me. Why do all the soldiers have such pearly white teeth? North Korean army men had the same haircuts, for the most part, but the South Korean army was mixing it up.

My favorite questionable moment was when a group of the South Korean soldiers were on the hunt for Two Seconds and finally were within range of her. Hiding behind a boulder of sorts, the leader places his head on a rifle and raises it slowly above to see whether she will shoot/can see him or not. She shoots and the helmet is knocked off. A few seconds later, the audience should some how forget about this because the leader just raises his whole damn head from behind so he can get a better view. Say, didn't we just learn that she's going to shoot? If I were him, I would maybe move to the other side of the boulder or have some sort of tactic before raising my head. This concern was not addressed in the movie whatsoever because the storyline progressed with this factor being inconsequential. & Eun-Pyo - why wouldn't you at least capture this incredibly dangerous sniper who has been attacking your men?

Ultimately, I say I don't know what I watched because this movie seemed to be an unsatisfying stew of other works, unoriginal characters and dialog, and bad acting. I would give them one star, but I have to give them credit for the few scenes that were shot nicely. I don't know how well this film was received in Korea, but I can't believe this was the best the country could offer for Academy Award contention.

A Must View

[yannickroelands · 10/10 · 16 January 2015]

Beautiful, without an equal.

The acting, superb. The story, breathtaking. The action, astonishing. The screen writing, unparalleled.

This movie left a deep impression on me. I recommend watching it if you haven't, you'll find yourself going through a roller coaster of emotions, clinching to your chair/couch without being able to leave.

The story is not for the weak-hearted as you see war in it's most true form, the emotions from both sides as the fighting comes to a close. The relationship between enemies, comrades, friends. In the end, making men cry, young & old.

(Blue-ray is recommended if you want to truly see the most subtle touches, I could not view it any other way)

The Futility of War From Another Viewpoint

[museumofdave · 9/10 · 14 July 2013]

Unless you are totally familiar with the strange morass that was the Korean War, the results of which are this day evident in a divided county, it might help to zip over to Wikipedia and get an overview of the reasons for the conflict, some historical background as backup, as The Front Line tosses the viewer into the heat and broil of battle at once, and it helps to know what's going on historically.

That said, this is an amazingly powerful and kinetic document about power and honor and the nature of being a soldier; it is told from the viewpoints of one main character sent to join a problematic unit where it appears that there might be an embedded traitor; along with the viewer, the character discovers who in the unit holds what secrets, who has a sense of perspective, who cannot take orders and even unearths a past event which explains the odd behavior of so many in the unit. All this while having to engage in brutal battle, often hand-to-hand, on a daily battle, an immersion into human beings expected to be killing machines.

Like Kubrick's great anti-war classic, Paths of Glory, The Front has the men engaged in which is essentially a suicide mission to save a small inch of land; in Paths of Glory, it was the "Anthill," held by the Germans; in this film, Aerok Hill, still in dispute. This is a dark film with occasional glimmers of humanity, but no glorification of war.

An okay gritty korean war movie

[leonffe · 8/10 · 23 September 2022]

The main problem with this movie is its runtime and the ungodly amount of side plots. A movie can have multiple side plots, but it must not forget then and remember them only for short amounts of time. These plots ad unnecessary length to the film especially at the end when you just want the movie to end.

Otherwise it was quite good. Combat scenes were quite brutal and captured the horrors of war. The dialogue was bad only a couple of times.

It was weird to not see any actual artillery in the movie. Explosions come mostly from mortars and bombs. It also has a rarely seen rifle granede which is used in one scene.

Excellent war film

[goblyn-78669 · 8/10 · 17 July 2020]

Great acting ,sets and costumes.One of the best war films I have seen for a while ,the story is also really good .

Ludicrous and melodramatic anti-war film

[YohjiArmstrong · 1 August 2012]

Plot: North and South Korean troops fight over a meaningless hill just as the Korean War is about to end.

The main problem with this film is that it doesn't know what story to tell. It starts out with a South Korean counter-intelligence officer being sent to an infantry unit that has been posting letters from North Korean soldiers to their relatives in the South. But then that gets cleared up and we're left with two stories: the fight over the hill (in which the same three scenes - attack, chat, look in secret box - are repeated over and over again) and a overly-large sub-plot about a sniper. The military scenes are all done in the style that Saving Private Ryan made popular, which would be fine except that they aren't well thought out enough and lack objectives, tactics and incident. Mostly the troops run up or down a hill, shooting as they go. To get some idea of the unreality of it all: at one point the SK troops lose the hill and retreat in disorder...but when we meet them next (only minutes later)they are all sitting around without their weapons chatting in camp. Isn't there a massive hole in their lines they ought to be guarding?

The film constantly lapses into tear-jerking melodrama, with nearly every death (of a character) dragged out and plenty of rote speeches: War is Bad, A Divided Korea is Bad, Aren't We All the Same Anyway etc. Plus, lots of dreadful tinkly piano music. The unit is completely dysfunctional, full of drug addicts, the mentally ill and the emotionally unstable. Everyone is forever crying or threatening to shoot each other (in one flashback they really do). The characters are all clichés (rookie, prankster, old sweat etc.) and the emotional relationships are underdeveloped. There is also a hefty dose of coincidence: who would have thought that the protagonist would meet his old buddy and the NK soldier who captured them three years ago on the same battlefield? Really, this is just a worse version of Brotherhood (Taegukgi), a film which did all the same things in this film only much, much better. Watch that instead.

The worst war film I've ever seen in my life!

[vicky_lc2001-1 · 5/10 · 1 December 2021]

Giving this a 5/10 is probably too generous for this tepid, cliched, over the top, elemenary level film. I cannot believe this has gotten such a high rating. Sk actually thought this film merited awards? Ridiculous. None of the characters were realistic as either people or soldiers. None were likable, in fact they are all unlikable and not only should they get court martialled, they should be shot for cowardice and as traitors. 1 rose through the ranks by murdering his commanding officers and another killed off 50-75% of his own men to save the supposed 25%, the worst of the worst. None of the officers acted like officers and none of the subordinates acted as such to their commanders. Are we supposed to believe these are soldiers? They all acted like they were in a highschool musical drama of hide and seek. The worst of Kyung Hun's films.

Are there any good guys in the middle of a war?

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 18 June 2020]

Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite" has drawn attention to Korean cinema. I had seen some Korean movies prior to that, but I just saw this one, and it deserves special mention.

The Korean War was the first military conflict of the Cold War; one might call it a proxy war in the Cold War. We may have heard countless stories about what went on or what the motivations were, but we don't often hear what it was like to be in the middle of the war. Jang Hoon's "Go-ji-jeon" ("The Front Line" in English) looks at that. What I took from the movie is essentially the same thing that John Sayles's "Men with Guns" said: to the people caught in the middle of the war, there's no difference between either side. As the character in Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" said, anyone with a gun is the enemy.

It's got some of the most intense battle scenes that I've seen. And on top of it, the Korean War only ended with a truce, so it's technically ongoing, just without active combat. This is one movie that I definitely recommend.

Soldiers Are Human After All

[donkrishna-dk · 8/10 · 17 July 2020]

The movie does not describe soldiers as a hero or a perfect human being. It shows that soldiers on both sides are tire of fighting of each other. The movie described that they are already too exhaustic so that they fought without passion. They only fight to survive.

The best war movie in Korea

[g-89622 · 8/10 · 24 October 2021]

This film does not blindly devalue the enemy camp. The enemy snipers are beautiful and moving, the marksmanship is accurate, the officers are resolute and mighty, and the military discipline is strict. There is no blind embarrassment to the US emperor. When the US bomber disregards the allies to drop the bomb, it is this film that accuses the United States of being "a villain who disregards allies for the benefit.". Instead of locking South Korea into a square, it has made an out-and-out anti-war film. It is very rare to look at the trauma caused by the war to the nation and the people from a neutral perspective. The writer and director put a lot of thought into exposing the horrors of war in several ways.

Superb Korean War drama

[grantss · 9/10 · 30 June 2016]

The Korean War is drawing to a close. However, fighting around a strategically important hill is as intense as ever. In the middle of this, the commander of a company of South Korean troops is found dead and it appears he was murdered by his own side.

Superb Korean war drama, told from the side of South Korean, and, to a lesser extent, North Korean, soldiers. Very realistic (a la Saving Private Ryan) and gritty. Depicts very accurately the futility of war, and the dumb high-level decisions that common foot-soldiers have to carry out.

Incredibly well-shot battle sequences. There's room for emotion and humanity in among all that though, and this propels the movie forward.

Solid acting all round.

Best KR war movie

[regreg-25683 · 9/10 · 10 September 2017]

THE best KR war movie I have seen. Unlike other KR war movies, like the "71 into the fire", just simple war actions, good guys kill bad guys, silly. This movie really has a very profound theme, yet its war action scenes are stunning, but it didn't show off those stunning big battle scenes, it used that to well tell the story and the main message of KR war... a political proxy war... no good or bad sides, solders at front only fight for survival. A war fighting against foreign intruders, is a war worthy fighting for. But Civil war, just a pure tragedy of the nation.

Must See for all War movie fans!

[decemberrr · 10/10 · 28 December 2013]

Although in Korean, this movie has captured the complete experience of war. It shows the futility of the foolishness of mankind. Eventually, even the supposed winner never wins. This is a most see to all war movie fans! OPINION: The rich and greedy bankers who finance wars use good honest innocent peoples blood and sacrifice to enrich themselves. Look who profits. Iraq, Afghanistan are good present day examples. Do your research and wake up. We free (or so called free) citizens are being duped and sold down the river by these heartless bastards. All in the guise and name of patriotism! America is in big trouble, and being destroyed piece by piece. http://thearizonasentinel.com /2013/12/24/ senior-military-officers-finally-speaking-up/

Hun Jan, Oliver Stone and John Irving, a quick comparison

[gilcatt · 10/10 · 18 December 2022]

"The enemy is war itself" says one officer near the end. "Soldiers deserve to die" says another.

Such opinions are shared on both sides of the infamous border arbitrarily drawn around the 38th parallel in 1945 by the victors of WWII, the USA and the Soviet Union. The useless war didn't change a thing. Worse, a peace treaty has yet to be ratified and the border has since become a wall.

On a similar theme, soldiers fighting for a hill, Front Line is closer to Platoon than to Hamburger Hill. Director Hun Jang has a word to say about the reality of war that is radically opposed to John Irving's faith in patriotism and glorification of official virtues, whose contradictory passions for pseudo-realism and war porn are second to none.

Indeed, there is blood here as well, there is mud, and all the flying limbs that you can dream of. Yet the comparison stops here. There is not a hint of a glorified vision of war in Hun Jang's opus because there is no glory at war : true heroes don't kill. Survivors do, at the risk of becoming desensitized.

I like to think of John Irving as the Russ Meyer of war flicks. A deranged paintball gamer's dream of hell, with plenty of eye candy. A mud bath mixed with blood. Orgasmic for some, otherwise forgettable.

Oliver Stone is the moralist, always weighing the good and bad, essentially focusing on the small picture. Polarizing, in effect, annoying for quite a few, and this will come as no surprise.

Hung Jang is the humanist, a master propaganda shredder. The big picture guy. A rarity.

The story pretty formulaic with war

[Neptune165 · 8/10 · 3 March 2023]

Yet another great Korean movie about their devastating war. The beginning does get off slow, and I didn't like where it was going. It kinda took on a different plot, a army intelligence officer sent to the front line to find enemy spy within their troops. The officer found and old friend and the real point of the story opened up. The two posing armies had been battling over Areok Hill for a long time, and the hill was always changing hands. Two small groups of soldiers, one South Korean and one North Korean left gifts for each other whenever they lose control of the hill. So the movie goes on, battling over the hill over and over, and the two groups kept exchanging gifts. The movie was now very interesting, and had a cool original idea behind it (the main charactor being an intelligence officer wasn't really mentioned again and he fought on as normal soldier). There is a lot of back story as well, with flashbacks to lost battles, and the characters were well developed and individual. The last battle is really well done and finishes off the movie fairly well but with a problem. Its sad at parts and good once the boring beginning section ends and the action scenes are top notch. A good movie that has some things that a lot of war movies have and other things that almost none have. Absolutely heartfelt story on the historic events in Korea.

Humans makes war,war makes animals.

[aushro · 10/10 · 9 September 2020]

What can i write after experiencing this one. Just one thing i can say,if u r not still saw this try just for once & its my request my friends. Because only this movie can forced u to think that,is really human beings r the best creation of God. Actually, I'm now totally confused about it.