From left: South, Neutral, North.
The Joint Security Area (JSA) refers to the North and South Korean border. A tense and formal area manned on both sides by armed soldiers. By day a South Korean tourist attraction manned by uniformed expressionless guards standing a mere 8 feet apart, by night the sides withdraw to either side of a bridge in manned posts perhaps 100 metres apart. The no-man’s land alongside the bridge is patrolled by teams who must be ever wary of the presence of booby traps or land mines.
One night shots ring out, 2 North Korean soldiers are killed, apparently by a South Korean soldier named Sgt Lee Soo Hyuk, who has confessed but refuses to talk further. In fact neither side wants to talk about it. Lee Soo Hyuk is condemned by the Northern forces and protected by the South, with each party possessing such a strong bias a neutral investigation is commenced lead by Major Sophie Jean, a Swiss resident with Korean ties and a mastery of the language.
In interviews and flashbacks the real story gradually unfolds, nothing is as simple – or funnily enough as complicated – as it first seems.
It is not fair to the film to say much more, I will say that it takes time for the real events to unravel but it is worth the wait. Being a Park Chan-Wook film it is well acted and immaculately paced, and JSA also contains some moments of great innocence and humanity. In fact the final truth is far more ‘boring’ and human than anyone might guess from the serious tone of the first few minutes.
The film is laid out in three chapters, the first shows the viewpoint of the investigators, the second the actual events from the soldier’s point of view and the third the conclusion and ultimately the truth.
JSA is never less than intriguing and even though it isn’t as great as the Vengeance trilogy it possesses perhaps the strongest final frame in almost any film that I can recall.
Final Rating – 8 / 10. A who-dunnit with a difference. An extremely effective drama with a strong cast, a great plot and the usual exceptional direction of a modern day master.
