MovieChat Forums > Mil-jeong (2016) Discussion > Loved the film, one minor nitpick

Loved the film, one minor nitpick

posted 8 years ago by LindysRuffians
9 replies | jump to latest

I really enjoyed the movie, I felt parts of it were influenced by Inglourious Basterds (in a good way), and Kang-Ho Song is always great to watch.

My one problem with the film, so to speak, is that it didn't provide much context for the resistance movement.

Why are the Japanese so bad? We don't see the Japanese police act barbaric to anyone except the resistance members it hunts down.

Why do Koreans want independence so badly? We don't even meet any Koreans who are not in the resistance. So we don't know what the average person's aspiration is.

What did their mission accomplish in the end? Without giving it away, their mission is only a stepping stone on the path to Korean independence, yet we aren't informed of the outcome.

These bigger picture questions were quite ignored, even in the opening and closing credits. So as a viewer mostly unfamiliar with the historical backdrop, it left me wanting more information.

[–] sezme 8 years ago

I agree basically with the premise of your critique that non-Koreans might do with a bit more context. I don't know this history very well either. I wasn't crazy about this film for other reasons - too much action; not enough character development.

But I will say this about your central argument: I think it's self-evident why Koreans wouldn't have wanted to be occupied by the Japanese. No people in history has accepted occupation by a foreign power without resentment. Whether or not the Japanese were brutal in their treatment of the Korean people, they were still uninvited guests taking over the house.

[–] LindysRuffians 8 years ago

Thanks for the response. True, most people living under occupation would naturally want to be independent, though you can make the argument that certain societies have become worse off after declaring independence from their occupiers.

In any case, what was missing from the film was the "why now" aspect, and why through violent means. Some nations declaring independence achieved this through completely non-violent means, and some lived under occupation for hundreds of years before achieving independence. So I would like to know why in the film, things have come to a head at precisely this time.

[–] Likrel 7 years ago

Late but w/e.

"Why the violence and Why now?"
The resistance has probably been fighting the Japanese for a while and the events of the movie is probably their major turning point. They use violence because the Japanese treatment to the Koreans are apparently harsh and that its occupied with a military police force. Also this is Imperial Japan, and they're quite patriotic and very harsh to anyone that doesn't support their country or their people.

It's set in the 1920s because that is during the time where the Chinese plans to rebel (<-could be wrong) against the Japanese and they use violence as the only means to rid of the Japanese out of their country or send a message.

Also the Resistance are becoming desperate since the organization is slowly starting to wipe out, low on funds, have more failures than success and the presence of Lee Jung-Chool plays a key factor as to whether their mission is success or a failure.

In the end, the mission wasn't to kill the officials and cripple them. It was to send a message and have more people to join the cause.

[–] Likrel 7 years ago

Late but w/e.

"Why the violence and Why now?"
The resistance has probably been fighting the Japanese for a while and the events of the movie is probably their major turning point. They use violence because the Japanese treatment to the Koreans are apparently harsh and that its occupied with a military police force. Also this is Imperial Japan, and they're quite patriotic and very harsh to anyone that doesn't support their country or their people.

It's set in the 1920s because that is during the time where the Chinese plans to rebel against the Japanese and they use violence as the only means to rid of the Japanese out of their country or send a message.

Also the Resistance are becoming desperate since the organization is slowly starting to wipe out, low on funds, have more failures than success and the presence of Lee Jung-Chool plays a key factor as to whether their mission is success or a failure.

[–] Likrel 7 years ago

Late but w/e.

"Why the violence and Why now?"
The resistance has probably been fighting the Japanese for a while and the events of the movie is probably their major turning point. They use violence because the Japanese treatment to the Koreans are apparently harsh and that its occupied with a military police force. Also this is Imperial Japan, and they're quite patriotic and very harsh to anyone that doesn't support their country or their people.

It's set in the 1920s because that is during the time where the Chinese plans to rebel against the Japanese and they use violence as the only means to rid of the Japanese out of their country or send a message.

Also the Resistance are becoming desperate since the organization is slowly starting to wipe out, low on funds, have more failures than success and the presence of Lee Jung-Chool plays a key factor as to whether their mission is success or a failure.

[–] davejimenez 8 years ago

It's a Korean film, made for and by Koreans. I'm sure you wouldn't need exposition to explain the setting and context of an action movie set in your own country's revolution or civil war, and anyway it would only take a five minute Google or Wikipedia search to answer your questions. It's certainly not the responsibility of the filmmakers to explain it to you.

[–] Jep_Gambardella 8 years ago

Why do Koreans want independence so badly? We don't even meet any Koreans who are not in the resistance. So we don't know what the average person's aspiration is.

Korea was invaded and conquered by Japan in the end of the 19th century. It's only natural that they would want independence. It's happened countless times in history and I don't think an explanation was really necessary.

What did their mission accomplish in the end? Without giving it away, their mission is only a stepping stone on the path to Korean independence, yet we aren't informed of the outcome.

Korea only achieved independence when Japan was defeated in World War II, so ultimately it wasn't the resistance that accomplished it.

Don't give me songs
Give me something to sing about

[–] kap9000 7 years ago

I loved the film too but I don't think it needed to go too far in explaining the context of the film. An audience member who is completely oblivious to it would be able to pick up on the general climate of the country at the time and be able to thoroughly engage with the film.

I agree with your Inglourious Basterds comparison, though I thought this was a MUCH more effective thriller since it wasn't balancing other subplots or forcing in awkward comedy.

The whole train sequence is quite reminiscent of the bar scene in Inglourious Basterds. A psychological cat and mouse game taking place in a confined space and you're just wandering when someone is gonna caught out. LOVED the train scene!

[–] ibbi 7 years ago

I'd agree with the nitpick. It's definitely a film that will work far better if you are aware of the whole history/culture, but it's definitely strong enough to work for a wider audience on a more general level anyway. It's an issue that is hard to hold up as a significant criticism, it just holds it back from absolute greatness.

____
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