71 - Into the Fire

We decided to check out this Korean war film on the recommendation of some friends, and I have to say, it delivered in a lot of ways. Apparently, it features a bunch of Korean idols—one representing the South Koreans, another for the North, and a student thrown into the mix. The premise is kind of wild: 71 students defending a hill against thousands of North Korean soldiers. It’s almost like one of those over-the-top stories where they claim a North Korean fighter took down a plane with a machine gun. But hey, anything's possible, right? In the end, it’s a solid war film with some great action sequences, especially in the beginning and end. The only downside is that the middle drags a bit, like it’s stuffed with filler. (07.04.2011)

Korea's Magnificent 71, led not by Yul Brynner but by the Eurasian champion of gaping at the horrors of war. Not that I blame him. After all, filming with extreme resolution digital cameras requires that the film crew put their weight into the sawing. On one hand, the technology allows us to capture in sharp focus the finest flying specks of dust, not to mention explosions that throw thousands of tiny parts into the air that are no longer a blur, where each is in full focus and we can follow its trajectory comfortably as far as the length of the shot allows, but on the other hand we have to reckon with the necessity of absolute ultimata in terms of make-up, effects, costuming, and production design. If there's one place the film doesn't really fail, it's here. The ubiquitous dust, dirt, bloody pustules, worn guns, flying shrapnel, burning soldiers, and glorious explosions in the long shots leave the viewer guessing at nothing, and though it goes over the top a few times (an over-stylized shootout in the tall grass, almost funny gore), the eyes have their fun. And it actually quite masks the fact that the script was apparently written by a twelve-year-old nationalist after a three-day crash course in screenwriting, which means that while the film waves the epic history banner, it ends up pitting a literally bullet-riddled protagonist on a pile of corpses, machine gun in hand, against an arrogant bad guy in a white uniform firing a Russian PPSh-41 submachine gun single-handed. (02.10.2014)

This is a well-made film with an excellent cast, but for some reason it didn't grab me by the heart like so many other Korean war films. Plus there were a few scenes I didn't quite believe and a couple of weak spots in the first half. Apart from the acting performances, I have to commend the music, it was beyond excellent. It has become almost a habit for me to be in pieces at the end of every war movie, but that wasn't the case here. And that's why I’m rating the film as only slightly above average. 3.5 stars. (22.11.2014)

Another Korean war film, this time made to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. This film was really a step into the unknown for me, as the previous two war films I watched came with the assurance of a well-known director. Here, I was truly on the fence about whether to watch it. But based on mostly above-average reviews, I decided to give it a go. 71: Into the Fire is a typical product of Korean cinema. I’ll start with the action sequences. They were superb, giving me chills, and felt incredibly well-crafted. Everything culminated in the final half-hour, which was absolutely breathtaking. It’s hard to believe this film had a budget of just 10 million dollars because the scenes felt like they were from a film with a much larger financial backing. The filmmakers also played on the viewer’s emotions, as this is based on true events, and the camera shots of dying students would soften even the toughest viewer. I also have to praise the music, which enhanced an already exceptional experience. I don’t even need to comment on the story, as it actually happened. In the realm of Korean war films, this is top-tier, and many Western films could take inspiration from it. I give it 89%. (30.05.2017)