Joint Security Area / Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA (South-Korea, 2000)

Joint Security Area (JSA) is a really impressive film about the aftermath of (how we would call it) the ‘forgotten war’ (Korean war).
This a film about friendship, that when you expect it the least there are possibilities to make new friends, even in the madness of the thing called war. Two countries who are just being divided by a drawn line, standing towards each other and hating each other while they are both Korean.

To me, this was a really interesting film about the tension between North- and South-Korea, a tension that still is far from gone. It is interesting that the director, Park Chan-wook, doesn’t talk about good or wrong. He just wants to focus on the story of soldiers of both sides and how they became friends. Maybe to some people the pace of this film is to slow but all the time the director seems to create something like suspense which keeps it all the time very interesting.
The acting in it is often great, especially Kang-ho Song is brilliant as the North-Korean soldier.

A dramatic, but magnificent anti-war film.

Journey from the fall (Vietnam, 2006)

Journey from the fall is directed by Ham Tran, in my eyes an unknown director but that is not so weird due to the fact that I have never seen a Vietnamese movie before.

It's about people who try to survive after the fall of Saigon, people who wanna get away from communism that takes over and reforms the country and its people. The story circles around a family who are ripped apart during this time. The dad is send to a re-educational camp, while the grandmother, mother and son want to take their chance to go as refugees to America.

It can be guessed, it's a very emotional drama. But, it is a very good one too! You'll see the madness of thes re-educational camps were 'prisoners' try to escape everyday and are being shot like deers. Where people accidentaly step on land mines, which are never cleared. The fear of people who get stuffed into a boat to get to the States, I guess these scenes can be very emotional for people who actually survived this way. The heat, small room and the fear of pirates (for those who immediately think of pirates from comics or Pirates of the Carribean, please grow up) and the worries about your family can't leave no mark on human soul.

And this is exactly what we see in the third part of the movie. To try to start a new life in a new country, which isn't as easy as it sounds. People try to forget their past, but it's never good to forget your past cause it eventually will lead to individual crisis. Who am I?



It really is a strong drama about the effects and insanity of a civil war which doesn't only rip the land apart, but as well the people in it.

Jade Soturi

On the 25th of March I have to go to the cinema in Groningen. Due to the fact of the exposition of the Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela in the Groninger museum there will be shown a movie about Finland (Suomi). I still have to see this exposition, but I heard only good things about it so I surely will!!


(famous work by Kallela)

The movie is called "Jade soturi " Jade Warrior! I wanted this movie to see so badly already but it was never shown here. Now I have one chance so I look forward to it very very much!