Achyut Prashast Singh
India
Films with excellence like this one are rare to find nowadays. TAEGUKGI is in every aspect a masterpiece; I can confidently say it's flawless. While watching the film, I was totally absorbed into it. Director Kang Je-kyu, who also made another war/action drama MY WAY with the same actor Jang Dong-gun in the lead in 2011, had impressed me big time; that film was totally a masterpiece, and made me more excited to watch TAEGUKGI. I was left speechless, moved and emotional by the time the end credits started to roll. Undoubtedly, it's one of the best South Korean films I've seen till date and another excellent war film like MY WAY.
Director Kang Je-kyu binds us emotionally into the tale with perfection sprinkled all over; the unfolding is so convincing that I felt connected to the brothers (played by the very excellent and unbeatable actors Jang Dong-gun and Won Bin) right from the beginning. Jang delivers a perfectly neat act and you feel for him since the very beginning, while Won makes you cry along with him. This is seriously an award deserving performance from both the actors, and undoubtedly the film won a lot of awards and love from people all over. Rest of the actors too add glory to the film's victory.
The technical aspects need to be heavily praised, as not for a second it's felt that the film has a low quality or production values. The scale is pretty high, and the production values are rich. The war sequences, rather and better to be called action sequences, are extremely well choreographed and are enjoyable enough to be seen again. The cinematography is splendid and the lens doesn't capture a single shot without perfection.
The screenplay and editing are very well dealt with, as even at 148 minutes (I have seen the director's cut) the film doesn't bore for a second. The moment you think it's over, it goes on to deliver some chilling portrayal of human emotions and continues the narration with utmost sincerity. The climax is very well done, and the last few minutes had me constantly crying. Every emotion could be felt.
TAEGUGKI is undoubtedly a major triumph for the South Korean cinema. When I finished watching the film as well as shedding tears, I was left silent as well as asking myself a question again and again, "Why didn't I see this gem before?"
Director Kang Je-kyu binds us emotionally into the tale with perfection sprinkled all over; the unfolding is so convincing that I felt connected to the brothers (played by the very excellent and unbeatable actors Jang Dong-gun and Won Bin) right from the beginning. Jang delivers a perfectly neat act and you feel for him since the very beginning, while Won makes you cry along with him. This is seriously an award deserving performance from both the actors, and undoubtedly the film won a lot of awards and love from people all over. Rest of the actors too add glory to the film's victory.
The technical aspects need to be heavily praised, as not for a second it's felt that the film has a low quality or production values. The scale is pretty high, and the production values are rich. The war sequences, rather and better to be called action sequences, are extremely well choreographed and are enjoyable enough to be seen again. The cinematography is splendid and the lens doesn't capture a single shot without perfection.
The screenplay and editing are very well dealt with, as even at 148 minutes (I have seen the director's cut) the film doesn't bore for a second. The moment you think it's over, it goes on to deliver some chilling portrayal of human emotions and continues the narration with utmost sincerity. The climax is very well done, and the last few minutes had me constantly crying. Every emotion could be felt.
TAEGUGKI is undoubtedly a major triumph for the South Korean cinema. When I finished watching the film as well as shedding tears, I was left silent as well as asking myself a question again and again, "Why didn't I see this gem before?"
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