Reviews

Secret SK military unit, drilled solely for assassinating Kim Il-sung, becoming victims of politics

“Silmido” is a KMovie that generated enormous public impact in South Korea. A 2003 production that used dramaturgical means to bring a previously unknown, small but rather blatant chapter of South Korean history to public awareness, that had long been kept secret and filed away. The KMovie “Silmido” had its mission fulfilled – at the box office, among the people and among those, who ultimately make decisions.

“Silmido” was apparently more popular in South Korea than the Lord of the Rings trilogy or Titanic. To this day, the KMovie in South Korea is considered one of the most successful productions ever. The cast is first class. The focus is on the training camp for the secret military special unit 684 - its soldiers, its commanders, the training and living conditions. In the end we see where this all is leading to – this at that time particularly fatal involvement of the military with domestic and foreign policy, plus and foremost always at the forefront, yet hidden behind the curtain: the secret service.

The story is contrasting ambivalent attitudes towards feelings of national solidarity. On the one hand, an emotional patriotism based on the connection to one's personal origins and South Korean homeland, and on the other hand, a politically instilled national identity of “democratic South” against “communist enemy in the North”. On top of that: Unconditional obedience within the chain of command struggling with common sense...

Overall, it's about a brutal man´s military world. It is about hardline drilling methods. Yet , it is not about heroes and villains, nor about the good guys against the bad guys. Over time, the protagonists are increasingly gaining a profile, that shows some softer heartbeat, too. Camaraderie, bromance and respect for each other are in it as well. The showdown is rather disturbing.


PS:
Eventually the KMovie had its impact: in 2010, the central district court in Seoul ordered that the equivalent of around 188,000 euros in compensation should be paid out to the families of the former members of Unit 684 - the forgotten, denied unit that “Silmido” is about. The court comes to the conclusion after following public pressure and thus officially investigating the case: The Silmido soldiers had not been sufficiently informed about the hardship and dangers of the training camp, the training conditions had violated their basic human rights and the government at the time (1971) would have brought great suffering to the families of the bereaved by covering up the events.









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SIDE NOTE: --- Secret special Unit 684 ---

The film title "Silmido" refers to a very small, actually uninhabited island in the Yellow Sea, southwest of Incheon. Here (in response to the failed North Korean assassination attempt on South Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1968), between 1968 and 1971 a special military unit was trained at the instigation of the secret service, with just one goal: to eventually efficiently assassinate North Korean President Kim Il-sung. The circumstances surrounding Unit 684 are still not all clear. One thing is certain, though: the unit was created in April 68 (68-4) and trained in the utmost secrecy on the island of Silmido under almost inhumane conditions.

For the script quite some extensive research was done in advance. The story is based on rather thin officially existing information, added up with a few eyewitness reports, whereas gaps were filled with poetic freedom. For example, it is not clear how Unit 684 was actually recruited. However, among the specially trained elite soldiers there were obviously some with previous convictions, although not serious criminals. The KMovie ultimately decided to freely use a narrative that all the men were doomed criminals who, in their desperation without hope for an alternative future, had seized the last straw of becoming members of this particular secret unit.

The three years of elite training on Silmido had been extremely tough. Those who were not suitable simply did not survive the highly demanding torment. However, when the 31 soldiers were ready for deployment, the government decided to refrain from carrying out an assassination attempt and instead rely on a political solution for peaceful coexistence with the North. What had happened? US President Jimmy Carter hoped for a peaceful agreement. The South Korean policy followed that agenda, too. Accordingly, the head of the secret service was replaced by someone who also supported this peaceful approach. The link that was supposed to open a new dialogue between North and South was the Red Cross, not the military...

What may sound respectable, however, consequently led to the immediate disbandment of Unit 684. As of now, it officially should have never existed. Thus, 31 elite soldiers lost their right to exist. Their meaning and only goal for which they had lived (or rather survived) for the last 3 years, was trampled on... They were no longer useful, on the contrary: a disruptive factor. But politicians had made the calculation without the fighting machines they had specially drilled... this all led to a showdown in the outskirts of Seoul. As its result, however, Unit 684 went incorrectly down in history as a group of heavily armed communists... until 2003.

From 2010 onwards, it became finally official that actually those men were a South Korean secret elite military unit that had been drilled solely for the planned assassination of Kim Il-sung – until plans had changed at short notice for political reasons and some man in suits had decided to wipe out the life of 31 (in this context innocent) men in uniforms without any trace...

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My take on the movie? Watch the dramas first and foremost. My complaint on the movie is that they spent too much time on Rio's story. This movie would have been perfect if they blended her story in with Seiichi and Hotaru traveling and seeing the sights with her doing stupid stuff. There were some moments when it really was funny; especially when they went Goro..goro..goro down the stairs (you have to see the dramas to understand). The acting of the leads was still great. I fell in love with Seeichi (Buchon/Boss) even more because he was truly willing to accept her as she was. Talk about oil and water, it is definitely these two but their love for each other is definitely true. Watch the movie only if you've seen the dramas and want to see more; however, be prepared to be a little disappointed. And the ending? C'mon, we deserve to see what happens next!!

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I picked this up not only because it was subbed by a trusted subber (thank you aoihachi!) -and by "trusted" I mean I know this subber will finish the subbing, but also because I've watched the TFP episode where the 3 leads guested, and I loved their team spirit, which is reflected again in the drama and it is one of the highlights of the show.

This is a fun, light show, there are no villains, it is a slice of life, involving music, friendship and romance. The beautiful "Air" by Bach is a wonderful companion throughout the drama, and it is also a big part of the plot. There is a character development in all characters, from Yaeko-san, Rihito-kun and Yukie (the 3 main leads). For their relationship alone, I love the entire drama, but all in all, even the romance was sweet and fun and far from corny or believable. Thank God there was a chemistry between Haru and Taishi, and in spite of the 7-8 years gap, it wasn't obvious at all since Taishi does look older than in his twenties.

Even the OP song was cute.. I love all of it :)

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This year's one of the best drama!

Whoa! my reaction when I started to watch this drama, I wasn't sure before how it will turn out but it was amazing thank god I listen to my insticts and watched cause it was pretty amazing.

But it's not for anyone I say because you will love or hate it.

The plot was very interesting and addictive and main thing it's originality. I love the character development it was one of the best thing of this drama because you see every character is developing in their own way in every episode and it was refreshing to see. I also love those stories or I can say fairy tales.

Acting was topnotch, and ost was incredible (it's in my fav songs list).

Overall this drama was amazing and worthwatching !!

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Brilliant dark gay-themed thriller with solid characterization, tight plot and good production values. The settings show film noir influence. Don't let the initial wedding scenes put you off, this really takes off after this is out of the way and the relationship between photgrapher Bae (Kim MIn Joon) and his friend (the groom) operating a photographic/modelling studio is established as a basis for the plot development. Ryu, working in an organized prostitution racket, becomes the centre-piece of the plot and is an entirely believable character, well acted by Ishida Hoshi (a name to watch). The ending is very skilfully done and certainly has you thinking to work out what happened. A solid gay-themed production, well worth a watch if you go for thriller-type movies. Not for those looking for sensitive romance.

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This drama was so good in many aspects. I had a difficult time thinking of who to go for, Tae O or Dohyeon. However, as the drama progresses, I find that Dohyeon was more the perfect boyfriend material. Everything he does for Songi was so cute and sincere, from his confession, to every small gestures he did for her. Personally, I was disappointed to find out they broke up because of Tae O because of their long history as childhood friends. Dohyeon felt like that guy that represents all they nice, sincere, timid, yet gentle guys all over the world, but in the end nice guys finish last sadly. I love Dohyeon's storyline and how he has not much of money and everything, yet still finds every way to provide for Songi :(. Dohyeon doesn't have much resources and money like Tae O, but everything he does for Songi is so sincere and kind. I get that Songi and Tae O have known each other for 20 years and whatnot, but in the end for me, I felt like it should have been Dohyeon and Songi instead. Overall, it was a good drama and I hope others who have watched the drama will agree with me as well for Dohyeon and Songi ship :D

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For the Small Budget that this Film had, i have to say it was a nice piece of work in terms of story.Yes there were many flaws throughout the film but putting that aside with the small production im assuming. It was a beautiful story. Who doesnt love a Gay film that has a good ending i have watch alot of BL films that dont often end pleasantly to the viewer instead deal with a harsher reality that is beautiful and sad all on its own. This film how ever also Kept closely in touch with reality in terms of family issues and struggles most gay men face . Some were excessive but it didnt disappoint in the end. i give it an 7.0 since they did include some more hard steamy scenes that most actors shy away from. Acting skills not the greatest alot but from the main male did a decent job. With the rating i gave dont think its a horrible film its a good watch i would encourage for u to watch it on ur own i was giving it the overall rate for the whole production, but even with that i would say check it out .

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Never got revenge against your trifling ex? Then you need to watch this drama.

Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this is a “liked”.

The deets:
The story opens with a heavily pregnant Empress who has devoted her entire life to her Emperor. As a general, she has fought numerous battles for him and helped him to gain the throne, never once wavering in her devotion—even when he took her half-sister as concubine. What should be a joyous occasion turns into a tragedy as the Emperor exposes his true self during her childbirth causing to both her death and the death of her unborn baby. Now in the real world, that would be the end of it, but that’s why we love dramaland because she wakes up as herself five years before on her wedding night. This is not her wedding to the Emperor but to his younger brother (a wedding the Emperor—then just a prince—arranged for her so she could be a mole in his half-brother’s household). Instead of repeating the mistakes of her previous life, she takes advantage of this second chance to destroy her former lover by partnering with her first husband to take down both her two-faced ex and her scheming half-sister.

Things I liked:
This was really a great little drama. Once betrayed, our FL never wavered in her mission to destroy the SML. Once the ML and FL start to trust each other, they work together without fail to get revenge. In fact, they were both so heartless towards the SML/SFL, I’m kinda surprised censorship let it through.

Things I did not like:
There wasn’t much beyond the few inconsistencies that are inevitable in a mini-, low budget drama, like, for example how, as an unfavored, illegitimate daughter, our FL rose to be such a famously talented general with so much military power (or the fact that she appeared incapable of defending herself despite being such a powerful warrior; oh well, this drama was more about mind games anyways).

Final thoughts:
I just happened to stumble upon this one on YouTube. I found it in both Spanish and English. I highly recommend it if you need a short, sweet watch with a satisfactory ending.

PS. Because I saw this on YT, there's no point in rating the soundtrack b/c half the time its either absent, or they're using some '70's music of some sort because of copyright.

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Best Love, Best Kisses!

One of the pros of Taiwanese Boys Love is that they aren't infected with messed-up plots, silly tropes or censorship. You'll get romance right away, with pretty boys trying to hold on through thick and thin. "We Best Love" is no exception, except that some scenes affected me more than I anticipated.

Story
Fighting Mr Second picks up the story line right after the first series, Nr One For You. The ML has left the country to visit his family in America, but he didn't come back. He left no message, and the other ML was heart broken. Now, the one with the heartache has become the boss of a company his ex-boyfriend runs. They meet again, and the quitter gets literally slapped in the face. Question is: what happened long ago? It seems they still have feelings for each other, can hate turn into love again, will they succeed in rekindling their love?

Acting/Cast
Sam Lin shines as the male lead Gao Shi De, more or less a throwback to his role as Mu Liu Bing in Moon River (2015). Both men seem easy-going on the outside, but they are inwardly darker. They have no scruples when it comes to scheming their way to the heart of their beloved. They're also ruthless when they think it's the best strategy to close off their relationship. YU fits the bill as well, as Zhou Shu Yi, a maelstrom of apparent contradictions. He's fiercely loyal but it takes a lot of effort to gain his trust; he's prickly on the outside with a soft heart on the inside. In short, they're made for each other. The supporting cast is also good, but Fighting Mr Second is simply too short to give all of them the screen time they deserve.

The Good
There are two times that Fighting Mr Second reaches the top of BL productions. Watch the emotional drunk scene with Gao Shi De in episode 2 and you know what I mean. It has one of the best kissing scenes and camera angles I've ever seen in chinese series. Second, is the love that is shown between two guys who have contrasting mental disorders.

The Bad
The relationship between Yu Zhen Xuan and Pei Shou Yi feels forced though, because a BL format of 6 episodes can't pay tribute to their characters and the complications of their love life. They deserve a series of their own.

Overall
Still I was hooked by the story, got the feels to the level of "I'm not crying, you're crying". So watch it, if you're a sucker for romance. Nothing better than watching people falling in love (again), regardless of their gender, or mental health for that matter.

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ENDLESSLY SWIMMING LOST SHARK

This sequel is like a shark which swims endlessly but lost its direction. I just dont get why it wasnt just released as a movie when it was very clearly shot as a movie.

Its a six 20-minute episode series, that to be honest, is just too short to fully flesh out the full potential of the story. ALso, although there are few snippets of scenes from the first movie, watching the first one is an assignment to fully appreciate the bond between our main characters. The characters' new lives are both touching and alienating, and its very convenient that the crew all got out of jail within just 6 months after U Sol was released from prison.

Kim Min Seok's Cha U Sol remains as the heart of the series. His babayface still makes him believable as a high-school / post high school character, but that same youthfulness (and petiteness) makes him beating larger oppenents unconvincing at times. Seeing Wi Ha Joon as Jung Do Hyeon is also a treat but his cameo only made me want to see him more.

The isuue is this show has created a lot of characters that are easy to love, unfortunately i just cant get attached to them as much as i want to because they simply werent given enough time. THe other is they also created such a compelling villain which affected the storytelling in the attempt to give both sides screentime - the result is 2 half-cooked sharks. For a short series, scenes were redundant and clunky and much of it was focued on the repetitive fighting. Adding just 20 to 30 minutes in each episodes would probably made this show a lot cheesier but also more satisfying.

I get that this is a male-centric story and it very obvious that this show doesnt know how to handle female characters. I dont even remember the teacher Yun Ji Hui from the first movie and suddenly we are asked to care for her by hinting a possible love angle with U Sol. Won Jun''s sister Lee Yeon Jin also suddenly pops out and becomes part of the crew with matching fighting skills to boot. Dont get me started about the comical and annoying villainess Park Si Hyeon. None of these 3 female characters were given enough material to truly be remarkable.

W0uld i reccomend? Yes, since you are not investing a lot of time anyway. Would I rewatch? No, Overall its a 7 for me not too good but not bad either.

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Emotional movie that touches on life and death

If you've seen the trailer, you may think this is a mystery/horror movie but don't be fooled. There are two arcs in this: first half fools you into thinking its horror and the latter half is emotional and a real tearjerker.

Basic rundown of this story without spoilers: the female lead notices her neighbors being weird and tries to find out the reason. There is also a strange light shop down the street that she is suspicious of. She works with her boyfriend to discover the truth. The director does a good job using color to portray the mood of the scene- using dark contrast for the "horror" and warm tones for other scenes. Additionally, the metaphor of using lightbulbs to represent human life is the heart of this movie. Characters enter the light shop to get their lightbulb, others don't have one, and some choose to give up their lightbulb.

You can tell they had a good budget and spent a lot of effort and time to create this movie. The transition between scenes and flashbacks was so smooth, you get pulled into the story even more.

There were a lot of familiar faces in this: Zhang Ruo Nan, Bai Yu Fan, Zheng Kai (cameo), Sun Qian, and Liu Yi Jun. They really embraced their characters. Bai Yu Fan and Zhang Ruo Nan's emotional scenes especially broke me. I was bawling at the end of the movie.

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A captivating trilogy on "living in interesting times" as a wronged woman and individual

Three stories, the 1st set in the late Republican period, the 2nd in an early Communist period and the 3rd in "roaring 90s", in the same city (Shanghai), all stories greatly "witnessed" by the same house, which was a family home (later a hospital/working place) of the first female protagonist, a working and living place of the second and the third FL: three women of different generations sharing a mutual family bond and leaving their "footprints", their life stories, romances, spirits and strenghts for each new generation to come, symbolically conveyed to the audience with passing the pocket watch (gifted to the first FL by her husband) on to the next generation .

The setting of all three stories is historically and visually impeccable in every detail, object, costume and prop, helping a viewer to fully immerse in the time treated in each arc. Visual aesthetics of the first two stories are furtherly accentuated by framed chiaro-scuro shots under porches and arcades, looking like paintings or precious old photos. This clear and sophisticated retro vibe is replaced by "modern antiques" bursting colours in the third story. The artistic department covering three different period of times and the camerawork are perfect, 10/10. The choice of classical music and Chinese folk tunes serves well particularly in the 2nd story, where it is almost part of the script: FL and ML get closer thanks to their love for fine arts in general (FL is a designer and a painter), it helps them to understand each other.

But the overall tune of the three stories is different, each fitting the time and type of storytelling. The first story is a pure narrative, told by the 2nd FL (an elderly lady at the moment of storytelling) to the 3rd FL (her grandaughter) in the lowest moment in life of the latter (it isn't clear if she tempted a suicide or collapsed due to a shock of being unintentionally involved in a fraud and money embezzlement). That's the reason why the first story flows so well, scenes and episodes follow the memories and story telling of an old woman who is an artist herself, who deeply loved and respected her aunt (1st FL), a doctor who studied abroad, coped with difficult family issues, challenged societal norms and had a beautiful love story with her uncle. Excellent dialogues, acting and directing fully delivered that story.

Having a terrible father and a weak mother, this aunt was the only person YiYi (2nd FL) could count on. She was her polar star and a rolemodel to follow even when they've lost contact and she ought to face even greater challenges. Two actresses who impersonated the 2nd FL did an amazing job. Great story, great acting, aesthetics and subtle use of arts are the reasons why there was no drop in the overall quality as it happened in the War of Faith when the story turned from the (opulent) Republican to (poor) Communist era in Shanghai.

The plot and dialogues, although simplified and sometimes overdramatised to fit into the format of 10 eps per arc, are credible and sufficient both to characterise persons involved and realistically depict the time and the environment. Probably, the story in the 2nd arc is closest to real historical setting I've seen of this period in any Chinese drama (also because it avoided to deepen certain events and purges in the first 5 years of Communist takeover, while how the Cultural Revolution impacted the story was only hinted and not particularly deepened). An incredibly credible story, which feels both realistic and poetic.

After these two dramatic stories, full of turbulences, the third felt... anticlimatic. Again, the environment was faithfully represented, the actors did their job etc., but the story was not captivating enough. It has its good aspects (politics, business and relations are actually interesting as they were in previous arcs), but, imo, it fails to explain the characters as they were explained in the the 1st and the 2nd. The 3rd FL is emotionally volatile, maybe even unstable (that's why I've thought she tried a suicide), domineering towards her boyfriend for no reason. Having such a great grandma, she shouldn't be like that... The always upright 3rd ML doesn't shine either and the chemistry between the leading actors is not particularly credible. Maybe, we should take their story as a passage obligé to hand down the pocket watch to some future descendant who will live in more demanding times. Despite these flows regarding mainly the 3rd story, I strongly recommend you to watch this well-written, well-crafted and performed drama.

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The most brilliant line in there...today is the day the ones who died yesterday so desperately want. How true! For such a simple quiet movie I am left with so many conflicting thoughts on the rightness or wrongness of the death penalty, the futileness of rehabilitation or forgiveness for the sociopaths out there who will never have any concept of, remorse for, or understanding of, the damage they have caused, the blind ideology of forgiving those who have sinned against someone in the most brutal of ways, the cruelty to children that in many cases is the root cause for the mayhem and self-destruction these people create, the lifetime of quiet desperation, grief, unbearable anger, and the eternal lack of resolution that is left to the loved ones of the victims. A very thought provoking movie.
This movie, in some ways, was even more conflicting than Maundy Tuesday because it was hard to have any sense of understanding or empathy for the young man since he was such a sociopath. The inability to have any feelings of right or wrong or anything past their own idea of what they want is so un-understandable! Prison nor rehabilitation will not help because there is some (I believe) mental/physical defect in them that prevents normal feelings of empathy, love, compassion...the basic feelings a human should have. It is most certainly a disability as true as manic depression or schizophrenia, but nearly impossible to treat. How can you teach someone to have something they are genetically predisposed not to possess? This movie will raise emotions in you, I guarantee it. It is beautifully written and acted. I highly recommend it.

I would not watch it again myself because it is too painful. Don't remember the music at all.

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Sexy, sweet & visually stunning tale of baby drama

Gosh I am excited to have found this MDL page because I have been wanting to write a review of this vertical drama. I watched Have Babies for the first time on Christmas 2024 & have watched this drama repeatedly ever since.

What I liked:
1. Visuals - Wow, what a visually stunning couple. Han Jia Hui is gorgeous (love her cheekbones) while Ke Chun is handsome (I get distracted by his big lips & raspy voice). Both actor & actress look extremely beautiful together. FL's outifts looked good on her & suit her character.
2. Romance - There are 2 intimate scenes and both times were hot. Even though there were not many kisses, the couple was affectionate with each other. I really enjoyed the playful banter between FL & ML.
3. Acting - I must say I was impressed by both Han Jia Hui & Ke Chun's acting. The scene in which ML told FL about his hidden identity was emotional & conveyed well. It's also great to see both of them in comedic & dramatic scenes. I became a fan of Han Jia Hui & Ke Chun and started watching their other dramas.
4. Supporting characters - I really like ML's sister. She bonded really well with FL & it was fun watching her scenes with FL & ML. I also like ML's mum especially the store scene. The child actors & actress were so adorable. I also like ML's assistant.
5. Pacing - Well paced & light drama. I watched this drama in one sitting.

What I disliked:
1. FL's ex - His proposal is just silly and darn too late.

Favourite scene:
When FL showed her wedding gown to her children & that playful banter afterwards.

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A really recommended drama that you should watch! trust me

Such an amazing and beautiful drama. This drama is very unforgettable for me because of the story and acting. First, we can see in the first episode telling that Gu Chuan the ML is got an accident because he was trying to help the strangers who is the young girl, Jiang Xiao Ning (FL) and her family. And when he got injured, he still trying to console the young girl even help her to sing a birthday song for her. It's really heartwarming and touching.

Then after the accident, the ML can't get a normal life again because of he got a mechanical heart to save his life.
So, he always think about dying and even prepare her funeral. Honestly, it's really sad when I think about him. He's such a great and potential architect, that have a personal studio. He's always calm and never got a strong emotion to protect his heart. Case is different for the FL, although she got a traumatic experiences and losing her parents, she always try to optimist and cheerful.
They met after 10 years, and she become his assistant. Slow but sure, she changed the ML. She made him smile again and get another purpose of life. They both fall in love, but can't be together cause the mechanical heart. The doctor always warn him to not dating cause his heart can't experiencing strong emotions. So, what happened after that? You should watch it now cause you won't regret it.. trust me.

Overall, it is really a great storyline, there are ups and downs that you really wanna cry a lot because of them, but you also will get happy too cause their chemistry is superb. And do not worry cause We also got second couple that are so funny and exciting. In addition, we got two guest role who are the ML'ex and FL's best friend. They make it a complete and great scenes too. Oh yes, and the ost also amazing. Really like it too.
Personally, I really amaze for Ren Jia Lun acting. He really did an amazing job when potrayed Gu Chuan. this is my first time watching his drama, and can't wait to see his other drama too.

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