Welcome to Dongmakgol: Utopian Korea Analogy, Soundtrack + Genre

The third Korean War film we have watched departs a lot in terms of genre.

In the beginning, I am convinced that this will be a sort of detective/suspense film: the music seems like almost over-the-top suspense music, and the scene is extremely graphic. I later realize that this is actually just to juxtapose the rest of the film: things shift quickly when we enter the small and blissfully oblivious town of Dongmakgol, whose leader responds to questions like "How do you have such a hold on a whole village without ever raising your voice?" with, "The secret is to feed them a lot." The town is a sort of Utopia that puts its emphasis on pleasure, family, communal work and apparently eating. What a relief from the rest of the gory, depressing war films we have seen.

As I said in class, I was shocked to hear that Joe Hisaishi (a composer whose almost-discography is on my iPod) did the soundtrack for this film before I had seen it. But while viewing the film, the scores didn't feel awkward; the character of Yeo-il adds a sort of naive and optimistic and fantastical mood to the film that sits so well with Hisaishi. The gnome-like things that surround the village, and the theme of butterflies and snakes and flowers enhances this fantasy feel.

There is, as in some of the other war and non-war movies we have seen, a humour surrounding the presence of the Westerner. Here, Mr. Smith's name is understood as "Seu Miss."

The Bevan reading poses the question, "What came first--a change in public opinion, a new cinematic perspective, or a shift in government policy?" as far as films that bridge a North/South gap. This film "revisits the past to construct a history" that belongs to Korea as a nation, not north/south Korea, like Bevan suggested. Here, neither side is the victim or the villain, as Dongmakgol is united under a solidarity of communal goals (harvesting food, staying safe, protecting each other). Dongmakgol is perhaps the utopian "Korea"--not North or South, just "pure Korea." This era of film-making is relatively knew, and came after the phase of North/South Korean film-making that aimed to "control the representation of the foe." Much easier to watch--I really enjoyed the film.