Rating: R
Genre:
War
Theatrical Release: 09/03/2004(USA
Release Date: 02/15/2005
SubTitles: English/French
Dubbed: English/KO
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 148 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Gore, War Violence
Distributor/Studio: Columbia TriStar
Korea's leading filmmaker,
Kang Je-gyu, directed this epic-scale
drama focusing on two brothers caught up in the madness of the war that tore their nation apart in the early '50s.
Jin-seok Lee (
Weon Bin) is a bright and well-educated young man whose older and more physically imposing brother
Jin-tae Lee (
Jang Dong-gun) believes he represents the best hope for his family's future. When both
Jin-seok and
Jin-tae are called up to fight in the South Korean army following the advance of Communist forces, a wary
Jin-tae cuts a deal with his commanding officer -- if he racks up an impressive enough record on the battlefield, the army will give
Jin-seok an early release.
Jin-tae proves to be a fearless soldier, and is soon recognized as a war hero, but as the conflict wears on, he develops an unhealthy enthusiasm for the violence of the battlefield, and
Jin-seok finds himself questioning his big brother's actions, both as a soldier and as a member of his family. The title
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War refers to the Korean name for the South Korean flag, originally designed in 1876 but outlawed during Japanese rule of the nation, and restored to use in 1948.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide