While better know in the western world for his vengeance trilogy, Park Chan-Wook should be praised for a less known film called JSA.
Joint Security Area is a political thriller set in the Korean Demilitarized Zone where soldiers of each side end up fraternizing before things turn bad in some kind of greek style tragedy.
Directed with brillance (non-linear storytelling full of intricacies, sophisticated framing and photography...) the film not only entertains but it also makes the audience pondering on the whole point of the North/South dichotomy. It depicts a world from which women are excluded, where the sense of honor and patriotism have rendered people enemies.
If Park Chan-Wook's discourse is cheesy at time ("we are all brother after all, let's love each other"), the director sums up in this Joint Security Area the ridiculousness of conflicts where fleeting ideologies create a state of war and imaginary barriers to separate men, epitomised in the "your shadow is on my side" line in a rare funny moment of the film. JSA depicts a tragedy in which human beings have traded their freedom of thought and individualism with allegiance thus becoming slave of the homeland's will.
Ten years after the release of the film, South and North Koreas may be on the brink of war. JSA reminds us that political conflicts and their procession of bravado and chivalry usually hide a situation which is in some respects incredibly pointless.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Billy Wilder the prophet
Even before the end of the San José mine accident where 33 men lived 70 days trapped 700 metres deep, fictions and documentaries based on this near disaster were already in preproductions throughout the world.
It seems greedy producers have forgotten that the film had already been shot... 60 years ago! Re watching "Ace in the hole" today feels strange. The 1951 Billy Wilder's satyr deals with a fictional mining incident taking place in New Mexico. The story revolves around a ruthless journalist played by Kirk Douglas who decides to exploit the fate of a trapped miner to create a media buzz and get his career back on track.
In the real Chilean incident, media were probably not the prime suspect. Yes their coverage was exaggerated and sensational but on the positive side, they probably helped accelerate the rescue process by putting the fate of the 33 miners on the international map. No the real "bad guy" this time would be best portrayed by a politician. If a remake of "Ace in the Hole" had to be done today, how about having Sebastian Pinera or Laurence Golborne interpreted by Michael "Gekko" Douglas? Both politicians clearly used the unfolding drama to increase their popularity and distract the audience's attention from other sensitive topics while avoiding answering the real question, the one about working conditions in the Chilean mines. Who's responsible? Miners knew the site was dangerous but had to risk their life for financial reasons. The statistics speak for themselves: on average 34 miners die each year in Chile (In China it goes up to a thousands for the same reason). Their story is hardly televised.
Fortunately the Chilean incident ended well. But the reality-TV shows broadcasted on our news channels has a bitter taste. Let's hope the forthcoming screen adaptions won't just be about patriotism and bravery.
Even before the end of the San José mine accident where 33 men lived 70 days trapped 700 metres deep, fictions and documentaries based on this near disaster were already in preproductions throughout the world.
It seems greedy producers have forgotten that the film had already been shot... 60 years ago! Re watching "Ace in the hole" today feels strange. The 1951 Billy Wilder's satyr deals with a fictional mining incident taking place in New Mexico. The story revolves around a ruthless journalist played by Kirk Douglas who decides to exploit the fate of a trapped miner to create a media buzz and get his career back on track.
In the real Chilean incident, media were probably not the prime suspect. Yes their coverage was exaggerated and sensational but on the positive side, they probably helped accelerate the rescue process by putting the fate of the 33 miners on the international map. No the real "bad guy" this time would be best portrayed by a politician. If a remake of "Ace in the Hole" had to be done today, how about having Sebastian Pinera or Laurence Golborne interpreted by Michael "Gekko" Douglas? Both politicians clearly used the unfolding drama to increase their popularity and distract the audience's attention from other sensitive topics while avoiding answering the real question, the one about working conditions in the Chilean mines. Who's responsible? Miners knew the site was dangerous but had to risk their life for financial reasons. The statistics speak for themselves: on average 34 miners die each year in Chile (In China it goes up to a thousands for the same reason). Their story is hardly televised.
Fortunately the Chilean incident ended well. But the reality-TV shows broadcasted on our news channels has a bitter taste. Let's hope the forthcoming screen adaptions won't just be about patriotism and bravery.
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