Overview: Gunfire breaks out in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, leaving two North Korean soldiers dead while a wounded South Korean soldier (Lee Byung-hun, The Good, the Bad, the Weird) flees to safety.

With the tenuous peace between the two warring nations on a knife-edge, a neutral team of investigators, headed by Swiss Army Major Sophie Jean (Lee Young-ae, Lady Vengeance), is dispatched to question both sides to determine what really happened under cover of darkness out in no-man's land.

The recipient of multiple accolades, including Best Film at South Korea's 2001 Grand Bell Awards, 'JSA Joint Security Area' showcases Park's iconic style in an embryonic form, and demonstrates that humanity and common purpose can be found in the most unlikely places.

Blu-ray Verdict: Firstly, I'd like to point out for those who've watched this film after realizing it was made by the same director, Chan-wook Park (Oldboy) that this is one of his first films.

Before this film Park was basically an unknown. You can tell that it is a low budget film. This explains the bad acting on part of the English speaking actors.

Secondly, you must understand the background for this movie. This film is loosely based on a true incident near the border. If you think this film was "unbelievable," I'd like to point out that it is merely improbable, but not impossible.

While the North and South Korea are still technically at war, it has been over 50 years since the war broke out. Public opinion has been changing, but even so this film was extremely controversial because it portrayed North Koreans as human beings instead of the enemy.

This movie touches on an extremely sensitive subject - perhaps akin to a Jordanian-Israelite friendship story. The point of the movie is that even during war, there is always a sliver of humanity (Like the film Joyeux Noel).

Yeong-ae Lee (Lady Vengeance) is investigating an incident that happened at the JSA. Of course, nothing is as it first appears and most everything has already been reported in depositions taken before she got there.

This is a political thriller, told in flashbacks and is about four soldiers that bridge the JSA and become friends.

Thirdly, this film is most definitely NOT homo-erotic. Many things considered gay in other countries do not equate to the same things in other countries.

It doesn't make Koreans any more or less homophobic as say, here in the US, but there is a different definition of what is considered gay. In Korea male bonding is considered very important and many friends consider each other as close as brothers, in truth.

This is completely normal in Korean society. In fact, Lee's role as the only female cast was chosen to 'balance out' all the male relationships. While I do not agree with this decision, I am extremely glad there weren't any needless love scenes so common in movies.

Ergo, I urge people to understand the context of this film before watching for maximum enjoyment. The premise is incredible, the directing is good, but unfortunately the acting of foreigners and the choice of Lee prevents me from giving this film a perfect 10, so to speak.

OK, yes, sure, it was a little melodramatic, but you should expect that from most Asian cinema, trust me! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original lossless Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and PCM 2.0 stereo soundtracks
Optional English subtitles
New audio commentary by writer and critic Simon Ward
Isolated music and effects track
Newly recorded video interview with Asian cinema expert Jasper Sharp
The JSA Story and Making the Film, two archival featurettes on the film's production
About 'JSA', a series of archival introductions to the film by members of the cast
Behind the scenes montage
Opening ceremony footage
Two music videos: Letter from a Private and Take the Power Back
Theatrical trailer
TV spot
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
+FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by Kieran Fisher.

Amazon Purchase Link

Official Trailer