WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL
Year: 2005
UK: Showbox Entertainment
Cast: Shin Ha-kyun, Jeong Jae-jeong, Kang Hye-jeong, Lim Ha-ryong, Jeong Jae-yeong, Shin Ha-kyun, Kang Hye-jeong, Lim Ha-ryong Lim, Seo Jae-kyeong, Ryu Deok-Hwan, Steve Taschler, Jung Jae-Jin, Lee Young-yi, Park Nam-Hee, Cho Duk-hyun, Yoo Seung-Mok, Shim Won-cheol, David Joseph Anselmo, Frederick Arnold, Arnold, Jon Emm, Leif Gantvoort
Director: Park Kwang-Hyun
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean (English subtitles)
UK: 133 mins
UK Certificate: 15 contains moderate bloody violence
UK Release Date: 2 February 2007 (Limited Release - London, ICA)
ICA
Synopsis
Based on the popular play by Korean screenwriter-director Jang Jin (MURDER, TAKE ONE) and directed by newcomer Park Kwang-hun, WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL is a heart warming and fantastical comedy set during the Korean War and starring Shin Ha-kyun (SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE), Jeong Jae-yeong (SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE) and Kang Hye-jeong (OLDBOY).
In the midst of the Korean War, following the landing of US forces at Incheon, a small troop of Communist soldiers is ambushed and massacred by a military unit from the South. Three survivors of the attack manage to escape and flee north where they meet a crazy young woman, Yeo-il, who leads them to a tiny and remote village called Dongmakgol. However, the village is also a temporary refuge to several other visitors including two Southern soldiers and a downed US Navy pilot. Soon afterwards the civil conflict is brought to the peaceful village in the form of a futile Mexican standoff that culminates with the village's food store being destroyed. A temporary truce is called as the opposing forces reluctantly agree to work together to rebuild and restock the store. But as the soldiers begin to settle into the daily life of the village, their peaceful idyll comes under threat from the most unexpected quarters...
At times shockingly brutal, at others otherworldly beautiful and funny, WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL boasts an irresistible combination of well-defined and likeable characters, visual splendour, magical realism and a nostalgic yearning for the simple joys in life. Adding to the film's many pleasures are exceptional special effects sequences and a beautifully emotive musical score by award winning composer Joe Hisaishi (HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE; SPIRITED AWAY; PRINCESS MONONOKE).