Lt. Kang Eun-pyo (Shin Ha-Kyun) sees the futility of war in Korean military epic THE FRONT LINE
THE FRONT LINE (Jang Hun, 2011)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, January 10, free, 7:00
Series runs every other Tuesday through February 28
212-759-9550
www.thefrontlinemovie.com
www.tribecacinemas.com
During the Korean War, the north and south did battle over a series of hills, with the key locations changing hands of over and over, sometimes multiple times the same day. Director Jang Hun tells the fictionalized story of one such hill, Aero.K, in the tense military thriller The Front Line. Shin Ha-Kyun (Thirst, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) stars as Lt. Kang Eun-pyo, an investigator who has been sent to the eastern front to uncover a possible spy. Upon joining Alligator Company, Eun-pyo is surprised to find his old college friend, Kim Su-hyeok (Ko Soo), a former scared grunt who had been captured by the North Koreans and has now blossomed into a strong leader — and quickly becomes the leading candidate to be the potential traitor. The hill has changed hands so often that each side has been secretly communicating with the other by leaving such materials as photos, letters, and alcohol in a hidden spot, developing a relationship that reveals their humanity but also could compromise them on the field. And as a possible armistice approaches, the brass ramps up the fighting in a series of last-ditch efforts to take the hill and expand the potential demarcation line in their favor. Park Sang-yeon’s script is filled with clichéd characters and familiar plot lines, leaning toward the melodramatic, but Jang still makes it work, building the violent film around the strong main characters and several powerful, unexpected twists. South Korea’s official entry for the Academy Awards, The Front Line is a gritty epic that reveals man’s inhumanity to man and the ultimate futility of war. The film opens at the AMC 25 on January 20, but you can get a free sneak peek at it tonight at Tribeca Cinemas, where its east coast premiere kicks off the latest installment of Korean Movie Night, “Jang Hun Plus One!” which examines the career of the director, who cut his teeth working with Kim Ki-duk. The series continues January 24 with 2008’s Rough Cut, February 15 with 2010’s Secret Reunion,, and February 28 with the North American premiere of Park Shin-woo’s White Night.