Joint Security Area

Colour, 35mm
Korea, 2000, 110 min
Section: New Korean Cinema

Synopsis

Shooting breaks out in the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas and two are left dead. Both are North Korean soldiers shot by a sergeant from the South. But were shots really fired from only his gun? The versions of the story given by the enemy sides contradict each other and so an investigation is ordered. It falls to Sophie Jean, a major from a United Nations unit and the first woman to enter the border area since 1953. During her investigation she gradually discovers that the night-time exchange of fire on the ‘Bridge of No Return’ (which both connects and separates the two worlds) was caused by completely different factors than either side has described in their protocols. A chain of unexpected events leads the major from a stray dog and land mines to finally uncovering the truth – though the truth will not be included in the official report: in civil war friendship can end in death. Last year’s most successful Korean film blew Mission: Impossible II out of the water at domestic box offices. European audiences have been captivated by the brilliant night-time scenes.

About the director

Park Chan Wook (b. 1963) graduated in philosophy from university in Sogang. While at school he started the ‘film gang’ club and published a number of critical studies on contemporary film. He gained recognition with the gangster flick The Moon is the Sun’s Dream (1992) and the action comedy The Threesome (1997). Joint Security Area won Best Director and Best Korean Film.