A while ago, I watched "Highland War" intermittently on the subway, which is a fierce film that directly focuses on the cruelty of war.
In the face of the meat grinder of war, life, culture, love, and humanity are just lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Based on an absolutely correct humanitarian perspective, a large number of classic films constantly deconstruct the meaning of war defined by the official narrative, and indict the public enemy of mankind through the ethereal destruction of individuals. "Highland Warfare" also uses this microscopic perspective, but it is obviously more untamed in terms of deconstruction, to the extent that there is no room for it.
"Highland Warfare" is more "deliberate" in the application of some classic postmodern elements to the narrative. The protagonist of the film, the South Korean crocodile squadron, is at the forefront of the enemy, but it seems to be like a lonely island. From time to time, he accepted the orders of the distant command, and repeatedly occupied the mountain, lost the mountain, occupied it again, lost it again... Every tearing fight will lose some of the team members, so that the mountain in the film is "piled up with corpses". On the battlefield, both sides are soulless killing machines. When the battle was over, they turned into a bunch of lewd uncles and began to gag.
Waiting for an armistice is like waiting for Godot, which is always out of reach. In the process, the enemy and us formed a wonderful tacit understanding of "mutual communication or non-existence", you left me some good wine from the north, I gave you some Leftover South Korean cigarettes, and incidentally helped mail the family letter. The stupid recruits became the battlefield singers recognized by the two armies, and they also copied some songs from both places. Attracted by the beauty of the woman in the photo, the male protagonist even left a love letter to the other party...
All the warmth and harmony and compatriot friendship are invincible to a paper order, and as soon as the gun is fired, you are dead or alive, and neither side will leave any mercy. In order to win, in order to survive, all cruel means can be used. After receiving the love letter, the female sniper, who had been shy and shallow, chewed the chocolate sent by the South Korean soldier in her mouth, and could still slowly shoot a shot to help the corpse, and the battlefield singers who had soothed the hearts of both sides were slowly beaten into a sieve.
I say that it is a fierce film that leaves no room for room, because I always feel that the whole film is almost not interested in thinking about the meaning of war, and it seems that the two sides are fighting not to resist red, not for national reunification, but for the end of the war, for the sake of survival. As Kim So-hyuk said in the film: Our enemy is not a red, it is a war. In short, the plot drive of the whole film seems to be two words: survival.
In order to survive, the protagonist will pick up a machine gun to strafe the comrades who are scrambling to get on the ship; in order not to be destroyed by the regiment, he can raise his gun to kill the commander to break through. Moreover, the whole film continues to rationalize this choice as if this is the only right and necessary thing to do. Therefore, this is a squadron of crocodiles, a squadron of cockroaches that is extremely hungry and can eat the same kind and do whatever it takes.
It seems that the fierceness and domineering seem to be part of the Nationality of Goryeo, which has affected Korean films to some extent, and although they have learned the Hollywood storytelling method very slippery, the value tendencies and expressions of the film are often more extreme. Mouth eight west eight, hands do make you shock the jaw off the hard thing.
In terms of showing the cruelty of war and the small fate of individuals, "Highland Warfare" is undoubtedly successful. But it is this kind of bluntness that always makes people feel that they have said everything, or even said it, and there is no room for continuing the discussion. Therefore, the whole film brings people only misery, no tragedy; only sadism, no deep thinking.
Try using a Hollywood movie for comparison. The whole team was wiped out to save Ryan, and the last words of the captain also made Ryan remember for life: Earn it, be a good man! This is also a higher point than survival, more or less will light up a glimmer of hope. But "Highland Warfare" is different, the protagonist Crocodile Squadron is trapped in a brutal and extremely absurd war quagmire from beginning to end, and finally collectively becomes cannon fodder without choice. It seems that except for the protagonist Crocodile Squadron, the rest are all villains, and even their own South Korean command is not a good bird.
What I think is conveyed here is the director's extreme hatred and fear of the war of that year. In the eyes of the director, all the forces involved in the war are unjust. Of course, as a South Korean film, this ass is still very crooked. Not to mention the portrayal of North Korean soldiers as evil and obscene, our volunteer army has also been portrayed as a terrifying dark force, and the charge in the film is as poignant as a ghost howl. Although it is disgusting to see here, it also proves from another angle how deeply the terrible combat strength of our volunteer army has left on this nation.
It's a good movie, but it's also a more emotional blockbuster. I still look forward to a more in-depth excavation of this subject.