The Front Line

2011 War

The battle for a strategic stronghold heats up as the Korean War winds to a bloody close in this war drama from Rough Cut director Jang Hoon. Korea is in crisis; and as soldiers from both the north and south clash over a coveted hill that will offer the winner a clear advantage, a soldier named Kang heads to the front line to try and get the situation in perspective. Meanwhile, as whispers of a cease-fire grow louder, the fighting only becomes more intense and Kang crosses paths with his old friend Kim, who seems to thrive on the chaos of combat.

Director: Jang Hoon

Starring: Shin Ha-kyun, Ko Soo, Lee Ji-hun, Ryu Seung-Soo, Ko Chang-Seok

 18 Reviews  3 Awards

Reviews

  • This strong, assured Band of Brothers-style drama from director Jang Hun makes universal points about bonding, misery, loyalty, and the senselessness of war through a portfolio of soldiers.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • The action in The Front Line is bloody and tense, but the movie also reduces war to its simplest terms, defining it in terms of the reluctant soldiers who know that only accidents of birth and location determined which side of the battlefield they inhabit.

    Noel Murray - The A.V. Club

    19 January 2013

  • As North Korea undergoes a highly publicized change of leadership, The Front Line proves timely. In fact, one of the movie's army commanders looks like the north's new baby dictator, Kim Jong-un.

    V.A. Musetto - New York Post

    19 January 2013

  • Tightly directed and well acted (even though many characters are cut-outs from every war movie you've ever seen), The Front Line shoehorns little known history into a familiar format, and it works.

    Ernest Hardy - Village Voice

    19 January 2013

  • What ultimately makes the film compelling is the extent to which it uses the shared language of cinema to telegraph the caustic feelings of a people toward their own history.

    Michelle Orange - Movieline

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Best Cinematographer

    Asian Film Awards (2012)

     

  • Best Cinematography

    Grand Bell Awards, South Korea (2010)

  • Hun Jang

    Udine Far East Film Festival (2012)

Lists

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