J.S.A.
Park Chan-Wook's cinematic verve is eveident in about one half of this political intrigue thriller set on the DMZ border in Korea. What starts out as a very stilted, unsatisfying probe into the viscous point blank executions of two soldiers, soon evolves into a very compelling character study of male bonding in even the most unusal of settings. Some imaginative camera work enlivens a rather murky script and the acting suffers from time to time, but when we start to get the actual back story of what transpired between the 4 men involved, it becomes quite the mystery and has quite a touching ending. If you're watching it to see another OLDBOY - prepare to be disappointed, but if you go in with an open mind, it can be quite gratifying cinema.