My Way (4) vs. Stalingrad: Dogs (12)

 

REALISM:

                “My Way” is supposedly based on a Korean soldier who ended up in Normandy for D-Day.  For those who automatically assume the story is total b.s. (like me),  there is an iota of truth to it.  There was a Korean named Jang Kyoungjong who was conscripted into the Japanese army in Manchuria at age 18 in 1938.  He was captured fighting the Red Army at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol and sent to a labor camp.  In 1942, he and other Korean and Japanese prisoners were pressed into service against the Germans.  In 1943, he was captured at the Third Battle of Kharkov.  He was put in an all-oriental unit called the “Eastern Battalion” and was stationed near Utah Beach on D-Day.  On that day, he was captured by American paratroopers.  He ended up in a prison camp in America and stayed in the U.S. after repatriation.  He died in 1992.  It won’t surprise you to find out this story is disputed.  The movie takes this “true story” and builds an epic that stretches the bounds of reality.  Even if you believe the story, there is no  way the protagonist had these experiences and the idea of him having an enemy who dogs him until they become buddies is pure cinema.  It makes for an interesting film, however.  GRADE  =  C (7)

                “Stalingrad:  Dogs…” is set in the latter part of the Battle of Stalingrad.  Wisse is assigned as a liaison to the Rumanian army.  You don’t often see the role of Germany’s “allies” in the Stalingrad disaster.  The movie does not sugarcoat the fact that the Rumanians were left out on a limb by their masters.  From there, it returns Wisse to the German army so we can see the result of the Soviet counteroffensive.  It realistically depicts the denouement of the 6^th Army.  The movie is good at depicting the hopelessness, the cold, the lack of food. It is bleak, but the actual situation was so much bleaker that showing the reality would have made the movie unwatchable for a German audience.  Although the Wisse character is fictional, the big picture, which features Von Paulus, is very accurate.  Wisse meeting up with Katja strains credulity, but makes for a nice moment.  GRADE  =  A  (9)

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

                “My Way” is a three man show.  Kim Jun-shik makes a root-worthy hero,  Tatsuo Hasegawa is a hissable villain, and Lee Jong-dae is Jun-shik’s side kick who collaborates.  The arcs of each are believable.  The competition between Jun-shik and Tatsuo begins with them as boys so the movie invests a lot in their relationship.  Clearly, Tatsuo and Jun-shik are bound to bond, but the movie refreshingly takes its time about this.  Jun-shik is the most interesting of the three.  His development from comic relief to power-hungry kapo is unexpected.  GRADE  =  A  (9)

                “Stalingrad:  Dogs…” is weak in character development.  Wisse and Lindmann are archetypes that we are supposed to recognize.  Wisse starts as the naïve, ambitious young officer who becomes disillusioned and cynical.  He never loses his morality in spite of all he goes through.  LIndmann is the stereotypical martinet who spouts the party line, but is a coward underneath his bluster.  Both characters have arcs that are believable.  Unfortunately, Wisse’s comrades are underwritten. There are some interesting characters in Kasselbach, Bose, and Kramer, but this is not “Cross of Iron”.  We don’t learn much about them.  GRADE  =  C  (7) 

SOLDIER BEHAVIOR

                “My Way” does not spend a lot of time on exposition.  There is not a lot of soldier banter.  You don’t learn a lot about Korean soldiers in WWII.  Although the combat is over the top, it seems like the soldiers behave in a realistic way.  I don’t know about them in WWII, but I do know they had a reputation for toughness in Vietnam.  The opening battle implies that Korean conscripts could be forced to banzai with the best of the Japanese.   GRADE  =  C  (7)

                Wisse is not your typical German officer, although there certainly were some like him.  There is only one villain, when there would have been more in a situation like Stalingrad.  The soldiers question the war and the decisions of their superiors.  This certainly reflects the breakdown in discipline towards the end.  The movie is outstanding on the behavior of the German generals, especially Von Paulus.  GRADE  =  B  (8)

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE

       “My Way” is a great war movie for guys who like a lot of combat.  It is definitely not aimed at the female audience.  If you are looking for a Kurosawa film, you will be disappointed.  There is little nuance.  The plot is preposterous.  But it is sincere in its effort to entertain you.  The combat is the drawing card, but the conflict between Jun-shik and Tatsuo is a good frame.  The sequence in the prison camp makes it not just a combat film.  GRADE  =  B  (8)

                The movies could not be more different.  “Stalingrad:  Dogs…” is black and white and more of an artistic film.  I don’t think it would do well in a theater today, especially in America.  It is not as well-regarded as “Stalingrad” (1993), which covers the same period of the battle.  However, it is a better movie with more realism and more educational value.  It is a movie that appeals to the female audience.  The Katya character is more relateable than the female sniper in “My Way”.  GRADE  =  B  (8)

STALINGRAD:  DOGS…  32  MY WAY  30

ANALYSIS:

                This result may be controversial.  I would think “My Way” is the better known of the two and  has its fans.  I am one of them.  The truth is that I like all the quarterfinalists.  I will readily admit that “Stalingrad: Dogs…” is one of my favorite movies.  It is a shame that it is not better known.  It does not have the pizzaz of “My Way”, but it is superior in every way except combat.  Once again, I have to mention that the IMDB ratings are off here.  These two movies should have had each other’s seed.  I checked IMDB and found that “My Way” had 10,586 that rated it and “Stalingrad:  Dogs…” had 675!  So, the cinderella moves on in the tournament.