Silmido (2003)

            “Silmido” is a South Korean war movie about the legendary Unit 684.  The movie was directed by Kang Woo-suk.  It was based on the novel by Baek Dong-ho.  It had to be a novel because the true story of the mutiny was held from the public by the government.  The movie was popular and became the first South Korean film to top 10 million viewers.  Its record held until broken the next year by “Taegukgi”.  It won Grand Bell Awards (the South Korean equivalent of the Oscars) for Best Supporting Actor (Heo Joon-ho) and Adapted Screenplay.  It was nominated for Best Film and Director.  As a result of the film, the government released an official report of the uprising. 

            The movie opens with an attempted assassination of South Korean President Park by a black ops unit from North Korea called Unit 124.  Dressed in South Korean uniforms, the unit infiltrated and came close to killing the President.  As a result, a group of hardened criminals are recruited for a retaliatory assassination of Kim Il-sung.  It’s a Dirty Dozen scenario, but with 31 convicts.  They are told they are going on a mission to unify Korea.  They are taken to the isolated island of Silmido for training.  It is interesting to contrast their training to that of the Dirty Dozen.  It includes physical abuse.  They are branded.  They have barbed wire cage matches.  They have to hold their breaths under water with machine guns firing above.  The group has three leaders.  Two butt heads in typical cinematic fashion and the other is an older gangster who moderates.  With little description of the plan, the unit is finally ready to head for North Korea, with no Reisman to lead them.  The mission is aborted and they are returned for more harsh training.  Morale is low and they are ready to snap.  Mutiny is in the air.

            The movie starts off a bit confusing.  I guess because North Koreans and South Koreans look alike to me.  It is unclear that we are watching a North Korean attempt on the life of President Park.  After that, it is easier to follow because of the Dirty Dozen style plot.  Unlike that movie, this one throws in some political machinations.  As usual, the politicians are slimy and using these men.  Other than the three leaders of the convicts, the other men are not developed, but then neither were about half of the Dirty Dozen.  Some of the men are at least recognizable.  There is no comic relief character.  This is a humorless movie.  There are no female characters.

              The training takes up about half the movie and it is pretty brutal.  There is no DI, but there is a Reisman who has some empathy for his trainees.  You will feel empathy too and understand the reasons for their mutiny.  However, it is also clear that the government’s response was appropriate.  That doesn’t mean the politicians get the slime washed off them.  The coverage of the mutiny seemingly crosses the boundary into fantasy, but my subsequent research (see below) shows that the movie is close to what apparently happened.  Although clearly enhanced.  What isn’t enhanced is the action.  Although only one year earlier than “Tae Guk Gi”, the combat is not bonkers.  

         
            “Silmido” is not a first tier Korean war movie, but it accomplishes its mission well.  I would think many Koreans wondered what happened with Unit 684.  The government imposed mist surrounding this traumatic incident was ripe for examining.  The movie forced the government to lift the coverup.  Surprisingly, the movie was pretty close to what the official report admitted to. In that respect, “Silmido” is more than just a movie.  It made history. 

GRADE  =  B 

HISTORICAL ACCURACY:  The movie opens with a reenactment of the Blue House Raid.  North Korea’s Unit 124 came close to assassinating President Park.  31 soldiers were trained and crossed the DMZ, but were discovered by four farmers.  Incredibly, they did let them off with a stern warning instead of silencing them.  The farmers informed the police, resulting in a manhunt.  The unit decided to proceed with the mission disguised as South Korean soldiers.  They managed to get to within a couple hundred yards of Park’s residence (the Blue House).  A police checkpoint stopped the attempt.  The subsequent escape attempts resulted in the deaths of all but two.  One was capture and one managed to get back over the DMZ.  Four Americans died in the chase.

            Naturally, Park decided to retaliate.  Petty criminals and unemployed youth (not death row convicts) were recruited and promised money and good jobs.  I don’t know if it was planned, but there were 31 at the start.  The South Korean CIA was in charge.  The training was on Silmido Island.  The training was so brutal that 7 were killed (above the one killed in the movie).  After three years of brutal treatment, the mission to assassinate Kim Il-sung was cancelled because relations between the two Koreas were improving.  Due to this letdown and the probably justified belief that they would never be allowed to leave the island, a mutiny broke out.  All but 6 guards were killed.  Apparently, they did manage to hijack a bus.  The bus eventually met heavy opposition and all but four of the mutineers were either killed by bullets or committed suicide with grenades.  The four survivors were given military trials and executed.  In 2010, the government was forced to pay millions in damages to the families because the men had not been told of the dangers of the training and the harshness of the treatment.