Soldiers of the Apocalypse - A Little Pond
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Soldiers of the Apocalypse - A Little Pond |
| Original title | Jageun Yeonmot ( 작은 연못 ) |
| Country of production | South Korea |
| original language | Korean |
| Publishing year | 2009 |
| length | 83 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Lee Sang-woo |
| script | Lee Sang-woo |
| production | Lee Eun |
| music | Bang Jun-seok |
| camera | Choi Jin-woong |
| cut | Jang Sung-ho |
| occupation | |
| |
Soldiers of the Apocalypse - A Little Pond (original title: Jageun Yeonmot 'small pond') is a South Korean independent film from 2009. The film deals with the Nogeun-ri massacre , which US soldiers perpetrated against South Korean refugees at the beginning of the Korean War . Directed by Lee Sang-woo.
action
In 1950 North Korean troops attack South Korea. It's the beginning of the Korean War . In a small village the citizens continue to live their lives. The students prepare for a singing performance in Seoul . Others are concerned about the situation. People talk about how far North Korean troops have come.
Then the US Army comes into the village. They say that the village must be evacuated immediately. The villagers are supposed to run south. The residents hope that at some point they will be taken south by American trucks. Instead, they are always pushed off the street by US soldiers when they come across it. The road is to remain free for US Army vehicles.
Finally the refugees walk along a railway bridge. There, too, they encounter the US Army. The soldiers search the refugees for weapons. You order them to stay there. Some time later, an aircraft circled the spot. It starts to bomb the refugees. At the same time, shots are fired at the refugees. Many die instantly. Some can still escape under the bridge at Nogeun-ri. The soldiers realize that they have to be civilians. But they are ordered not to let anyone through the line of defense, not even refugees. This is how they shoot the soldiers under the bridge. One night two of the group managed to escape, were discovered by the soldiers and brought to safety as they were unarmed.
One day a North Korean female soldier appears at the bridge and shouts that the US Army is gone and asks about survivors.
The film ends with the survivors who have returned to their village.
production
After reading the Korean translation of The Bridge at No Gun Ri by Associated Press journalists Charles J. Hanley, Sang-Hun Choe and Martha Mendoza in 2003, film producer Lee Eun of Myung Films decided to put the story on screen bring to. The book Do You Know Our Sorrow? (1994) by Chung Eun-yong, whose two children were killed in the massacre.
Theater director Lee Sang-woo joined the project and made his first film , A Little Pond . He and producer Lee Woo-jung spent three years collecting material for the film by talking to the survivors and searching for additional material. Lee Eun founded the independent studio Nogunri Production for the film in 2006. For special appearances, the studio was able to win the respected actors Song Kang-ho and Moon So-ri . Potential investors were deterred by the controversial topic, so that the actors and the film staff used their own money and sometimes brought their family members with them for the roles of the villagers. Filming began in August 2006 and lasted three months. Director Lee chose the name of a popular anti-war song by Kim Min-ki from 1972, which was sung during protests in the 1980s.
After a long post-production period , the film premiered on October 8th at the Busan International Film Festival 2009.
reception
A Little Pond opened in South Korean cinemas on April 15, 2010 and reached almost 50,000 visitors. Song Woong-ki of the Korea Herald wrote after the first press release that the film received rather lukewarm approval from the critics. Russel Edwards from Variety described the film very positively. He is brilliant and shocking at the same time. Due to the size of the cast, there is no leading actor. Instead, community village life is shown. However, Hollywood Reporter's Maggie Lee cites this as a criticism. Since there is no main character, the viewer has a certain distance. Otherwise, the film received very positive reviews. The camera work artfully transports the flawless mountains, lakes and fields. John Griffin of the Montreal Gazette wrote: "This brave [...] film brings to light events that the big animals in the US still refuse to admit."
Web links
- Soldiers of the Apocalypse - A Little Pond in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Soldiers of the Apocalypse - A Little Pond in the Korean Movie Database (English)
- Apocalypse Soldiers - A Little Pond in the online movie database
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Movie about civilian killings at Nogeun-ri to debut. In: The Hankyoreh . Yonhap , October 26, 2006, accessed July 20, 2019 .
- ↑ Hyun-joo Jin: Film to depict No Gun Ri . In: The Korea Herald , May 23, 2006.
- ↑ Lee Hoo-nam & Ben Applegate: 60 years later, filmmakers remember. In: Korea JoongAng Daily . April 2, 2010, accessed July 21, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Russel Edwards: A Little Pond. In: Variety . October 19, 2009, accessed July 21, 2019 .
- ^ A Little Pond (2010). In: Korean Film Biz Zone. KOFIC, accessed on July 20, 2019 .
- ^ Song Woong-ki: No Gun Ri film fails to impress. In: The Korea Herald . March 29, 2010, accessed July 21, 2019 .
- ^ Maggie Lee: A Little Pond - Film Review. In: The Hollywood Reporter . October 15, 2009, accessed July 21, 2019 .
- ↑ John Griffin: 110 walks on the wild side of cinema. In: Montreal Gazette . July 9, 2010, archived from the original on January 19, 2013 ; accessed on July 21, 2019 (English).