Starring:
Hwang Jung Min – Lee Kang Ok
So Ji Sub – Choi Chil-sung
Song Joong Ki – Park Moo Yong
Lee Jung Hyun – Oh Mal Nyeon
Kim Su An – Lee So Hee
Ratings:
Acting: 9
Storyline: 8.5
Overall: 8.5
Grade: A-
“The Battleship Island” has started screening in cinemas on 17 August 2017. Have you or are you intending to watch this historical blockbuster? Be it watching for your favourite actors or wanting to know more about a dark page in history, your ticket money would be worth it. I am contemplating to brace myself to watch it a 2nd time. Prepare your tissues if you have more delicate tear glands.
I have never been a fan of wartime movies as you can imagine the tears that you will shed as you watch the civilians lose their families and had to suffer such traumatic times. I didn’t tear but there were some scenes whereby your heart really cringed. For example, how the women were forced to become sex slaves (comfort women) and the men sent to work in hazardous coal mines beneath the island’s surface, putting their lives on the line if any gas leaks or mines collapse.
Even as we watch the movie, we can tell that the inflicted pain and scars during World War II have clearly not healed for the Koreans.
The entire production crew had to overcome much difficulties and hardships, not just the physical and mental strains but also to be able to suppress the pressures of controversy when this movie is out to the world.
Even the Koreans are not very much aware of such a dark historical moment, let alone the rest of the world. Perhaps, they wanted to seek a closure through this movie by revealing the atrocities, traumas and hardships suffered by their people back in those days.
The horrific living and working conditions are totally beyond imagination, though they have tried to as best as possible to replicate the conditions.
I think Hwang Jung Min and Kim Su An are the main stars in this movie. They weave the storyline and characters together with their superb pairing as father and daughter. So Ji Sub has the most physical fighting scenes and I like how he has transformed totally into the manly yet soft-at-heart gangster. if you think Lee Jung Hyun (李贞贤) sounds familiar, she’s the original singer of Sammi Cheng’s “独一无二” & “眉飞色舞”, a very famous singer in the 90s. She is very good in her role as a strong willed comfort woman, who would not yield to reality. We are familiar with Song Joong Ki’s role as a soldier and he is probably the “Hero” in Battleship Island, though he would be a little more ruthless here in order to achieve his aims.
Their acting does meet or even surpass some of our expectations in this movie.
The cast have suffered a lot during their 6 months of filming and all had to lose weight to make it seem more realistic. Some lost 20 kg while Lee Jung Hyun was merely left with 36.5kg while filming.
We need to applaud the crew for their team effort. It is indeed very brave and challenging for them to go through this ordeal, though they felt this is nothing compared to what the real victims had gone through in that “Living Hell”.
Hwang Jung Min and Kim Su An were the “happy pills” who helped the crew to get through the filming under such harsh conditions. They had to film in very small and cramped locations, to be covered in dirt and mud and they had to go through the emotions that the captive labourers had gone through. It is definitely not easy for them when they were working on a set that’s replicated to 2/3 size of the actual island in Hashima.
We are glad that the co-stars forged great camaraderie and relied on one another to gain strength through the filming.
With an A-List casting of Hwang Jung Min, So Ji Sub, Song Joong Ki, Lee Jung Hyun, Kim Su An and Award Winning Director Ryoo Seung Wan and a budget of US$21 million, we can almost be assured that the ticket box office sales will soar high. The stars also made a trip to Singapore and Malaysia to promote this historical blockbuster. It shows how much emphasis the cast and crew place on this movie.
As expected, this movie would invite much controversy but what I would like to say is, It is a movie and not a documentary after all, thus entertainment value needs to be considered. More importantly, what the director and production crew hopes to do is to unravel a dark side of history that the world (including many Koreans) never knew. It is to relook into the past and learn from a new perspective, which can direct everyone to a better future.
The actors felt that we can all somehow relate to the happenings and would be touched by the story and also be aware that this actually happened in history. In some sense, I feel this would also serve as a good lesson for the people in this generation that war would only bring harm to everyone else. There is no win-win situation when so many people have to suffer. It is also pretty relatable to modern times when the world is also in turmoil somehow.
The trauma, atrocities, hardships, tortures, separations, deaths, sadness, betrayal, selflessness, selfishness and all forms of humanity could be seen from the movie.
In times of war, most people would just do what they could, in order to survive. That’s the reality. Not everyone could be a hero or be brave enough to go against all odds. They would most probably do what they could to keep themselves and their families safe. There you would see some forms of betrayal and while you were gritting your teeth and clenching your fists at these so called “traitors”, if you look at it from another perspective, they just wanted to survive.
While morally, we can pinpoint what is right and what is not, but if we were to put ourselves in such scenarios, would we be able to better “understand” them in such cases?
Whatever it is, it just forces the humanity or inhumanity out of you in such times.
I would say, the actors did a very great job.
The director also put in some joyful and heart-warming moments, creating some light heartedness within the inhuman living conditions of those on the island.
Hwang Jung Min – Lee Kang Ok
Hwang Jung Min is an award winning actor in Korea and this is his 3rd collaboration with Director Ryoo, which he claimed is the toughest and he wouldn’t want to do a 4th movie with him.
He is a bandmaster in the movie and he had to play the clarinet which he has learnt for a few years and also memorised all his Japanese lines since he does not know the language. However, he got sent to a labour camp in Japan with his daughter and he would do anything, just to protect her.
The transition of Hwang Jung Min’s character as Lee Kang Ok, shows you exactly how one would sway in order to survive in such circumstances. He’s not concerned about doing the right thing; the only thing he is concerned about is to keep his young daughter safe. You would be angry at some of the things he did but he did it for the sake of his child. It shows a father’s love and the sacrifices that parents would take in order to keep their young ones safe. There are definitely some very touching moments and there’s no doubt he why he could sweep so many acting awards in Korea.
He’s definitely one role model for many of the actors out there.
Kim Su An – Lee So Hee
As the main child actress in the movie, Kim Su An (Lee So Hee) brings some happy and joyful moments to the very tragic storyline. While she may be a child and she would see her throwing tantrums at her dad etc, she knew very well how to play the games of survival and she is indeed very street smart.
In order not to become a comfort woman at such a young age, she offered to do all sorts of household chores and sing or dance as a form of contribution.
There is a scene whereby she looks straight into the camera. You can see the pain, sufferings in the past, the blank present and the unknown future through her eyes. That’s probably one of the most impactful scenes that would linger on in your mind for quite some time.
She is indeed one child actress who would grow to become an up and rising actress. There’s just so much life and energy that she injects into her role as So Hee, Her roles in “Train to Busan” and “The Battleship Island” are really of outstanding performance.
So Ji Sub – Choi Chil-sung
Contrary to being a gentleman in real life, So Ji Sub is a very fiery and violent man in this movie. He is the best street fighter in Gyeongseong and would always stir up trouble in the labour camp. However, he has a very soft and affectionate side to him where he would help the weak and fight the bullies.
The very much raved about scene would be the fight scene in the bathroom where they were all wearing only T-Backs. Ok, I’m sure So Ji Sub’s fans would be very intently watching but you couldn’t really make out who is who in those scenes sometimes as they were too swift. The fighting scene seemed very painful to begin with, with all the slamming on the wall, floor, etc but luckily he managed to pull it off without much NG or injuries. He took lessons for 1.5 months just to master this epic scene.
Being a fan of So Ji Sub for many years, I agree that this is a role that took his acting to yet another level. He expended so much energy in this character that he felt empty after acting out this role.
While most viewers may just think of him as a tough role in the movie, it also shows the delicate side in his character. Chil Sung shows you how tough he is not just in the physical sense but also in how he would fight till the very end to protect whoever he could.
Chil Sung is not just someone with brawns, but also brains and a good heart.
Akin to his character in real life, it is the actions that speak louder than his words.
While Ji Sub oppa may not get that much screen time, his character does create an impact and like he said, we do see a new So Ji Sub in this movie. It has been sometime you would feel that he is acting out something different from the romantic comedy dramas.
This is what I like about him as an actor, very natural and versatile and not afraid to challenge himself. He accepted the role even without looking at the script as he really wanted to work with Director Ryoo. He only knew what challenges he was in for when he received the script but he went on to take
There’re also some scenes between Chil Sung and Mal Nyeon when they are like loggerheads but started to be drawn to each other.
Is that Love or is that just what 2 similar personas would do to rely on each other during such trying times?
We almost couldn’t tell it apart. A bit of both, I would think.
Song Joong Ki – Park Moo Yong
Moo Young is an elite member of the Korean Independence movement and his role was to infiltrate into the island to rescue a fellow independence fighter who was held captive there.
Moo Young has the wits and very swift actions to solve whatever problems he could like an elite agent in the movie. He could be as ruthless as he could get in order to achieve his aim, but also has a softer side that would help women and children. His character was pretty focused on his mission initially but as he got along with the people on the island and seen how they were being exploited, he decided to help all of them escape.
It definitely is a challenge to make Song Joong Ki look more manly and rugged. The mud and dirt all over Song Joong Ki’s face and body, still couldn’t hide his pretty looks. I wouldn’t say his performance is outstanding here as we may already have been accustomed to how he fares as a soldier in “Descendants of the Sun”, so that did not bring a WOW or surprise to us.
Nonetheless, his fans wouldn’t mind as long as they could see the heartthrob on big screen.
There’s also some development of a “friendship” between him and So Hee as she helped to take care of him while he was injured, while he wanted to help her to escape as well. It would be considered as some of the more heart warming moments whereby it could be felt that everyone was equal in those times and they need to rely on one another.
However, we could at least see some twists and turns in the story that helped to bring out the versatility of his character who could think of a big plan to help everyone escape in such turbulent times.
The part on how he found out about the “big betrayal” part and some of the very heart thumping chasing scenes were pretty well executed.
Lee Jung Hyun – Oh Mal Nyeon
We wouldn’t have thought that such a popular singer could turn into such a good actress. Given her popularity, Lee Jung Hyun needn’t have to go through such sufferings to film a movie. You could see much sacrifice in her not just having to lose so much weight but to also bring out the humiliation that comfort women suffered in those days.
Other than the harsh living conditions, the one part that really ripped my heart was to see how the comfort women had to suffer during the World War II. Most would have given up hope and become soulless beings but Mal Nyeon is a symbol of hope for them. She is as tough as Chil Sung is in will though not in the physical sense.
If only there’s a little more love line for them but I guess that’s not so quite suitable in such genre movies when no one knows if they would survive for another day.
The one highlight of the movie would be the big escape plan and how the 400 Joseon workers helped one another. With war and escape plans would definitely bring about much bloodshed. You see how the old, women, young children and injured sacrificed their lives and you start to wonder, why would anyone want to start a war in the first place?
You will see some fearless men and women who put their lives on the line so that their comrades would escape. Their hope is that even if 1 of them could escape, it is a success and the world would know of what atrocities happened to them in this living hell.
Of course, not all would be lucky enough to escape and you see all the lost hopes or hopes dashed as people died under the cruel hands.
One of the few most impactful scenes would be when they slit through the Japanese flag to tie ropes to lean the big ladder against the great wall, in order to escape.
However, “Unity is strength” indeed. When one person’s efforts would be fruitless, the combined efforts of will and determination of everyone who would give it their all to escape that “living hell”, would create a miracle.
All the above mentioned scenes would probably well your eyes a little.
It is a very heavy and sad movie actually.
Nonetheless, I am sure those who walked out of the cinema, would feel that their ticket money is worthwhile. You not only get to swoon at your favourite K-Actors but you also learn another lesson in history and it makes you appreciate more of what you have in the present and also to treasure your loved ones.
I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Remember to catch The Battleship Island while it is still screening!
