HEY, LOOK! A BLOG POST!

Once again, it’s been over a month since I’ve posted about anything. Not that life hasn’t been interesting in the meantime. I’ve settled on a place in Boston, which is conveniently located when it comes to class, but probably won’t bust my budget. I move there in a few weeks; until then, I am staying with K. in her new apartment in the Village (Expect a twist ending, Shymalan fans).

Actually, I WOULD be staying in K.’s new apartment, only I am currently in Miami. Just like last summer, I am vacationing in the city where I was raised. I’m doing the usual, avoiding the sun as much as possible, save for when I hit the pool and impersonate Aquaman to the best of my ability. I got here two days ago, and my return flight isn’t until next Monday. Frankly, if I spend one morning at the nearby Flamingo Gardens, starin’ at foliage and sleeping alligators, and divvy up the remaining hours between sleeping, doing the breaststroke, and playing video games on a first-generation Playstation, I will consider this one week in Florida a smashing success.

I suppose I could also watch movies while I’m here. It’s the other thing I manage to do whenever I’m on vacation. This morning I saw “J.S.A.,” the 2001 Chanwook Park thriller that exploited the tension between North and South Korea. For those (like me) without prior knowledge of the Korean peninsula, North equals “Commie,” while South equals “Yankee.” “Yankees” and “Commies” don’t like each other, as anyone who wasn’t a sperm cell in the 1970’s and 80’s can tell you. In an attempt to simplify the politics in the peninsula for viewers outside of Asia, the screenwriters have characters yell “Commie bastard!” and “Yankee puppet!” repeatedly, as if either phrase could embody their complex feelings. I’m ashamed to say the ploy works.

It’s a blessing not having to dwell on the politics that have shaped the geographical powder keg that is Korea, especially since “J.S.A.” tells a mystery in complex, “Rashomon”-style format. The title refers to the “Joint Security Area,” the American-occupied territory between the two countries, which belongs neither to the north, nor the south. One night, shooting is heard on the northern side of the J.S.A. A South Korean sergeant named Lee staggers across a foot bridge, back to the southern side, just as troops from both armies gather and exchange heavy fire. When an investigator from the Neutral Nations Security Council (N.N.S.C.) arrives to get facts, and calm what threatens to become a provocation for war, she gets conflicting stories from both sides. Along with being different, both "official reports" sound highly unlikely.

According to the report from Lee, North Korean soldiers slipped across the J.S.A. and kidnapped him. They took him back across the border, and held him hostage until he broke loose, then killed two of his abductors. Meanwhile, the report by Sergeant Oh of the North Korean army states that Lee crossed into enemy territory of his own volition, then acted out of cold blood, wounding Sergeant Oh, and killing two of his comrades. Like “Rashomon,” or movies heavily-influenced by the Kurosawa original, such as “Courage Under Fire,” “Basic,” and “Hero,” the mystery of what happened north of the “J.S.A.” is slowly unraveled. As each new tidbit of information is introduced, pivotal scenes are shown again, in light of what Inspector Sophie Jean, and the audience, are now aware of. Ultimately, the truth is more complicated than either “official story” we had been given. Nevertheless, it all fits together in a logical way. It’s never impossible to believe.

Like the more successful Rashomon clones, the flashback technique helps tell the story. Technique, however, does not replace story. “J.S.A.” has an extremely interesting, timely tale to tell, in light of current events in North Korea, and the strong reunification urge pervading that region. While Chanwook Park’s film seems to ignore the possible consequences of the two countries becoming one again (specifically if it occurs under the flag of Kim Jong-Il), its overriding message, about the tragedy of one people turned against itself due to borders and nationalism, remains potent.

Also potent: Park’s directing style, a mixture of high-end Hong Kong (most of the movie has the sleekness of an Andrew Lau film), and MTV. While Park has had greater international success with his 2003 revenge flick “Oldboy,” I prefer this slightly older film, which has less of an S&M edge. Also, where “Oldboy” was intimate and psychological, “J.S.A.” takes place across a broader canvas, and has action sequences that require more elaborate forethought. Park manages to nimbly direct the sequence where Lee’s rescue team fights to suppress the North Koreans, while retrieving him from the footbridge. The battle culminates in one of those shots you can’t help remembering afterward: An overhead crane looking down on Lee, then slowly panning upward while CGI-bullets whiz past in both directions.

Park also uses the overhead crane shot several times at the border—above the actual line that is supposed to separate North from South Korea. By framing it this way, guarded on either side by soldiers from one country or the other, it looks very thin, very unimpressive. This could be Chanwook Park’s way of pointing out the ridiculousness of the line, how a strip of paint on the ground determines the fate of an entire people. And wouldn’t he have a point? Not that reunification should happen, but let’s face it, if a flimsy line is all that stands between two willing peoples, isn’t reconciliation simply inevitable?