{Choi-jong-byeong-gi Hwal}
 Two dynasties at war. Two men on a mission. Revenge, redemption and a story of family combines with heart-pounding action to make War Of The Arrows the highest-grossing epic in Korean cinema. 1623: the 15th year of King Gwanghaegun's reign. The King's loyal servant and legendary archer, General Choi Pyong-ryang, is framed for treason and executed. His entire household meets the same tragic fate, but his young son and daughter, Nam-yi and Ja-in, escape to the home of their father's longtime friend. The brother and sister take refuge under Kim's wing and are raised as his own. 13 years pass and Quing China carries out a brutal invasion against Joseon, in what will later be known as "second Manchu invasion of Korea." On the wedding day of Ja-in and Kim Mu-seon's son, Qing troops led by Commander Jiusinta attack, taking the villagers as prisoners, including Ja-in. When Nam-yi returns home after getting injured in battle, he finds his guardian murdered and his sister taken away by the Qing men. Nam-yi chases after the troop in a desperate attempt to save his sister. Name tracks down Ja-in, but faces brutal battles with Jiusinta's best men in order to escape. Storyline: Set during the second Manchu invasion of Korea, Nam Yi, the best archer in Korea, goes up against the Qing Dynasty to save his younger sister Ja In - who was dragged away by Manchurian. History: The relationship between China and Korea is little understood in the Western world, as evidenced by the developments fairly recently when a purported assassination of North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un sent Chinese forces mobilizing to prevent-well, what exactly? The fact that not even China knew for at least a little while that Kim Jong-un had not in fact been killed is testament to two facts: first, how closed off and insular the North Korean society really is, even to its ostensible allies; and second, that China has no issues in appropriating the Korean peninsula as its "own," at least within certain proscribed limits. There was only one Korea back in the early 17th century, and it was not an especially robust nation. In fact it wasn't really a unified nation at all, but a series of territories, many of which found themselves repeatedly invaded by China, as that immense country sought to absorb neighboring areas to maintain its strategic dominance over that part of the world. The early years of the seventeenth century saw two massive invasions by China's Manchu Qing empire as it sought to reign in whatever power Korea's Joseon Dynasty managed to cling onto in that tumultuous time. War of the Arrows is a Korean historical epic that fictionalizes aspects of the Second Manchu Invasion of circa 1636, positing a Joseon hero who is aces with a bow and arrow as he pretty much single handedly takes out an invading horde of Qing warriors. The interesting thing about War of the Arrows is it deals with the sociopolitical aspects of this history only tangentially, for the real reason this Korean hero is on the march is because his sister has been kidnapped and he's seeking to free her from a life of servitude. That boils down huge historical movements into the interplay between just a handful of characters, and that intimate approach gives War of the Arrows its unique and often quite compelling appeal. Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, February 15, 2012 -- The relationship between China and Korea is little understood in the Western world, as evidenced by the developments over just the past few days when a purported assassination of North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un sent Chinese forces mobilizing to prevent—well, what exactly? The fact that not even China knew for at least a little while that Kim Jong-un had not in fact been killed is testament to two facts: first, how closed off and insular the North Korean society really is, even to its ostensible allies; and second, that China has no issues in appropriating the Korean peninsula as its "own," at least within certain proscribed limits. There was only one Korea back in the early 17th century, and it was not an especially robust nation. In fact it wasn't really a unified nation at all, but a series of territories, many of which found themselves repeatedly invaded by China, as that immense country sought to absorb neighboring areas to maintain its strategic dominance over that part of the world. The early years of the seventeenth century saw two massive invasions by China's Manchu Qing empire as it sought to reign in whatever power Korea's Joseon Dynasty managed to cling onto in that tumultuous time. War of the Arrows is a Korean historical epic that fictionalizes aspects of the Second Manchu Invasion of circa 1636, positing a Joseon hero who is aces with a bow and arrow as he pretty much single handedly takes out an invading horde of Qing warriors. The interesting thing about War of the Arrows is it deals with the sociopolitical aspects of this history only tangentially, for the real reason this Korean hero is on the march is because his sister has been kidnapped and he's seeking to free her from a life of servitude. That boils down huge historical movements into the interplay between just a handful of characters, and that intimate approach gives War of the Arrows its unique and often quite compelling appeal. War of the Arrows blasts out of the gate with an exciting, if somewhat disturbing, prologue that shows our eventual hero Nam-Yi (played by Park Hae-Il as an adult) and his toddler sister Ja-in (played by Moon Chae-won as an adult) as children, who find themselves in the midst of a horrifying attack on their palace, with their father the obvious target. Nam-Yi manages to drag Ja-in away from the turmoil, but only after he has vowed to his doomed father to take care of her and watch over her, come what may. The father soon meets a gruesome end at the hands of the palace invaders, who repeatedly scream that he has been a traitor. Nam-Yi manages to get Ja-in to safety at the home of one of his father's allies, a man who raises the two children as his own, more or less. We then fast forward a decade and a half or so to find Nam-Yi as a young man, one troubled and conflicted by his supposed reputation of being a traitor's son. Ja- in, on the other hand, seems somewhat better adjusted to her situation and as this segment of the film gets underway, finds herself betrothed to Seo-gun (Kim Mu-Yeol), the son of the man who has served as Ja-in and Nam-Yi's protector and virtual stepfather. On the verge of her wedding day, Ja-in once again finds herself in the midst of an invading force when the compound she's living in is attacked and she, as well as several other Joseon men and women, are rounded up and taken hostage by Qing warriors. Nam-Yi has been up in the hills hunting deer, as despite his inability to come to terms with his past, he has still become an incredible archer. Nam-Yi hears the tumult below but of course gets to the compound too late. That sets him off on what is initially a one man mission to free Ja-in and others being held hostage and by default his own people from being under the thumb of the Qing invaders. War of the Arrows is both wildly improbable as well as improbably entertaining. The film has been a spectacular success in South Korea, but its historical background may make it a bit of a harder sell for Western audiences. Truth be told, however, the film works perfectly well as a simple revenge drama even without the historical trappings with which its decorated. Nam-yi is out to free his enslaved sister, and that's really all anyone needs to know going into this film. The fact that he more or less individually is able to defeat an entire army is of course fanciful, but director Kim Han-min focuses on the gritty determination of Nam-yi without over emphasizing the frankly incredible feats he routinely pulls off more or less without a hitch. The film slowly but surely cuts (literally) through a swath of characters until it whittles the cast down to only three left standing, Nam-Yi, Ja-in and the chief bad guy (you were expecting anything less?). Across a huge field through which the wind gently streams, a trio of desperate people find themselves holed up together, attempting to come to a "final solution." War of the Arrows moves toward its semi-tragic conclusion with a certain inimitable force. There's nothing especially surprising about the outcome here, and in fact much of this film is decidedly predictable, but with good performances and some really incredibly beautiful location photography, War of the Arrows delivers a lot of viscerally exciting action. There's next to no martial arts wizardry in this film; instead Han-min, evidently long an aficionado of the bow and arrow, makes the most of that "technology" in the film's frequent set pieces. It's to Han- min's credit that he doesn't give in to a lot of arrow-based visual clichés (there are no shots from an arrow's "point of view"). The film is impeccably well staged and for the most part very well performed, with a lack of overt hyperbole that helps establish it as more of an intimate historical epic than a more routine action flick. War of the Arrows isn't especially innovative (other than its focus on bows and arrows rather than fists and feet), but it is sumptuously produced, well acted, and very well staged. With a well reasoned emphasis on a personal story, rather than indulging in a sociopolitical screed, War of the Arrows doesn't require its audiences to be well schooled in the background between China and Korea to fully understand what's going on in the film. While some elements of the film are undeniably ludicrous, there's also something to be said for a film which urges its audience to root for an underdog who has the odds stacked considerably against him. With really great looking visuals and excellent audio, despite this release not having a glut of supplementary material, it comes Recommended. Cast Notes: Hae-il Park (Nam-Yi), Seung-yong Ryoo (Jyu Shin-Ta), Chae-won Moon (Ja-In), Mu-Yeol Kim (Seo-Goon), Han-wi Lee (Gap-Yong), Kyeong-yeong Lee (Kim Moo-Sun), Gi-woong Park (Doreukon), Rye Hei Otani (Nogami), Gu-taek Kim (Kang-Doo), Eunjin Kang (Eun-Yi), Seung-joon Lee (Wan-Han), Jae-goo Lee (Hoo-Man), No-shik Park (Jang-Soon), Da-wit Lee (Nam-Yi - young), Min-seo Jeon (Ja-In - young). IMDb Rating (12/22/16): 7.2/10 from 8,778 users
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