RP Members and Connections I wanted to share this South Korean Naval War Movie - The battle took place in the yellow sea on 29th of June in 2002. It was introduced to me by one of our very own RallyPoint Members/Connections PO3 Barry C. It may not be for everyone, but below is one of the reviews by the Hollywood Reporter. I'll let you be the judge. I believe you can still get the movie from Netflix and there are a number of other sources.
I never listen to the Critics and usually it's a good movie!
Kim Hak-soon's South Korean military drama, a huge box-office hit in its native country, concerns the little-known 2002 naval Battle of Yeonpyeong.
South Korean audiences have responded passionately to Kim Hak-soon's military drama about a brief 2002 naval battle in the disputed Yellow Sea border that gives the film its title. Displaying the sort of jingoism common in American movies during World War II, Northern Limit Line has quickly become the highest grossing film of the year in its native country. Now being released domestically in major U.S. cities, it's unlikely to find much of an audience on these shores.
The film spends more than half of its overlong running time introducing us to several of the South Korean sailors involved, most notably a rookie medic (rising young star Lee Hun-woo of Secretly, Greatly) who's hazed by his fellow shipmates. Other major characters include the ship's stern commander (Gim Mu-yeol) and its affable helmsman (Jin Goo) whose recurring hand tremors result in a near-deadly collision. Their personal backstories are limned in sometimes moving, but more often prosaic fashion.
It's all a preamble to the fateful surprise attack by the North Koreans — which occurred while the country was consumed with the World Cup competition between South Korea and Turkey — that resulted in the deaths of six South Korean sailors and an unknown number of Northerners.
The naval battle is depicted in intensely bloody fashion, much in the style of the deliberately chaotic opening scene of Saving Private Ryan set on Omaha Beach, complete with a shot of a dazed combatant desperately picking up his blown-off fingertips and stuffing them in his pocket. Choppily photographed and edited, the sequence is more visceral than coherent, but it packs a punch nonetheless.
The crowdfunded film has been cheered by several of its country's more conservative publications, not surprising since it depicts the North Korean military planners in a highly caricatured fashion that practically has them twirling their moustaches.
Northern Limit Line is most effective in its final moments, when it includes archival footage of the sailors' funerals and interviews with several of the survivors. It provides a vivid reminder of both the lives lost and the tensions that still prevail even 65 years after the start of the Korean War.