Tae Guk Gi (The Brotherhood of War): Guns, Guts, and Dirty Commies!

March 30th, 2014

A is for America
B is for Bomb
C is for Commie
D is for Dirty Commie


    Tae Guk Gi is a film that begins shortly before the outbreak of the Korean war. We are given a pair of overly happy and inseparable brothers who seem to be the happiest people on earth. The elder gave up school to be a shoemaker so that he and the rest of his family may support the younger brother. The younger brother is still in school and has aspirations to attend college. As in life, what happens to good people? Bad things happen to good people, and in the case of these brothers and their family very, very bad things happen to them. War breaks out and along with it all hell. The North is invading and the south is being crushed. This prompts the South to implement a draft. Of course the brothers fall within the draft parameters and are shipped off to fight the "good" fight. This is another film that shows how good intentions can create both monsters and much suffering.

    All of this wrapped up in a war makes for a damn fine plot. There have been many observations and opinions made that if you enjoyed the film Saving Private Ryan then you will love this film. "But I haven't seen Saving Private Ryan" you say. Great I think it's better that a viewer hasn't so that way there is no preconceived notions or expectations about the Tae Guk Gi and how it relates to Saving Private Ryan. This way the viewer can take in the  film as it is and appreciate it for the masterpiece that it is. The are war movies and there are movies like Tae Guk Gi. Movies like Tae Guk Gi and Saving Private Ryan elevate the war movie genre beyond simply showing America whipping everyone's ass with a grizzled ape at the head of the pack. These movies show a kind of behind the scenes/maintenance of the war machine approach. Meaning that it isn't there for a propaganda kind of role. No "America! Fuck yeah!" vibes are trying to be conveyed in films like this. These films focus more on the individuals or what one may call cannon fodder and shows that war isn't just America kicking ass. These movies exemplify the universal and obscene amount of suffering that fuels the war machine without skipping on the brutal, gory, and down right "Oh shit" inspiring warfare. These films are like finding extra fries at the bottom of your Whataburger bag, you get what you're looking for and then some. That doesn't mean you may like it though, the fries at the bottom of your bag may be burnt.
 
  So if you dig a deep and dark story line filled with explosions and exploding people Tae Guk Gi should have a spot in your film collection. If people even have those anymore.