My Way

Well made, great movie

I had read long ago about a few Asians being conscripted into the German army just in time to see plenty of action at Normandy, but I never imagined a movie would be made about two of them in particular!This movie is very battle-packed! It shows a Korean man named Jun-shik who dreams about being able to go to the Olympics, but Japan won't allow any representatives from a country that they have annexed many years earlier and the man is cheated out of his chance when he wins the tryouts and Japanese judges instead claim the winner to be Japan's representative, a man named Tatsuo who Jun-shik had competed with quite a few times since childhood and are rivals.The results of the judgment force Jun-shik and several of his friends into conscription as lowly soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army. Koreans serving as soldiers for the emperor are looked down upon as even worse than a Japanese private. Jun-shik finds this out the hard way up into the summer of 1939 when they are fighting Russian troops over a border dispute in the regions of Mongolia, the war of which is mostly unknown to most people today and only lasted a couple of months. The present colonel of Jun-shik's unit is punished for allowing his regiment to fall back in a bloody battle and is demoted to private and forced to kill himself to regain his honor. The new colonel is...VOILA!!! Tatsuo himself, the one and only!Tatsuo regards Jun-shik with resentment from the start and tries to have him imprisoned for execution when Jun-shik objects to being part of a suicide unit to battle Russian tanks in the next battle. The Korean finds himself lucky when he is rescued before the scheduled dawn execution by members of his own squad. They go to escape but run into the assault force of at least a hundred incoming Russian tanks. Jun-shik goes to warn the other members of the regiment about this attack but cannot prevent the bloodshed that follows. The battle scenes in here were excellent. You see Japanese troops take on Russian tanks by ramming trucks right into them. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers die in this battle and just when it seems like the Russian tank force cannot withstand this brutal assault of Japanese infantry, they are reinforced by more Russian tanks. Despite Tatsuo's exclamations to not fall back and to die for the emperor, he and Jun-shik are taken prisoner in the end, which is rare since Japanese troops regarded POW status as dishonorable and thousands of Japanese(and who knows how many Koreans)would rather kill themselves than be taken prisoner.Both men, and many others, including the members of Jun-shik's squad, are then suffering for what seems to be an eternity in a freezing Soviet labor camp. Tatsuo is bitter and gets constantly punished when he defies Russian authority by refusing to deface his nation's flag, but he seems to hate Jun-shik all the more, with a scene where they are supposed to fight to the death. The two are about to meet their fate in front of a firing squad when news comes at the last second that Germany has invaded Russia. They are then conscripted into the Russian army to fight the Germans, fighting their first battle for them in December, 1941. The conscripts are little more than cannon fodder to be served to the Germans and their machine guns. It seems like the entire Russian unit of conscripts is wiped out in that battle, with Jun-shik and Tatsuo as the only survivors. It seems like the former Japanese colonel has started to warm up to this Korean because they leave together for German lines and Tatsuo has his life saved by Jun-shik right before advancing German infantry split them up.In May, 1944, Tatsuo is reunited with Jun-shik at Normandy, France, following up towards the Allied invasion of France, and both men wearing German army uniforms. This is when the men regard each other as friends, and they go through quite the struggle to survive together when the American troops hit the beaches under an intensive bombardment by Allied aircraft and warships alike.Do they survive? Well, you'll just have to see the movie! This is a MUST-HAVE for all history buffs!!!

First off, the acting was superb. It is a complicated story that starts prior to WWII. There are many small details that enhanced the story but are too many to enumerate. You just have to watch and pay attention. Throughout, the contempt of Japanese for Koreans is strongly portrayed. The story starts in Japanese occupied Korea with two boys, one Korean, Jun-Shik, and one Japanese, Tatsuo, who start out as friends. As they grow older, they become competitors in the Marathon. This comes to a head when Jun-Shik beats Tatsuo (and all contestants) in try outs for the Olympics despite an attempt by a the Japanese to, first, prevent any Koreas from participating, and, second, by having one of the Japanese contestants try to trip Jun-Shik as he is close to the finish line. After Jun-Shik wins anywaty, the officials play a switcheroo by accusing Jun-Shik of tripping the other contestant. They disqualify him which starts a riot. Jun-Shik (who did not join in the rioting) and his friends are arrested and punished by being forced into the Japanese army. Now they are in Manchuria fighting the Russians and enduring abuses from their Japanese superiors. Eventually, Tatsuo arrives to take command of the unit. Tatsuo treats Jun-Shik with contempt while the later freely engages in defiance (and endures the punishment). Eventually both become Russian prisoners and are sent to a Gulag where they and other POWs are treated harshly while serving as slave labor. When Germany invades the USSR, they are impressed into the Soviet army where they are used as canon-fodder. For Tatsuo, he sees in the brutal acts of the Soviet political officers a reflection of himself. He begins to understand how cruel he had treated the Koreans, in particular, his childhood friend. After the slaughter, both men are alone and wounded. They decide to head for German lines in hopes of escaping the Russians. Their initial contact with the Germans is not pleasant but they both eventually end up in the German army as part of the Eastern battalion in Normandy. They become friends. Since they both just want to get home, they plan on desertion but the Allied invasion interrupts their plans. I won't spoil things from here. I would have loved to rate this movie higher but the battle sequences were lacking in reality. I loved the portrayal of Soviet BT tanks but they were portrayed in a silly fashion. In BTs the commander was also the gunner. To have them standing up out of their hatches firing MGs (not realistic in of itself) while the canon were likewise firing was absurd. They also drive their tanks into the Japanese masses rather than standing off and firing (it is difficult to bring tank weapons to bear on close-in infantry). The scenes of Japanese officers likewise leaping upon the BTs killing tank commander after tank commander with their katanas was also absurd. Skipping over to Normandy, the weather was much too nice for the invasion. It also portrayed ships firing on the beaches even after the troops had landed and showed paratroopers landing in broad daylight immediately behind the beaches. At any rate, the story is the important element and it is well told and well acted.

Ein 2. Weltkrieg Film aus der Perspektive eines koreanischen Langstreckenläufers und seines japanischen Rivalen. Interessant, da die Geschichte hinter diesem Streifen tatsächlich so oder so ähnlich stattgefunden hat.Der Film wirkte an einigen Stellen etwas billig gemacht (Effekte und Sets) und die Kameraführung war etwas wackelig und das wirkt nicht gut.Ansonsten sehr guter und unterhaltsamer Film.4 von 5 Sternen.

Me gusto q llego antes de tiempo

Good product quick service

Excelente película, genial!!!

Great movie verey acurate and entertaining