Like most Americans, I don't really know anything about the Korean War. I was really surprised, actually, to learn that it began so soon after WWII. I would have guessed it began a decade after that. This documentary doesn't have much substance actually. More or less, we watch almost 50 minutes of constant gunfire, bombing, and soldiering. It can be rough going. However, the footage (it was the only color documentary made in Korea) is absolutely amazing, and the film itself is constructed skillfully. The narration is surprisingly somber. It's almost as if John Ford had wanted to make propaganda, but couldn't quite do it. There is no clear reason why we were there. The official explanation seems simple enough: the containment of communism. Communism is referred to as "the giant red hand, squeezing the people of Korea" or "the red scourge." We are there, it is said, to help the people, who are starving under communist rule. But that doesn't seem to be enough for the film, and it never answers the questions that it asks. 8/10.
Review of This Is Korea!
