The Coast Guard

The Coast Guard (Hae An Seon)

Release Date: 2002
Director: Kim Ki Duk
Writer: Kim Ki Duk

Cast:
Jang Dong Gun ... Kang Sang Byeong
Park Jee Ah ... Mi Yeong





Reviewed By : Sassy Girl

As reviled as he is revered, writer-director Kim Ki-duk makes films that run the gamut from breathtaking works of art to shameless provocations. Not surprisingly, Kim has been dubbed the “bad boy” of contemporary Korean cinema, but such facile descriptions undermine the breadth of this filmmaker’s considerable talent as well as the challenging ideas and concepts that season his work. As is often the case with controversial artists, both Kim’s critics and champions are right. At his most refined, he has created such lyrical masterpieces as “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. . . and Spring,” “Samaritan Girl” (also known as “Samaria”), and “3-Iron.” Yet, in films such as “Bad Guy” and “The Isle” – both of which are best viewed through clenched fingers – Kim has displayed ferocity toward women bordering on misogynistic. More than just disturbing, these films could be branded as morally repellent.

Still, Kim is usually an interesting storyteller, which is what makes “The Coast Guard” such an aberration. It's all the more disappointing since the film might seem to have much to recommend it, including Jang Dong-gun (“Tae Guk Gi,” “Typhoon”) in the title role. And the film’s theme – the toll of military conscription on the fragile psyches of young men – is a ripe topic in Korean cinema from Park Chan-wook’s “JSA” to Yoon Jong-bin’s “The Unforgiven.” It begins promisingly with Jang’s tightly-wound Private Kang eager to prove himself by killing a North Korean spy. One night, Kang sees movement in a restricted area and opens fire, only to discover he has killed, not a spy, but a young man having sex with his girlfriend on the beach. Instead of being punished, Kang receives a commendation, and a week-long leave, much to the chagrin of outraged locals. Predictably, the tragedy has a devastating impact on both Kang and Mee-young (Park Jee-ah), whose boyfriend was killed.

At this point, the film could have become a thoughtful examination into ramifications of a soldier’s overzealous act; instead the narrative thread unravels. Kang falls apart, attacking civilians and other soldiers. (Never the most subtle actor, Jang doesn’t just overact; he becomes a twitchy caricature of mental instability.) And, for reasons best understood by the filmmaker, Mee-young reacts to the calamity by hacking off her hair, urinating in public, and becoming promiscuous with Kang’s fellow’s soldiers.

Anchored more in male fantasies – the sexually-insatiable crazy woman – than logic, this dubious plotline erases any salient point Kim might have made about a society where nearly every young man is trained – and potentially rewarded – for taking a life. Whatever Kim’s intentions, “The Coast Guard” ultimately fails, and not because he swings and misses in connecting with larger themes. Its undoing is a meandering, inco herent story, tactics designed solely to shock and offend, and Kim’s occasional yet always regrettable tendency to present degrading, objectified images of women.