Joint Security Area - JSA cover art

Joint Security Area - JSA Details

2000 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 2339 members

JSA (Joint Security Area) tells the story of two North Korean soldiers who have apparently been killed by a South Korean soldier in the de-militarised zone between North and South Korea. The mystery of why a total of 16 bullets are found when one magazine only holds 15 forms the film's central conceit and, with the added .. Read more

Starring Yeong-Ae Lee, Song Kang-ho, Tae-Woo Kim, Ha-Kyun Shin
Director Park Chan-Wook
Genres Thriller, World Cinema

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Joint Security Area - JSA cover art

Joint Security Area - JSA

JSA (Joint Security Area) tells the story of two North Korean soldiers who have apparently been killed by a South Korean soldier in the de-militarised zone between North and South Korea. The mystery of why a total of 16 bullets are found when one magazine only holds 15 forms the film's central conceit and, with the added political implications, JSA is elevated to a significant and current examination of war and tolerance.

Starring Yeong-Ae Lee, Song Kang-ho, Tae-Woo Kim, Ha-Kyun Shin
Director Park Chan-Wook
Studio PALISADES TARTAN
Run time DVD: 1 hr 48 mins
Certificate Certificate 15
Genres Thriller, World Cinema
Language DVD: Korean
Subtitles DVD: English
Released DVD: 30 Jul 2002
Production year: 2000
Format DVD

Joint Security Area - JSA (2000)

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  • Critics' reviews (2) of Joint Security Area - JSA

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  • 2 stars out of 4

    Fascinating thriller that illumines the divisions in Korea between North and South: while the soldiers on both sides come to a friendly understanding, those in authority demonise the other side. The conclusion is that peace is preserved by hiding the trut

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
    • Posted 02 Mar 2006

  • An incident in the JSA (the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea) leaves two N Korean border guards dead... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
    • Posted 04 Nov 2008

  • Most helpful member's review of Joint Security Area - JSA

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  • 25 out of 30 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 0 stars

    painful

    It could be that this movie is interesting but I was not able to understand it because there were no sub titles I think the movie was sent by mistake because i don't believe i ordered it.

      • A customer from London
      • Posted 02 Jun 2008 21:13

  • Most recent members' review of Joint Security Area - JSA

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  • 7 out of 7 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    Essentially the thoughts of a south korean...

    ...and what he sees as a country divided and provoked by an outside force in this political thriller with a tightly woven story.

    The synopsis gives the premise as shown at laid out at the start of the film, but quickly you see there is allot more to it than that. Right from the beginning we are very aware that those being investigated are hiding something. Its a mostly static situation that reveals itself over time via scenes showing what the investigator thinks happened so far, those involved said has happened... and later those involved remembering what really happened.

    Much like the likes of director Park Chan-Wook's later work it is very slickly done (but better edited than Old Boy), scenes flow into each other well, whether they be in a different location or time from one another. And whilst there is certainly a strong sense of sentimentality and even romanticisation for a good part of the film, reality is always at the forefront... not everything ends like one might want it to, inspite the ending (an ambiguous one at that) does leave one with a good feeling inside.

    A slight letdown in this film has to be the acting, not of those being investigated (who play the biggest parts) but rather the investigators, consisting of an English speaking peace keeping force that vows to remain neutral. Having said that Ha-kyun Shin's acting does pick up when she speaks Korean, which I'm thankful for because she plays the fifth most prominent character and is very much representative of the rest of the world.

    Overall this has been the best Park Chan-Wook I have seen so far and just goes to show why he is one of the most prominent Korean directors that have made Korean cinema so very fashionable in recent years.

      • Gandhi from UK
      • Posted 04 Jun 2005 23:30

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Rating breakdown

2,339 Member ratings
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192
  • 90
227
  • 80
488
  • 70
447
  • 60
400
  • 50
220
  • 40
136
  • 30
97
  • 20
80
  • 10
52

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      • JSA (Joint Security Area) tells the story of two North Korean soldiers who have apparently been killed by a South Korean soldier in the de-militarised zone between North and South Korea. The mystery ...