This South Korean political thriller depicts the incredible true story of North and South Korean diplomats fleeing Somalia in the early 1990s as all hell breaks loose. It was South Korea’s Oscar entry for best international film and has that highly polished, top-quality solid-weight vibe (with overtones of Ben Affleck’s best picture-winning Argo). The third act, which culminates in an action movie vehicle pursuit through war-zone turmoil, is what makes it worth the price of a download.
The year is 1991. Diplomats from North and South Korea have been competing in Mogadishu for Somalia’s vote on whether or not South Korea should join the United Nations. Attempts by South Korean ambassador Han (Kim Yoon-seok) to court Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre have been consistently thwarted by his North Korean counterpart, wily veteran Rim, in the embassy (Huh Joon-ho). Then Barre is deposed, the capital devolves into chaos, and the North Koreans arrive at the South Koreans’ doorstep seeking refuge. As they go through the streets of the capital, an incident validates what I’ve heard from war reporters: nothing is scarier than a tiny child with a loaded gun.
At the South Korean embassy, there’s some unexpected humour, such as the awkward quiet around the dinner table as North Koreans anxiously play with their chopsticks. The North Koreans are afraid of being poisoned by their opponents, according to South Korean envoy Han, who clicks what’s going on and exchanges plates.
This is a fine, intellectual, well-acted picture, though a little uninspired until the final act, which packs a powerful punch: personnel from both embassies traveling in a convoy of automobiles through a terrifyingly believable battle zone, with firearms firing and Molotov cocktails flying. It’s a shame, too, that there isn’t more interest in the Somalian characters, who are one-dimensional to a man (and this is a film about males).
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